Indian Mineral Leasing Act

Indian Mineral Leasing Act
the 75th United States Congress
  • An Act to regulate the leasing of certain Indian lands for mining purposes.
Citation25 U.S.C. 396a / 52 Stat. 347
Territorial extentUnited States
Enacted bythe 75th United States Congress
EnactedMay 11, 1938
CommencedMay 11, 1938

The Indian Mineral Leasing Act (IMLA) was a 1938 United States law. It was passed on May 11, 1938, by the 75th United States Congress.

The Act made it so that after May 11, 1938, unallotted lands within Indian reservations or lands owned by Native Americans under Federal jurisdiction could, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, be leased for mining purposes by the authority of the tribal council or other authorized spokesmen for the Native Americans, for indefinite terms ("as long as minerals are produced in paying quantities").

The IMLA was enacted in response to decades of exploitative mineral leasing on Native lands. Before this Act, tribes had little to no control over these terms. The Act aimed to give tribes greater authority over their natural resources.

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