Five Nations Indian Land Reform Act

H.R. 2880, the Five Nations Indian Land Reform Act, was designed to modernize and streamline the legal rules governing "restricted" lands owned by members of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations in Oklahoma. The bill aimed to provide more consistent protections for these lands by ensuring they remain subject to federal restrictions against being sold or mortgaged without approval, regardless of the owner's degree of Indian blood.

For citizens and landowners, the bill would have shifted several legal processes—such as approving land sales, leases, and mineral rights—from Oklahoma state courts to the U.S. Department of the Interior. It also sought to simplify the "probate" process (the legal handling of property after someone dies) by giving the Secretary of the Interior the authority to determine heirs and handle wills for restricted property. While the bill was ordered to be reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2002, it did not become law during that session of Congress.