16 Kan. 192 | Kan. | 1876
The opinion of the court was delivered by
In July 1866, congress enacted as follows: “That for refunding to Jacob Whitecrow, John Sarahass, and others, trustees and stewards of the Wyandotte and Quindaro Mission, of the Kansas Conference of Methodist Episcopal
This is about as full a statement of the facts as can be gathered from the case made. And upon these we remark, that the argument of the counsel for defendant in error, as to the general organization of the Methodist Episcopal church, its administration and control over local churches of that denomination, and their property, cannot be considered by us, for the facts concerning the same are not in the case-made,
It seems to us that the grant from congress was to a church organization among and of Wyandotte Indians, and by virtue of the governmental protection over these wards of the nation; that it was in no sense a grant to the great Methodist church to assist it in its missionary work. The Wyandotte church, as an Indian church, and not as a member of the Methodist denomination, was the beneficiary. The grant was not local, to the Methodist church in Wyandotte county, but tribal to the Wyandotte Indian church, whether that society remained in Kansas, or moved elsewhere. It was something which attached to and vested in an organization of the Wyandotte tribe of Indians. Whoever therefore are recognized by the Wyandotte nation as the official representatives of that organization, are entitled to the possession of this fund, and may maintain an action to recover it.
For these reasons the judgment must be reversed, and the cause remanded with instructions to grant a new trial.