Headright Law and Legal Definition
A headright refers to a tribe member's legal right to a pro rata portion of income from a tribal trust fund. Tribal trust fund is governed by the Allotment Act of 1906. This type of trust fund is funded by mineral royalties that arise from land held by the tribe member's tribe.
A headright basically consists of the following :
1.the right to receive at the end of the trust period trust funds arising largely from the mineral income, and
2.the right to participate during the trust period in the distribution of bonuses and royalties arising from the mineral estate plus accrued interest on the trust fund.
The following is a case law defining headright:
Funds of a tribe is credited to the individual members of the tribe on the basis of a pro rata division among the members or their heirs. This pro rata interest in the trust fund is known as a headright. [In re ESTATE OF MAE LITTLE BEAR, 1995 OK 134 (Okla. 1995)].
