 The lands of Indian allotees determined to be non-competent were leased by the Federal Government, often to non-tribal members.While a fee patent gives power to the allottee to decide whether to keep or sell the land, provided the harsh economic reality of the time, lack of access to credit and markets, liquidation of Indian lands was almost inevitable.It was known by the department of interior that virtually 95% of fee patented land would eventually be sold to whites (Robertson, 2002).