IB 

Union Calendar No. 663 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3764 

[Report No. 114–847] 

To provide that an Indian group may receive Federal acknowledgment as 

an Indian tribe only by an Act of Congress, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 20, 2015 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. GOSAR and Mr. GOODLATTE

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 20, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To provide that an Indian group may receive Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe only by an Act of 

Congress, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 TITLE I—FEDERAL RECOGNI4 TION OF INDIAN TRIBES, GEN5 ERALLY 

6 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal Recognition Act 

8 of 2016’’. 

9 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

10 Congress finds as follows: 

11 (1) Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitu12 tion (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Commerce 

13 Clause’’) gives Congress authority over Indian affairs. 

14 (2) Such authority is plenary and exclusive. 

15 (3) Such authority may not be exercised by the 

16 executive branch, except as expressly delegated by an 

17 Act of Congress (or by a treaty ratified by the Senate 

18 before March 1871). 

19 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

20 As used in this title: 

21 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist22 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of In23 dian Affairs, or that officer’s authorized representa24 tive. 


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1 (2) AUTONOMOUS.—The term ‘‘autonomous’’ 

2 means the exercise of political influence or authority 

3 independent of the control of any other Indian gov4 erning entity. Autonomous must be understood in the 

5 context of the history, geography, culture and social 

6 organization of the petitioning group. 

7 (3) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘Community’’ 

8 means any group of people which can demonstrate 

9 that consistent interactions and significant social re10 lationships exist within its membership and that its 

11 members are differentiated from and identified as dis12 tinct from nonmembers. Community must be under13 stood in the context of the history, geography, culture 

14 and social organization of the group. 

15 (4) CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.—The term 

16 ‘‘continental United States’’ means the contiguous 48 

17 States and Alaska. 

18 (5) CONTINUOUSLY OR CONTINUOUS.—The term 

19 ‘‘continuously or continuous’’ means extending from 

20 first sustained contact with non-Indians throughout 

21 the group’s history to the present substantially with22 out interruption. 

23 (6) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu24 mented petition’’ means the detailed arguments made 

25 by a petitioner to substantiate its claim to continuous 


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1 existence as an Indian tribe, together with the factual 

2 exposition and all documentary evidence necessary to 

3 demonstrate that these arguments address the manda4 tory criteria. 

5 (7) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL OR HISTORY.— 

6 The term ‘‘historically, historical or history’’ means 

7 dating from first sustained contact with non-Indians. 

8 (8) INDIAN GROUP OR GROUP.—The term ‘‘In9 dian group or group’’ means any Indian or Alaska 

10 Native aggregation within the continental United 

11 States that the Secretary of the Interior does not ac12 knowledge to be an Indian tribe. Indian tribe, also re13 ferred to herein as tribe, means any Indian or Alaska 

14 Native tribe, band, pueblo, village, or community 

15 within the continental United States that the Sec16 retary of the Interior has lawfully acknowledged as 

17 an Indian tribe. 

18 (9) INDIGENOUS.—The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means 

19 native to the continental United States in that at 

20 least part of the petitioner’s territory at the time of 

21 sustained contact extended into what is now the conti22 nental United States. 

23 (10) INFORMED PARTY.—The term ‘‘informed 

24 party’’ means any person or organization, other than 

25 an interested party, who requests an opportunity to 


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1 submit comments or evidence or to be kept informed 

2 of general actions regarding a specific petitioner. 

3 (11) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘‘interested 

4 party’’ means any person, organization or other enti5 ty who can establish a legal, factual or property in6 terest in an acknowledgment determination and who 

7 requests an opportunity to submit comments or evi8 dence or to be kept informed of general actions re9 garding a specific petitioner. ‘‘Interested party’’ in10 cludes the governor and attorney general of the State 

11 in which a petitioner is located, and may include, but 

12 is not limited to, local governmental units, and any 

13 recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized Indian 

14 groups that might be affected by an acknowledgment 

15 determination. 

16 (12) LETTER OF INTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of 

17 intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution 

18 by which an Indian group requests Federal acknowl19 edgment as an Indian tribe and expresses its intent 

20 to submit a documented petition. 

21 (13) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means 

22 any entity that has submitted a letter of intent to the 

23 Secretary requesting acknowledgment that it is an In24 dian tribe. 


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1 (14) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.— 

2 The term ‘‘political influence or authority’’ means a 

3 tribal council, leadership, internal process or other 

4 mechanism which the group has used as a means of 

5 influencing or controlling the behavior of its members 

6 in significant respects, and/or making decisions for 

7 the group which substantially affect its members, and/ 

8 or representing the group in dealing with outsiders in 

9 matters of consequence. This process is to be under10 stood in the context of the history, culture and social 

11 organization of the group. 

12 (15) PREVIOUS FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT.— 

13 The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledgment’’ means 

14 action by the Federal Government clearly premised on 

15 identification of a tribal political entity and indi16 cating clearly the recognition of a relationship be17 tween that entity and the United States. 

18 (16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of the Interior or that officer’s author20 ized representative. 

21 (17) SUSTAINED CONTACT.—The term ‘‘sustained 

22 contact’’ means the period of earliest sustained non23 Indian settlement and/or governmental presence in 

24 the local area in which the historical tribe or tribes 


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1 from which the petitioner descends was located his2 torically. 

3 SEC. 104. GROUPS ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT PETITIONS. 

4 (a) ELIGIBLE GROUPS.—Indian groups indigenous to 

5 the continental United States that are not federally recog6 nized Indian tribes on the date of the enactment of this Act 

7 may submit a petition under this title. 

8 (b) INELIGIBLE GROUPS.—The following may not sub9 mit a petition under this title: 

10 (1) Splinter groups, political factions, commu11 nities or groups of any character that separate from 

12 the main body of a federally recognized Indian tribe, 

13 unless they can establish clearly that they have func14 tioned throughout history until the present as an au15 tonomous tribal entity, even if they have been re16 garded by some as part of or have been associated in 

17 some manner with a federally recognized Indian 

18 tribe. 

19 (2) Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos, Alas20 ka native villages, or communities that have been 

21 lawfully acknowledged to be federally recognized In22 dian tribes and are receiving services from the Bu23 reau of Indian Affairs. 

24 (3) Groups that petitioned and were denied Fed25 eral acknowledgment under part 83 of title 25, Code 


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1 of Federal Regulations, including reorganized or re2 constituted petitioners previously denied, or splinter 

3 groups, spin-offs, or component groups of any type 

4 that were once part of petitioners previously denied. 

5 (4) Groups for which a documented petition has 

6 not been filed pursuant to section 109 by the date that 

7 is five years after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (c) GROUPS WITH PETITIONS IN PROGRESS.—This 

10 title, including the criteria in section 107, shall apply to 

11 any Indian group whose documented petition was sub12 mitted and not denied on the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 SEC. 105. FILING A LETTER OF INTENT. 

15 Any Indian group in the continental United States 

16 that believes it should be acknowledged as an Indian tribe 

17 and that it can satisfy the criteria in this title may submit 

18 a letter of intent requesting acknowledgment that an Indian 

19 group exists as an Indian tribe. The letter of intent sub20 mitted under this section— 

21 (1) shall be filed with the Assistant Secretary— 

22 Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; 

23 (2) may be filed in advance of, or at the same 

24 time as, a group’s documented petition; and 


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1 (3) shall be produced, dated and signed by the 

2 governing body of an Indian group. 

3 SEC. 106. DUTIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 

4 (a) GUIDELINES.—The Assistant Secretary shall make 

5 available guidelines for the preparation of documented peti6 tions. These guidelines shall— 

7 (1) include an explanation of the criteria, a dis8 cussion of the types of evidence which may be used to 

9 demonstrate particular criteria, and general sugges10 tions and guidelines on how and where to conduct re11 search; 

12 (2) include an example of a documented petition 

13 format which shall provide guidance, but not preclude 

14 the use of any other format; and 

15 (3) may be supplemented or updated as nec16 essary. 

17 (b) RESEARCH AND PREPARATION OF PETITION.—The 

18 Assistant Secretary— 

19 (1) shall provide petitioners with suggestions and 

20 advice regarding preparation of the documented peti21 tion; and 

22 (2) shall not be responsible for the actual re23 search on behalf of the petitioner. 


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1 SEC. 107. CRITERIA FOR FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 

2 The criteria for consideration for Federal acknowledg3 ment is, at a minimum, the following: 

4 (1) The petitioner has been identified as an 

5 American Indian entity on a substantially contin6 uous basis since 1900. Evidence that the group’s char7 acter as an Indian entity has from time to time been 

8 denied shall not be considered to be conclusive evi9 dence that this criterion has not been met. Evidence 

10 to be relied upon in determining a group’s Indian 

11 identity may include one or a combination of the fol12 lowing, as well as other evidence of identification by 

13 other than the petitioner itself or its members: 

14 (A) Identification as an Indian entity by 

15 Federal authorities. 

16 (B) Relationships with State governments 

17 based on identification of the group as Indian. 

18 (C) Dealings with a county, parish, or other 

19 local government in a relationship based on the 

20 group’s Indian identity. 

21 (D) Identification as an Indian entity by 

22 anthropologists, historians, and/or other scholars. 

23 (E) Identification as an Indian entity in 

24 newspapers and books. 


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1 (F) Identification as an Indian entity in 

2 relationships with Indian tribes or with na3 tional, regional, or State Indian organizations. 

4 (2) A predominant portion of the petitioning 

5 group comprises a distinct community and has ex6 isted as a community from historical times until the 

7 present. 

8 (A) This criterion may be demonstrated by 

9 some combination of the following evidence and/ 

10 or other evidence that the petitioner meets the 

11 definition of community: 

12 (i) Significant rates of marriage with13 in the group, and/or, as may be culturally 

14 required, patterned out-marriages with 

15 other Indian populations. 

16 (ii) Significant social relationships 

17 connecting individual members. 

18 (iii) Significant rates of informal so19 cial interaction which exist broadly among 

20 the members of a group. 

21 (iv) A significant degree of shared or 

22 cooperative labor or other economic activity 

23 among the membership. 


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1 (v) Evidence of strong patterns of dis2 crimination or other social distinctions by 

3 nonmembers. 

4 (vi) Shared sacred or secular ritual ac5 tivity encompassing most of the group. 

6 (vii) Cultural patterns shared among a 

7 significant portion of the group that are 

8 different from those of the non-Indian popu9 lations with whom it interacts. These pat10 terns must function as more than a sym11 bolic identification of the group as Indian. 

12 They may include, but are not limited to, 

13 language, kinship organization, or religious 

14 beliefs and practices. 

15 (viii) The persistence of a named, col16 lective Indian identity continuously over a 

17 period of more than 50 years, notwith18 standing changes in name. 

19 (ix) A demonstration of historical po20 litical influence under the criterion in para21 graph (3) shall be evidence for dem22 onstrating historical community. 

23 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have 

24 provided sufficient evidence of community at a 


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1 given point in time if evidence is provided to 

2 demonstrate any one of the following: 

3 (i) More than 50 percent of the mem4 bers reside in a geographical area exclu5 sively or almost exclusively composed of 

6 members of the group, and the balance of 

7 the group maintains consistent interaction 

8 with some members of the community. 

9 (ii) At least 50 percent of the mar10 riages in the group are between members of 

11 the group. 

12 (iii) At least 50 percent of the group 

13 members maintain distinct cultural pat14 terns such as, but not limited to, language, 

15 kinship organization, or religious beliefs 

16 and practices. 

17 (iv) There are distinct community so18 cial institutions encompassing most of the 

19 members, such as kinship organizations, 

20 formal or informal economic cooperation, or 

21 religious organizations. 

22 (v) The group has met the criterion in 

23 paragraph (3) using evidence described in 

24 paragraph (3)(B). 


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1 (3) The petitioner has maintained political in2 fluence or authority over its members as an autono3 mous entity from historical times until the present. 

4 (A) This criterion may be demonstrated by 

5 some combination of the evidence listed below 

6 and/or by other evidence that the petitioner 

7 meets the definition of political influence or au8 thority: 

9 (i) The group is able to mobilize sig10 nificant numbers of members and signifi11 cant resources from its members for group 

12 purposes. 

13 (ii) Most of the membership considers 

14 issues acted upon or actions taken by group 

15 leaders or governing bodies to be of impor16 tance. 

17 (iii) There is widespread knowledge, 

18 communication and involvement in polit19 ical processes by most of the group’s mem20 bers. 

21 (iv) The group meets the criterion in 

22 paragraph (2) at more than a minimal 

23 level. 

24 (v) There are internal conflicts which 

25 show controversy over valued group goals, 


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1 properties, policies, processes and/or deci2 sions. 

3 (B) A petitioning group shall be considered 

4 to have provided sufficient evidence to dem5 onstrate the exercise of political influence or au6 thority at a given point in time by dem7 onstrating that group leaders and/or other mech8 anisms exist or existed which— 

9 (i) allocate group resources such as 

10 land, residence rights and the like on a con11 sistent basis; 

12 (ii) settle disputes between members or 

13 subgroups by mediation or other means on 

14 a regular basis; 

15 (iii) exert strong influence on the be16 havior of individual members, such as the 

17 establishment or maintenance of norms and 

18 the enforcement of sanctions to direct or 

19 control behavior; and 

20 (iv) organize or influence economic 

21 subsistence activities among the members, 

22 including shared or cooperative labor. 

23 (C) A group that has met the requirements 

24 in paragraph (2)(B) at a given point in time 

25 shall be considered to have provided sufficient 


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1 evidence to meet this criterion at that point in 

2 time. 

3 (4) A copy of the group’s present governing docu4 ment including its membership criteria. In the ab5 sence of a written document, the petitioner must pro6 vide a statement describing in full its membership 

7 criteria and current governing procedures. 

8 (5) The petitioner’s membership consists of indi9 viduals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or 

10 from historical Indian tribes which combined and 

11 functioned as a single autonomous political entity. 

12 (A) Some types of evidence that can be used 

13 for this purpose include the following: 

14 (i) Rolls prepared by the Secretary on 

15 a descendancy basis for purposes of distrib16 uting claims money, providing allotments, 

17 or other purposes. 

18 (ii) State, Federal, or other official 

19 records or evidence identifying present 

20 members or ancestors of present members as 

21 being descendants of a historical tribe or 

22 tribes that combined and functioned as a 

23 single autonomous political entity. 

24 (iii) Church, school, and other similar 

25 enrollment records identifying present memVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3764.RH H3764

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1 bers or ancestors of present members as 

2 being descendants of a historical tribe or 

3 tribes that combined and functioned as a 

4 single autonomous political entity. 

5 (iv) Affidavits of recognition by tribal 

6 elders, leaders, or the tribal governing body 

7 identifying present members or ancestors of 

8 present members as being descendants of a 

9 historical tribe or tribes that combined and 

10 functioned as a single autonomous political 

11 entity. 

12 (v) Other records or evidence identi13 fying present members or ancestors of 

14 present members as being descendants of a 

15 historical tribe or tribes that combined and 

16 functioned as a single autonomous political 

17 entity. 

18 (B) The petitioner must provide an official 

19 membership list, separately certified by the 

20 group’s governing body, of all known current 

21 members of the group. This list must include 

22 each member’s full name (including maiden 

23 name), date of birth, and current residential ad24 dress. The petitioner must also provide a copy of 

25 each available former list of members based on 


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1 the group’s own defined criteria, as well as a 

2 statement describing the circumstances sur3 rounding the preparation of the current list and, 

4 insofar as possible, the circumstances sur5 rounding the preparation of former lists. 

6 (6) The membership of the petitioning group is 

7 composed principally of persons who are not members 

8 of any acknowledged North American Indian tribe. 

9 However, under certain conditions a petitioning 

10 group may be acknowledged even if its membership is 

11 composed principally of persons whose names have 

12 appeared on rolls of, or who have been otherwise asso13 ciated with, an acknowledged Indian tribe. The condi14 tions are that the group must establish that it has 

15 functioned throughout history until the present as a 

16 separate and autonomous Indian tribal entity, that 

17 its members do not maintain a bilateral political re18 lationship with the acknowledged tribe, and that its 

19 members have provided written confirmation of their 

20 membership in the petitioning group. 

21 (7) Neither the petitioner nor its members are 

22 the subject of congressional legislation that has ex23 pressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relation24 ship. 


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1 SEC. 108. PREVIOUS FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unambiguous previous Federal ac3 knowledgment shall be acceptable evidence of the tribal 

4 character of a petitioner to the date of the last such previous 

5 acknowledgment. If a petitioner provides substantial evi6 dence of unambiguous Federal acknowledgment, the peti7 tioner shall only be required to demonstrate that it meets 

8 the requirements of section 107 to the extent required by 

9 this section. A determination of the adequacy of the evidence 

10 of previous Federal action acknowledging tribal status shall 

11 be made during the technical assistance review of the docu12 mented petition conducted pursuant to section 110(b). 

13 (b) EVIDENCE.—Evidence to demonstrate previous 

14 Federal acknowledgment includes evidence that the group— 

15 (1) has had treaty relations with the United 

16 States; 

17 (2) has been denominated a tribe by an Act of 

18 Congress or Executive order; and 

19 (3) has been treated by the Federal Government 

20 as having collective rights in tribal lands or funds. 

21 SEC. 109. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF A PETITION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after receiv23 ing a letter of intent, or a documented petition if a letter 

24 of intent has not previously been received and noticed, the 

25 Assistant Secretary shall acknowledge to the sender such re26 ceipt in writing. Notice under this subsection shall— 


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1 (1) include the name, location, and mailing ad2 dress of the petitioner and such other information to 

3 identify the entity submitting the letter of intent or 

4 documented petition and the date it was received; 

5 (2) serve to announce the opportunity for inter6 ested parties and informed parties to submit factual 

7 or legal arguments in support of or in opposition to 

8 the petitioner’s request for acknowledgment or to re9 quest to be kept informed of all general actions affect10 ing the petition; and 

11 (3) indicate where a copy of the letter of intent 

12 and the documented petition may be examined. 

13 (b) NOTICE TO STATE GOVERNMENTS.—The Assistant 

14 Secretary shall notify, in writing— 

15 (1) the Governor and Attorney General of the 

16 State or States in which a petitioner is located; and 

17 (2) any recognized tribe and any other petitioner 

18 that— 

19 (A) appears to have a historical or present 

20 relationship with the petitioner; or 

21 (B) may otherwise be considered to have a 

22 potential interest in the acknowledgment deter23 mination. 

24 (c) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 60 days after receiv25 ing a letter of intent, or a documented petition if a letter 


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1 of intent has not previously been received and noticed, the 

2 Assistant Secretary shall have the notice required under this 

3 section published— 

4 (1) in the Federal Register; and 

5 (2) in a major newspaper or newspapers of gen6 eral circulation in the town or city nearest to the pe7 titioner. 

8 SEC. 110. PROCESSING OF THE DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

9 (a) REVIEW.—Upon receipt of a documented petition, 

10 the Assistant Secretary— 

11 (1) shall cause a review to be conducted to deter12 mine the extent to which the petitioner has met the 

13 criteria set forth in section 107; 

14 (2) shall include consideration of the documented 

15 petition and the factual statements contained therein; 

16 (3) may initiate other research for any purpose 

17 relative to analyzing the documented petition and ob18 taining additional information about the petitioner’s 

19 status; and 

20 (4) may consider any evidence which may be 

21 submitted by interested parties or informed parties. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 (1) Prior to review of the documented petition 

24 under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall 


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1 conduct a preliminary review of the petition in order 

2 to provide technical assistance to the petitioner. 

3 (2) The review under paragraph (1) shall be a 

4 preliminary review for the purpose of providing the 

5 petitioner an opportunity to supplement or revise the 

6 documented petition prior to the review under para7 graph (1). Insofar as possible, technical assistance re8 views under this paragraph will be conducted in the 

9 order of receipt of documented petitions. However, 

10 technical assistance reviews will not have priority 

11 over active consideration of documented petitions. 

12 (3) After the technical assistance review, the As13 sistant Secretary shall notify the petitioner by letter 

14 of any obvious deficiencies or significant omissions 

15 apparent in the documented petition and provide the 

16 petitioner with an opportunity to withdraw the docu17 mented petition for further work or to submit addi18 tional information. 

19 (4) If a petitioner’s documented petition claims 

20 previous Federal acknowledgment or includes evidence 

21 of previous Federal acknowledgment, the technical as22 sistance review shall also include a review to deter23 mine whether that evidence is sufficient to meet the 

24 requirements of previous Federal acknowledgment. 

25 (c) RESPONSE TO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW.— 


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1 (1) Petitioners may respond in part or in full to 

2 the technical assistance review letter or request, in 

3 writing, that the Assistant Secretary proceed with the 

4 active consideration of the documented petition using 

5 the materials already submitted. 

6 (2) If the petitioner requests that the materials 

7 submitted in response to the technical assistance re8 view letter be again reviewed for adequacy, the Assist9 ant Secretary shall provide the additional review. 

10 (3) If the assertion of previous Federal acknowl11 edgment under section 108 cannot be substantiated 

12 during the technical assistance review, the petitioner 

13 may respond by providing additional evidence. A pe14 titioner that claims previous Federal acknowledgment 

15 and fails to respond to a technical assistance review 

16 letter under this subsection, or whose response fails to 

17 establish the claim, shall have its documented petition 

18 considered on the same basis as documented petitions 

19 submitted by groups not claiming previous Federal 

20 acknowledgment. Petitioners that fail to demonstrate 

21 previous Federal acknowledgment after a review of 

22 materials submitted in response to the technical as23 sistance review shall be so notified. Such petitioners 

24 may submit additional materials concerning previous 


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1 acknowledgment during the course of active consider2 ation. 

3 (d) CONSIDERATION OF DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.— 

4 The Assistant Secretary shall— 

5 (1) review documented petitions in the order that 

6 they are determined ready for review; 

7 (2) establish and maintain a numbered register 

8 of documented petitions which have been determined 

9 ready for active consideration; 

10 (3) maintain a numbered register of letters of in11 tent or incomplete petitions based on the original date 

12 received by the Department of the Interior; and 

13 (4) use the register of letters of intent or incom14 plete petitions to determine the order of review by the 

15 Assistant Secretary if two or more documented peti16 tions are determined ready for review on the same 

17 date. 

18 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after notifying the 

19 petitioner that review of the documented petition has begun, 

20 the Assistant Secretary shall— 

21 (1) submit a report including a summary of the 

22 evidence, findings, petition, and supporting docu23 mentation, to the Committee on Natural Resources of 

24 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

25 Indian Affairs of the Senate; 


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1 (2) notify the petitioner and interested parties 

2 that the review is complete and the report required 

3 under paragraph (1) has been submitted; 

4 (3) provide copies of the report to the petitioner 

5 and interested parties; and 

6 (4) provide copies of the report to informed par7 ties and others upon written request. 

8 SEC. 111. CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION AU9 THORITY. 

10 (a) ACT OF CONGRESS REQUIRED.—An Indian group 

11 may receive Federal acknowledgment (or reacknowledg12 ment) as an Indian tribe only by an Act of Congress. The 

13 Secretary may not grant Federal acknowledgment (or re14 acknowledgment) to any Indian group. 

15 (b) PREVIOUS ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—This title shall 

16 not affect the status of any Indian tribe that was federally 

17 acknowledged before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 112. FORCE AND EFFECT OF REGULATIONS. 

19 Part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, shall 

20 have no force or effect. 


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1 TITLE II—FEDERAL RECOGNI2 TION OF VIRGINIA INDIAN 

3 TRIBES 

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Thomasina E. Jordan 

6 Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 

7 2016’’. 

8 SEC. 202. INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978. 

9 Nothing in this title affects the application of section 

10 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

11 1919). 

12 Subtitle A—Chickahominy Indian 

13 Tribe 

14 SEC. 211. FINDINGS. 

15 Congress finds that— 

16 (1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore 

17 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In18 dian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received 

19 them; 

20 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en21 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 

22 of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 

23 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 

24 to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send 

25 warriors to protect the English; and 


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1 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 

2 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 

3 tribal governance; 

4 (3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the 

5 Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 

6 around the York Mattaponi River in present-day 

7 King William County, leading to the formation of a 

8 reservation; 

9 (4) in 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the 

10 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 

11 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 

12 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from 

13 their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base; 

14 (6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in 

15 Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indi16 ans called Brafferton College; 

17 (7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first In18 dians to attend Brafferton College; 

19 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

20 began to migrate from King William County back to 

21 the area around the Chickahominy River in New 

22 Kent and Charles City Counties; 

23 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 

24 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 

25 a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 


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1 (10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the 

2 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to ap3 pear in the Charles City County census records; 

4 (11) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

5 formed Samaria Baptist Church; 

6 (12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were 

7 assessed a tribal tax so that their children could re8 ceive an education; 

9 (13) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to 

10 build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, 

11 and pay a teacher’s salary; 

12 (14) in 1919, C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public 

13 Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief O.W. 

14 Adkins that he had instructed the Commissioner of 

15 Revenue for Charles City County to record Chicka16 hominy tribal members on the county tax rolls as In17 dian, and not as White or colored; 

18 (15) during the period of 1920 through 1930, 

19 various Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia 

20 wrote letters of introduction for Chickahominy Chiefs 

21 who had official business with Federal agencies in 

22 Washington, DC; 

23 (16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 

24 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af25 fairs, requesting money to acquire land for the ChickVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3764.RH H3764

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1 ahominy Indian Tribe’s use, to build school, medical, 

2 and library facilities and to buy tractors, implements, 

3 and seed; 

4 (17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of In5 dian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.O. 

6 Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the 

7 Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In8 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), 

9 but had not made the appropriation to fund the Act; 

10 (18) in 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 

11 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af12 fairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial des13 ignation on Selective Service records for Chicka14 hominy soldiers; 

15 (19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of In16 dian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of the 

17 Richmond News-Leader newspaper of Richmond, Vir18 ginia, to help Virginia Indians obtain proper racial 

19 designation on birth records; 

20 (20) Collier stated that his office could not offi21 cially intervene because it had no responsibility for 

22 the Virginia Indians, ‘‘as a matter largely of histor23 ical accident’’, but was ‘‘interested in them as de24 scendants of the original inhabitants of the region’’; 


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1 (21) in 1948, the Veterans’ Education Committee 

2 of the Virginia State Board of Education approved 

3 Samaria Indian School to provide training to vet4 erans; 

5 (22) that school was established and run by the 

6 Chickahominy Indian Tribe; 

7 (23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

8 purchased and donated to the Charles City County 

9 School Board land to be used to build a modern 

10 school for students of the Chickahominy and other 

11 Virginia Indian tribes; 

12 (24) the Samaria Indian School included stu13 dents in grades 1 through 8; 

14 (25) in 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of 

15 the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the 

16 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, requested 

17 Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins to provide assist18 ance in analyzing the status of the constitutional 

19 rights of Indians ‘‘in your area’’; 

20 (26) in 1967, the Charles City County school 

21 board closed Samaria Indian School and converted 

22 the school to a countywide primary school as a step 

23 toward full school integration of Indian and non-In24 dian students; 


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1 (27) in 1972, the Charles City County school 

2 board began receiving funds under the Indian Self3 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

4 U.S.C. 458aa et seq.) on behalf of Chickahominy stu5 dents, which funding is provided as of the date of en6 actment of this Act under title V of the Indian Self7 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 458aaa et seq.); 

9 (28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

10 bought land and built a tribal center using monthly 

11 pledges from tribal members to finance the trans12 actions; 

13 (29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

14 was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the 

15 Commonwealth of Virginia, along with 5 other In16 dian tribes; and 

17 (30) in 1985, Governor Gerald Baliles was the 

18 special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day din19 ner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 

20 SEC. 212. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this subtitle: 

22 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem25 ber’’ means— 


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1 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem2 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

3 this Act; and 

4 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

5 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

6 with this subtitle. 

7 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Chick8 ahominy Indian Tribe. 

9 SEC. 213. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

10 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex12 tended to the Tribe. 

13 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ14 ing regulations) of the United States of general appli15 cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 

16 of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

17 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 

18 this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 

19 members. 

20 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en22 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

23 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

24 by the Federal Government to federally recognized InVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3764.RH H3764

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1 dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res2 ervation for the Tribe. 

3 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de4 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv5 ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 

6 comprised of New Kent County, James City County, 

7 Charles City County, and Henrico County, Virginia. 

8 SEC. 214. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

9 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

10 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov11 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

12 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 215. GOVERNING BODY. 

14 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

15 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

16 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

17 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac18 cordance with the election procedures specified in the 

19 governing documents of the Tribe. 

20 SEC. 216. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

22 Secretary of the Interior— 

23 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

24 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac25 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 


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1 such lands are located within the boundaries of New 

2 Kent County, James City County, Charles City Coun3 ty, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 

4 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

5 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 

6 are located within the boundaries of New Kent Coun7 ty, James City County, Charles City County, or 

8 Henrico County, Virginia. 

9 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall make a final written determination not later than 

11 three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

12 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

13 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

14 Tribe. 

15 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 

16 for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 

17 upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva18 tion of the Tribe. 

19 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac20 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

21 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

22 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

23 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

24 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 


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1 SEC. 217. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

2 WATER RIGHTS. 

3 Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 

4 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

5 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 

6 Subtitle B—Chickahominy Indian 

7 Tribe—Eastern Division 

8 SEC. 221. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds that— 

10 (1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore 

11 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In12 dian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received 

13 them; 

14 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en15 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 

16 of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 

17 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 

18 to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send 

19 warriors to protect the English; and 

20 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 

21 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 

22 tribal governance; 

23 (3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the 

24 Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 

25 around the York River in present-day King William 

26 County, leading to the formation of a reservation; 


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1 (4) in 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the 

2 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 

3 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 

4 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from 

5 their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base; 

6 (6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in 

7 Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indi8 ans called Brafferton College; 

9 (7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first In10 dians to attend Brafferton College; 

11 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

12 began to migrate from King William County back to 

13 the area around the Chickahominy River in New 

14 Kent and Charles City Counties; 

15 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 

16 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 

17 a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 

18 (10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the 

19 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to ap20 pear in the Charles City County census records; 

21 (11) in 1870, a census revealed an enclave of In22 dians in New Kent County that is believed to be the 

23 beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East24 ern Division; 


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1 (12) other records were destroyed when the New 

2 Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a State 

3 census as the only record covering that period; 

4 (13) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

5 formed Samaria Baptist Church; 

6 (14) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were 

7 assessed a tribal tax so that their children could re8 ceive an education; 

9 (15) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to 

10 build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, 

11 and pay a teacher’s salary; 

12 (16) in 1910, a 1-room school covering grades 1 

13 through 8 was established in New Kent County for the 

14 Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; 

15 (17) during the period of 1920 through 1921, the 

16 Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division began 

17 forming a tribal government; 

18 (18) E.P. Bradby, the founder of the Tribe, was 

19 elected to be Chief; 

20 (19) in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church 

21 was organized; 

22 (20) in 1925, a certificate of incorporation was 

23 issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern 

24 Division; 


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1 (21) in 1950, the 1-room Indian school in New 

2 Kent County was closed and students were bused to 

3 Samaria Indian School in Charles City County; 

4 (22) in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

5 and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Divi6 sion lost their schools as a result of the required inte7 gration of students; 

8 (23) during the period of 1982 through 1984, 

9 Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanc10 tuary to accommodate church growth; 

11 (24) in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe— 

12 Eastern Division was granted State recognition along 

13 with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes; 

14 (25) in 1985— 

15 (A) the Virginia Council on Indians was 

16 organized as a State agency; and 

17 (B) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East18 ern Division was granted a seat on the Council; 

19 (26) in 1988, a nonprofit organization known as 

20 the ‘‘United Indians of Virginia’’ was formed; and 

21 (27) Chief Marvin ‘‘Strongoak’’ Bradby of the 

22 Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs 

23 the organization. 

24 SEC. 222. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this subtitle: 


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1 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem4 ber’’ means— 

5 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem6 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

7 this Act; and 

8 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

9 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

10 with this subtitle. 

11 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Chick12 ahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division. 

13 SEC. 223. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

14 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex16 tended to the Tribe. 

17 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ18 ing regulations) of the United States of general appli19 cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 

20 of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

21 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 

22 this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 

23 members. 

24 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en2 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

3 shall be eligible for all future services and benefits 

4 provided by the Federal Government to federally rec5 ognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence 

6 of a reservation for the Tribe. 

7 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de8 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv9 ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 

10 comprised of New Kent County, James City County, 

11 Charles City County, and Henrico County, Virginia. 

12 SEC. 224. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

13 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

14 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov15 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

16 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 225. GOVERNING BODY. 

18 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

19 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

20 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

21 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac22 cordance with the election procedures specified in the 

23 governing documents of the Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 226. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

3 Secretary of the Interior— 

4 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

5 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac6 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 

7 such lands are located within the boundaries of New 

8 Kent County, James City County, Charles City Coun9 ty, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 

10 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

11 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 

12 are located within the boundaries of New Kent Coun13 ty, James City County, Charles City County, or 

14 Henrico County, Virginia. 

15 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

16 shall make a final written determination not later than 

17 three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

18 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

19 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

20 Tribe. 

21 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 

22 for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 

23 upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva24 tion of the Tribe. 

25 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac26 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 


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1 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

2 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

3 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

4 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

5 SEC. 227. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

6 WATER RIGHTS. 

7 Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 

8 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

9 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 

10 Subtitle C—Upper Mattaponi Tribe 

11 SEC. 231. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress finds that— 

13 (1) during the period of 1607 through 1646, the 

14 Chickahominy Indian Tribes— 

15 (A) lived approximately 20 miles from 

16 Jamestown; and 

17 (B) were significantly involved in English18 Indian affairs; 

19 (2) Mattaponi Indians, who later joined the 

20 Chickahominy Indians, lived a greater distance from 

21 Jamestown; 

22 (3) in 1646, the Chickahominy Indians moved to 

23 Mattaponi River basin, away from the English; 


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1 (4) in 1661, the Chickahominy Indians sold land 

2 at a place known as ‘‘the cliffs’’ on the Mattaponi 

3 River; 

4 (5) in 1669, the Chickahominy Indians— 

5 (A) appeared in the Virginia Colony’s cen6 sus of Indian bowmen; and 

7 (B) lived in ‘‘New Kent’’ County, which in8 cluded the Mattaponi River basin at that time; 

9 (6) in 1677, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 

10 Indians were subjects of the Queen of Pamunkey, who 

11 was a signatory to the Treaty of 1677 with the King 

12 of England; 

13 (7) in 1683, after a Mattaponi town was at14 tacked by Seneca Indians, the Mattaponi Indians took 

15 refuge with the Chickahominy Indians, and the his16 tory of the 2 groups was intertwined for many years 

17 thereafter; 

18 (8) in 1695, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 

19 Indians— 

20 (A) were assigned a reservation by the Vir21 ginia Colony; and 

22 (B) traded land of the reservation for land 

23 at the place known as ‘‘the cliffs’’ (which, as of 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, is the 


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1 Mattaponi Indian Reservation), which had been 

2 owned by the Mattaponi Indians before 1661; 

3 (9) in 1711, a Chickahominy boy attended the 

4 Indian School at the College of William and Mary; 

5 (10) in 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued 

6 funding of interpreters for the Chickahominy and 

7 Mattaponi Indian Tribes; 

8 (11) James Adams, who served as an interpreter 

9 to the Indian tribes known as of the date of enactment 

10 of this Act as the ‘‘Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe’’ 

11 and ‘‘Chickahominy Indian Tribe’’, elected to stay 

12 with the Upper Mattaponi Indians; 

13 (12) today, a majority of the Upper Mattaponi 

14 Indians have ‘‘Adams’’ as their surname; 

15 (13) in 1787, Thomas Jefferson, in Notes on the 

16 Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned the Mattaponi 

17 Indians on a reservation in King William County 

18 and said that Chickahominy Indians were ‘‘blended’’ 

19 with the Mattaponi Indians and nearby Pamunkey 

20 Indians; 

21 (14) in 1850, the census of the United States re22 vealed a nucleus of approximately 10 families, all an23 cestral to modern Upper Mattaponi Indians, living in 

24 central King William County, Virginia, approxi25 mately 10 miles from the reservation; 


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1 (15) during the period of 1853 through 1884, 

2 King William County marriage records listed Upper 

3 Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’ in marrying people residing 

4 on the reservation; 

5 (16) during the period of 1884 through the 

6 present, county marriage records usually refer to 

7 Upper Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’; 

8 (17) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist James 

9 Mooney heard about the Upper Mattaponi Indians 

10 but did not visit them; 

11 (18) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an12 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on modern 

13 Virginia Indians with a section on the Upper 

14 Mattaponis; 

15 (19) from 1929 until 1930, the leadership of the 

16 Upper Mattaponi Indians opposed the use of a ‘‘col17 ored’’ designation in the 1930 United States census 

18 and won a compromise in which the Indian ancestry 

19 of the Upper Mattaponis was recorded but questioned; 

20 (20) during the period of 1942 through 1945— 

21 (A) the leadership of the Upper Mattaponi 

22 Indians, with the help of Frank Speck and oth23 ers, fought against the induction of young men 

24 of the Tribe into ‘‘colored’’ units in the Armed 

25 Forces of the United States; and 


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1 (B) a tribal roll for the Upper Mattaponi 

2 Indians was compiled; 

3 (21) from 1945 to 1946, negotiations took place 

4 to admit some of the young people of the Upper 

5 Mattaponi to high schools for Federal Indians (espe6 cially at Cherokee) because no high school coursework 

7 was available for Indians in Virginia schools; and 

8 (22) in 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Indians ap9 plied for and won State recognition as an Indian 

10 tribe. 

11 SEC. 232. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this subtitle: 

13 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem16 ber’’ means— 

17 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem18 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

19 this Act; and 

20 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

21 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

22 with this subtitle. 

23 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Upper 

24 Mattaponi Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 233. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

2 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex4 tended to the Tribe. 

5 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ6 ing regulations) of the United States of general appli7 cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 

8 of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

9 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 

10 this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 

11 members. 

12 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en14 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

15 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

16 by the Federal Government to federally recognized In17 dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res18 ervation for the Tribe. 

19 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de20 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv21 ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 

22 within 25 miles of the Sharon Indian School at 

23 13383 King William Road, King William County, 

24 Virginia. 


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1 SEC. 234. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

2 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

3 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov4 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

5 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 235. GOVERNING BODY. 

7 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

8 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

9 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

10 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac11 cordance with the election procedures specified in the 

12 governing documents of the Tribe. 

13 SEC. 236. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

15 Secretary of the Interior— 

16 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

17 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac18 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 

19 such lands are located within the boundaries of King 

20 William County, Caroline County, Hanover County, 

21 King and Queen County, and New Kent County, Vir22 ginia; and 

23 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

24 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 

25 are located within the boundaries of King William 


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1 County, Caroline County, Hanover County, King and 

2 Queen County, and New Kent County, Virginia. 

3 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

4 shall make a final written determination not later than 

5 three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

6 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

7 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

8 Tribe. 

9 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 

10 for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 

11 upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva12 tion of the Tribe. 

13 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac14 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

15 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

16 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

17 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

18 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

19 SEC. 237. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

20 WATER RIGHTS. 

21 Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 

22 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

23 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 


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1 Subtitle D—Rappahannock Tribe, 

2 Inc. 

3 SEC. 241. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) during the initial months after Virginia was 

6 settled, the Rappahannock Indians had 3 encounters 

7 with Captain John Smith; 

8 (2) the first encounter occurred when the Rappa9 hannock weroance (headman)— 

10 (A) traveled to Quiyocohannock (a prin11 cipal town across the James River from James12 town), where he met with Smith to determine 

13 whether Smith had been the ‘‘great man’’ who 

14 had previously sailed into the Rappahannock 

15 River, killed a Rappahannock weroance, and 

16 kidnapped Rappahannock people; and 

17 (B) determined that Smith was too short to 

18 be that ‘‘great man’’; 

19 (3) on a second meeting, during John Smith’s 

20 captivity (December 16, 1607, to January 8, 1608), 

21 Smith was taken to the Rappahannock principal vil22 lage to show the people that Smith was not the ‘‘great 

23 man’’; 

24 (4) a third meeting took place during Smith’s 

25 exploration of the Chesapeake Bay (July to September 


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1 1608), when, after the Moraughtacund Indians had 

2 stolen 3 women from the Rappahannock King, Smith 

3 was prevailed upon to facilitate a peaceful truce be4 tween the Rappahannock and the Moraughtacund In5 dians; 

6 (5) in the settlement, Smith had the 2 Indian 

7 tribes meet on the spot of their first fight; 

8 (6) when it was established that both groups 

9 wanted peace, Smith told the Rappahannock King to 

10 select which of the 3 stolen women he wanted; 

11 (7) the Moraughtacund King was given second 

12 choice among the 2 remaining women, and Mosco, a 

13 Wighcocomoco (on the Potomac River) guide, was 

14 given the third woman; 

15 (8) in 1645, Captain William Claiborne tried 

16 unsuccessfully to establish treaty relations with the 

17 Rappahannocks, as the Rappahannocks had not par18 ticipated in the Pamunkey-led uprising in 1644, and 

19 the English wanted to ‘‘treat with the Rappahannocks 

20 or any other Indians not in amity with 

21 Opechancanough, concerning serving the county 

22 against the Pamunkeys’’; 

23 (9) in April 1651, the Rappahannocks conveyed 

24 a tract of land to an English settler, Colonel Morre 

25 Fauntleroy; 


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1 (10) the deed for the conveyance was signed by 

2 Accopatough, weroance of the Rappahannock Indians; 

3 (11) in September 1653, Lancaster County 

4 signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indians, the 

5 terms of which treaty— 

6 (A) gave Rappahannocks the rights of Eng7 lishmen in the county court; and 

8 (B) attempted to make the Rappahannocks 

9 more accountable under English law; 

10 (12) in September 1653, Lancaster County de11 fined and marked the bounds of its Indian settle12 ments; 

13 (13) according to the Lancaster clerk of court, 

14 ‘‘the tribe called the great Rappahannocks lived on 

15 the Rappahannock Creek just across the river above 

16 Tappahannock’’; 

17 (14) in September 1656, (Old) Rappahannock 

18 County (which, as of the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, is comprised of Richmond and Essex Counties, 

20 Virginia) signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indi21 ans that— 

22 (A) mirrored the Lancaster County treaty 

23 from 1653; and 

24 (B) stated that— 


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1 (i) Rappahannocks were to be re2 warded, in Roanoke, for returning English 

3 fugitives; and 

4 (ii) the English encouraged the 

5 Rappahannocks to send their children to 

6 live among the English as servants, who the 

7 English promised would be well-treated; 

8 (15) in 1658, the Virginia Assembly revised a 

9 1652 Act stating that ‘‘there be no grants of land to 

10 any Englishman whatsoever de futuro until the Indi11 ans be first served with the proportion of 50 acres of 

12 land for each bowman’’; 

13 (16) in 1669, the colony conducted a census of 

14 Virginia Indians; 

15 (17) as of the date of that census— 

16 (A) the majority of the Rappahannocks 

17 were residing at their hunting village on the 

18 north side of the Mattaponi River; and 

19 (B) at the time of the visit, census-takers 

20 were counting only the Indian tribes along the 

21 rivers, which explains why only 30 Rappahan22 nock bowmen were counted on that river; 

23 (18) the Rappahannocks used the hunting village 

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1 mary residence until the Rappahannocks were re2 moved in 1684; 

3 (19) in May 1677, the Treaty of Middle Planta4 tion was signed with England; 

5 (20) the Pamunkey Queen Cockacoeske signed on 

6 behalf of the Rappahannocks, ‘‘who were supposed to 

7 be her tributaries’’, but before the treaty could be rati8 fied, the Queen of Pamunkey complained to the Vir9 ginia Colonial Council ‘‘that she was having trouble 

10 with Rappahannocks and Chickahominies, supposedly 

11 tributaries of hers’’; 

12 (21) in November 1682, the Virginia Colonial 

13 Council established a reservation for the Rappahan14 nock Indians of 3,474 acres ‘‘about the town where 

15 they dwelt’’; 

16 (22) the Rappahannock ‘‘town’’ was the hunting 

17 village on the north side of the Mattaponi River, 

18 where the Rappahannocks had lived throughout the 

19 1670s; 

20 (23) the acreage allotment of the reservation was 

21 based on the 1658 Indian land act, which translates 

22 into a bowman population of 70, or an approximate 

23 total Rappahannock population of 350; 

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1 ginia Colonial Council ordered the Rappahannocks to 

2 leave their reservation and unite with the Nanzatico 

3 Indians at Nanzatico Indian Town, which was lo4 cated across and up the Rappahannock River some 30 

5 miles; 

6 (25) between 1687 and 1699, the Rappahannocks 

7 migrated out of Nanzatico, returning to the south side 

8 of the Rappahannock River at Portobacco Indian 

9 Town; 

10 (26) in 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieuten11 ant Richard Covington ‘‘escorted’’ the Portobaccos 

12 and Rappahannocks out of Portobacco Indian Town, 

13 out of Essex County, and into King and Queen Coun14 ty where they settled along the ridgeline between the 

15 Rappahannock and Mattaponi Rivers, the site of 

16 their ancient hunting village and 1682 reservation; 

17 (27) during the 1760s, 3 Rappahannock girls 

18 were raised on Thomas Nelson’s Bleak Hill Planta19 tion in King William County; 

20 (28) of those girls— 

21 (A) one married a Saunders man; 

22 (B) one married a Johnson man; and 

23 (C) one had 2 children, Edmund and Car24 ter Nelson, fathered by Thomas Cary Nelson; 


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1 (29) in the 19th century, those Saunders, John2 son, and Nelson families are among the core Rappa3 hannock families from which the modern Tribe traces 

4 its descent; 

5 (30) in 1819 and 1820, Edward Bird, John Bird 

6 (and his wife), Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson, and 

7 Carter Spurlock (all Rappahannock ancestors) were 

8 listed on the tax roles of King and Queen County and 

9 taxed at the county poor rate; 

10 (31) Edmund Bird was added to the tax roles in 

11 1821; 

12 (32) those tax records are significant documenta13 tion because the great majority of pre-1864 records for 

14 King and Queen County were destroyed by fire; 

15 (33) beginning in 1819, and continuing through 

16 the 1880s, there was a solid Rappahannock presence 

17 in the membership at Upper Essex Baptist Church; 

18 (34) that was the first instance of conversion to 

19 Christianity by at least some Rappahannock Indians; 

20 (35) while twenty-six identifiable and traceable 

21 Rappahannock surnames appear on the pre-1863 

22 membership list, and twenty-eight were listed on the 

23 1863 membership roster, the number of surnames list24 ed had declined to twelve in 1878 and had risen only 

25 slightly to fourteen by 1888; 


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1 (36) a reason for the decline is that in 1870, a 

2 Methodist circuit rider, Joseph Mastin, secured funds 

3 to purchase land and construct St. Stephens Baptist 

4 Church for the Rappahannocks living nearby in Caro5 line County; 

6 (37) Mastin referred to the Rappahannocks dur7 ing the period of 1850 to 1870 as ‘‘Indians, having 

8 a great need for moral and Christian guidance’’; 

9 (38) St. Stephens was the dominant tribal 

10 church until the Rappahannock Indian Baptist 

11 Church was established in 1964; 

12 (39) at both churches, the core Rappahannock 

13 family names of Bird, Clarke, Fortune, Johnson, Nel14 son, Parker, and Richardson predominate; 

15 (40) during the early 1900s, James Mooney, 

16 noted anthropologist, maintained correspondence with 

17 the Rappahannocks, surveying them and instructing 

18 them on how to formalize their tribal government; 

19 (41) in November 1920, Speck visited the 

20 Rappahannocks and assisted them in organizing the 

21 fight for their sovereign rights; 

22 (42) in 1921, the Rappahannocks were granted 

23 a charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia for24 malizing their tribal government; 


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1 (43) Speck began a professional relationship 

2 with the Tribe that would last more than 30 years 

3 and document Rappahannock history and traditions 

4 as never before; 

5 (44) in April 1921, Rappahannock Chief George 

6 Nelson asked the Governor of Virginia, Westmoreland 

7 Davis, to forward a proclamation to the President of 

8 the United States, along with an appended list of 

9 tribal members and a handwritten copy of the procla10 mation itself; 

11 (45) the letter concerned Indian freedom of 

12 speech and assembly nationwide; 

13 (46) in 1922, the Rappahannocks established a 

14 formal school at Lloyds, Essex County, Virginia; 

15 (47) prior to establishment of the school, Rappa16 hannock children were taught by a tribal member in 

17 Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia; 

18 (48) in December 1923, Rappahannock Chief 

19 George Nelson testified before Congress appealing for 

20 a $50,000 appropriation to establish an Indian school 

21 in Virginia; 

22 (49) in 1930, the Rappahannocks were engaged 

23 in an ongoing dispute with the Commonwealth of Vir24 ginia and the United States Census Bureau about 

25 their classification in the 1930 Federal census; 


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1 (50) in January 1930, Rappahannock Chief 

2 Otho S. Nelson wrote to Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat3 istician of the United States Census Bureau, asking 

4 that the 218 enrolled Rappahannocks be listed as In5 dians; 

6 (51) in February 1930, Truesdell replied to Nel7 son saying that ‘‘special instructions’’ were being 

8 given about classifying Indians; 

9 (52) in April 1930, Nelson wrote to William M. 

10 Steuart at the Census Bureau asking about the enu11 merators’ failure to classify his people as Indians, 

12 saying that enumerators had not asked the question 

13 about race when they interviewed his people; 

14 (53) in a followup letter to Truesdell, Nelson re15 ported that the enumerators were ‘‘flatly denying’’ his 

16 people’s request to be listed as Indians and that the 

17 race question was completely avoided during inter18 views; 

19 (54) the Rappahannocks had spoken with Caro20 line and Essex County enumerators, and with John 

21 M.W. Green at that point, without success; 

22 (55) Nelson asked Truesdell to list people as In23 dians if he sent a list of members; 

24 (56) the matter was settled by William Steuart, 

25 who concluded that the Bureau’s rule was that people 


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1 of Indian descent could be classified as ‘‘Indian’’ only 

2 if Indian ‘‘blood’’ predominated and ‘‘Indian’’ iden3 tity was accepted in the local community; 

4 (57) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau classed 

5 all nonreservation Indians as ‘‘Negro’’, and it failed 

6 to see why ‘‘an exception should be made’’ for the 

7 Rappahannocks; 

8 (58) therefore, in 1925, the Indian Rights Asso9 ciation took on the Rappahannock case to assist the 

10 Rappahannocks in fighting for their recognition and 

11 rights as an Indian tribe; 

12 (59) during the Second World War, the 

13 Pamunkeys, Mattaponis, Chickahominies, and Rap14 pahannocks had to fight the draft boards with respect 

15 to their racial identities; 

16 (60) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau in17 sisted that certain Indian draftees be inducted into 

18 Negro units; 

19 (61) finally, 3 Rappahannocks were convicted of 

20 violating the Federal draft laws and, after spending 

21 time in a Federal prison, were granted conscientious 

22 objector status and served out the remainder of the 

23 war working in military hospitals; 

24 (62) in 1943, Frank Speck noted that there were 

25 approximately 25 communities of Indians left in the 


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1 Eastern United States that were entitled to Indian 

2 classification, including the Rappahannocks; 

3 (63) in the 1940s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Statisti4 cian, of the United States Census Bureau, listed 118 

5 members in the Rappahannock Tribe in the Indian 

6 population of Virginia; 

7 (64) on April 25, 1940, the Office of Indian Af8 fairs of the Department of the Interior included the 

9 Rappahannocks on a list of Indian tribes classified by 

10 State and by agency; 

11 (65) in 1948, the Smithsonian Institution An12 nual Report included an article by William Harlen 

13 Gilbert entitled, ‘‘Surviving Indian Groups of the 

14 Eastern United States’’, which included and described 

15 the Rappahannock Tribe; 

16 (66) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the 

17 Rappahannocks operated a school at Indian Neck; 

18 (67) the State agreed to pay a tribal teacher to 

19 teach 10 students bused by King and Queen County 

20 to Sharon Indian School in King William County, 

21 Virginia; 

22 (68) in 1965, Rappahannock students entered 

23 Marriott High School (a White public school) by exec24 utive order of the Governor of Virginia; 


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1 (69) in 1972, the Rappahannocks worked with 

2 the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans to fight for 

3 Federal recognition; 

4 (70) in 1979, the Coalition established a pottery 

5 and artisans company, operating with other Virginia 

6 tribes; 

7 (71) in 1980, the Rappahannocks received fund8 ing through the Administration for Native Americans 

9 of the Department of Health and Human Services to 

10 develop an economic program for the Tribe; and 

11 (72) in 1983, the Rappahannocks received State 

12 recognition as an Indian tribe. 

13 SEC. 242. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this subtitle: 

15 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem18 ber’’ means— 

19 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem20 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

21 this Act; and 

22 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

23 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

24 with this subtitle. 

25 (3) TRIBE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means 

2 the organization possessing the legal name Rap3 pahannock Tribe, Inc. 

4 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ does 

5 not include any other Indian tribe, subtribe, 

6 band, or splinter group the members of which 

7 represent themselves as Rappahannock Indians. 

8 SEC. 243. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

9 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex11 tended to the Tribe. 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ13 ing regulations) of the United States of general appli14 cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 

15 of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 

17 this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 

18 members. 

19 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en21 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

22 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

23 by the Federal Government to federally recognized In24 dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res25 ervation for the Tribe. 


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1 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de2 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv3 ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 

4 comprised of King and Queen County, Caroline 

5 County, Essex County, and King William County, 

6 Virginia. 

7 SEC. 244. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

8 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

9 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov10 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

11 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 245. GOVERNING BODY. 

13 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

14 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

15 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

16 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac17 cordance with the election procedures specified in the 

18 governing documents of the Tribe. 

19 SEC. 246. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

21 Secretary of the Interior— 

22 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

23 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac24 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 

25 such lands are located within the boundaries of King 


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1 and Queen County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania 

2 County, Richmond County, Essex County, and Caro3 line County, Virginia; and 

4 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

5 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 

6 are located within the boundaries of King and Queen 

7 County, Richmond County, Lancaster County, King 

8 George County, Essex County, Caroline County, New 

9 Kent County, King William County, and James City 

10 County, Virginia. 

11 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

12 shall make a final written determination not later than 

13 three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

14 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

15 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

16 Tribe. 

17 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 

18 for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 

19 upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva20 tion of the Tribe. 

21 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac22 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

23 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

24 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 


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1 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

2 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

3 SEC. 247. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

4 WATER RIGHTS. 

5 Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 

6 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

7 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 

8 Subtitle E—Monacan Indian 

9 Nation 

10 SEC. 251. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds that— 

12 (1) in 1677, the Monacan Tribe signed the Trea13 ty of Middle Plantation between Charles II of Eng14 land and 12 Indian ‘‘Kings and Chief Men’’; 

15 (2) in 1722, in the Treaty of Albany, Governor 

16 Spotswood negotiated to save the Virginia Indians 

17 from extinction at the hands of the Iroquois; 

18 (3) specifically mentioned in the negotiations 

19 were the Monacan tribes of the Totero (Tutelo), 

20 Saponi, Ocheneeches (Occaneechi), Stengenocks, and 

21 Meipontskys; 

22 (4) in 1790, the first national census recorded 

23 Benjamin Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors of 

24 the present Monacan community, listed as ‘‘white’’ 

25 with mulatto children; 


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1 (5) in 1782, tax records also began for those fam2 ilies; 

3 (6) in 1850, the United States census recorded 

4 29 families, mostly large, with Monacan surnames, 

5 the members of which are genealogically related to the 

6 present community; 

7 (7) in 1870, a log structure was built at the 

8 Bear Mountain Indian Mission; 

9 (8) in 1908, the structure became an Episcopal 

10 Mission and, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 the structure is listed as a landmark on the National 

12 Register of Historic Places; 

13 (9) in 1920, 304 Amherst Indians were identi14 fied in the United States census; 

15 (10) from 1930 through 1931, numerous letters 

16 from Monacans to the Bureau of the Census resulted 

17 from the decision of Dr. Walter Plecker, former head 

18 of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Commonwealth 

19 of Virginia, not to allow Indians to register as Indi20 ans for the 1930 census; 

21 (11) the Monacans eventually succeeded in being 

22 allowed to claim their race, albeit with an asterisk at23 tached to a note from Dr. Plecker stating that there 

24 were no Indians in Virginia; 


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1 (12) in 1947, D’Arcy McNickle, a Salish Indian, 

2 saw some of the children at the Amherst Mission and 

3 requested that the Cherokee Agency visit them because 

4 they appeared to be Indian; 

5 (13) that letter was forwarded to the Department 

6 of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Chicago, Illi7 nois; 

8 (14) Chief Jarrett Blythe of the Eastern Band of 

9 Cherokee did visit the Mission and wrote that he 

10 ‘‘would be willing to accept these children in the 

11 Cherokee school’’; 

12 (15) in 1979, a Federal Coalition of Eastern Na13 tive Americans established the entity known as ‘‘Mon14 acan Co-operative Pottery’’ at the Amherst Mission; 

15 (16) some important pieces were produced at 

16 Monacan Co-operative Pottery, including a piece that 

17 was sold to the Smithsonian Institution; 

18 (17) the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan Consor19 tium, established in 1981, has since been organized as 

20 a nonprofit corporation that serves as a vehicle to ob21 tain funds for those Indian tribes from the Depart22 ment of Labor under Native American programs; 

23 (18) in 1989, the Monacan Tribe was recognized 

24 by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which enabled the 


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1 Tribe to apply for grants and participate in other 

2 programs; and 

3 (19) in 1993, the Monacan Tribe received tax-ex4 empt status as a nonprofit corporation from the In5 ternal Revenue Service. 

6 SEC. 252. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this subtitle: 

8 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem11 ber’’ means— 

12 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem13 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

14 this Act; and 

15 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

16 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

17 with this subtitle. 

18 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Mona19 can Indian Nation. 

20 SEC. 253. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

21 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex23 tended to the Tribe. 

24 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ25 ing regulations) of the United States of general appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3764.RH H3764

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1 cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 

2 of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

3 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 

4 this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 

5 members. 

6 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en8 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

9 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

10 by the Federal Government to federally recognized In11 dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res12 ervation for the Tribe. 

13 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de14 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv15 ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 

16 comprised of all land within 25 miles from the center 

17 of Amherst, Virginia. 

18 SEC. 254. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

19 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

20 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov21 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

22 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 255. GOVERNING BODY. 

24 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 


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1 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

2 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

3 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac4 cordance with the election procedures specified in the 

5 governing documents of the Tribe. 

6 SEC. 256. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

8 Secretary of the Interior— 

9 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

10 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac11 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 

12 such lands are located within the boundaries of Am13 herst County, Virginia; and 

14 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

15 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 

16 are located within the boundaries of Amherst County, 

17 Virginia, and those parcels in Rockbridge County, 

18 Virginia (subject to the consent of the local unit of 

19 government), owned by Mr. J. Poole, described as 

20 East 731 Sandbridge (encompassing approximately 

21 4.74 acres) and East 731 (encompassing approxi22 mately 5.12 acres). 

23 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

24 shall make a final written determination not later than 

25 three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 


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1 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

2 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

3 Tribe. 

4 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 

5 for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 

6 upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva7 tion of the Tribe. 

8 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac9 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

10 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

11 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

12 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

13 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

14 SEC. 257. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

15 WATER RIGHTS. 

16 Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 

17 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

18 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 

19 Subtitle F—Nansemond Indian 

20 Tribe 

21 SEC. 261. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress finds that— 

23 (1) from 1607 until 1646, Nansemond Indians— 

24 (A) lived approximately 30 miles from 

25 Jamestown; and 


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1 (B) were significantly involved in English2 Indian affairs; 

3 (2) after 1646, there were 2 sections of 

4 Nansemonds in communication with each other, the 

5 Christianized Nansemonds in Norfolk County, who 

6 lived as citizens, and the traditionalist Nansemonds, 

7 who lived further west; 

8 (3) in 1638, according to an entry in a 17th cen9 tury sermon book still owned by the Chief’s family, a 

10 Norfolk County Englishman married a Nansemond 

11 woman; 

12 (4) that man and woman are lineal ancestors of 

13 all of members of the Nansemond Indian tribe alive 

14 as of the date of enactment of this Act, as are some 

15 of the traditionalist Nansemonds; 

16 (5) in 1669, the 2 Nansemond sections appeared 

17 in Virginia Colony’s census of Indian bowmen; 

18 (6) in 1677, Nansemond Indians were signato19 ries to the Treaty of 1677 with the King of England; 

20 (7) in 1700 and 1704, the Nansemonds and other 

21 Virginia Indian tribes were prevented by Virginia 

22 Colony from making a separate peace with the Iro23 quois; 

24 (8) Virginia represented those Indian tribes in 

25 the final Treaty of Albany, 1722; 


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1 (9) in 1711, a Nansemond boy attended the In2 dian School at the College of William and Mary; 

3 (10) in 1727, Norfolk County granted William 

4 Bass and his kinsmen the ‘‘Indian privileges’’ of 

5 clearing swamp land and bearing arms (which privi6 leges were forbidden to other non-Whites) because of 

7 their Nansemond ancestry, which meant that Bass 

8 and his kinsmen were original inhabitants of that 

9 land; 

10 (11) in 1742, Norfolk County issued a certificate 

11 of Nansemond descent to William Bass; 

12 (12) from the 1740s to the 1790s, the tradition13 alist section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles west of 

14 the Christianized Nansemonds, was dealing with res15 ervation land; 

16 (13) the last surviving members of that section 

17 sold out in 1792 with the permission of the Common18 wealth of Virginia; 

19 (14) in 1797, Norfolk County issued a certificate 

20 stating that William Bass was of Indian and English 

21 descent, and that his Indian line of ancestry ran di22 rectly back to the early 18th century elder in a tradi23 tionalist section of Nansemonds on the reservation; 


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1 (15) in 1833, Virginia enacted a law enabling 

2 people of European and Indian descent to obtain a 

3 special certificate of ancestry; 

4 (16) the law originated from the county in which 

5 Nansemonds lived, and mostly Nansemonds, with a 

6 few people from other counties, took advantage of the 

7 new law; 

8 (17) a Methodist mission established around 

9 1850 for Nansemonds is currently a standard Meth10 odist congregation with Nansemond members; 

11 (18) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist James 

12 Mooney— 

13 (A) visited the Nansemonds; and 

14 (B) completed a tribal census that counted 

15 61 households and was later published; 

16 (19) in 1922, Nansemonds were given a special 

17 Indian school in the segregated school system of Nor18 folk County; 

19 (20) the school survived only a few years; 

20 (21) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an21 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on modern 

22 Virginia Indians that included a section on the 

23 Nansemonds; and 


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1 (22) the Nansemonds were organized formally, 

2 with elected officers, in 1984, and later applied for 

3 and received State recognition. 

4 SEC. 262. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this subtitle: 

6 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem9 ber’’ means— 

10 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem11 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

12 this Act; and 

13 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

14 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

15 with this subtitle. 

16 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

17 Nansemond Indian Tribe. 

18 SEC. 263. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

19 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex21 tended to the Tribe. 

22 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ23 ing regulations) of the United States of general appli24 cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 

25 of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 


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1 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 

2 this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 

3 members. 

4 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en6 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

7 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

8 by the Federal Government to federally recognized In9 dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res10 ervation for the Tribe. 

11 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de12 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv13 ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 

14 comprised of the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, New15 port News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia 

16 Beach, Virginia. 

17 SEC. 264. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

18 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

19 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov20 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

21 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 265. GOVERNING BODY. 

23 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

24 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

25 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 


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1 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac2 cordance with the election procedures specified in the 

3 governing documents of the Tribe. 

4 SEC. 266. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

6 Secretary of the Interior— 

7 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

8 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac9 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 

10 such lands are located within the boundaries of the 

11 city of Suffolk, the city of Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight 

12 County, Virginia; and 

13 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

14 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 

15 are located within the boundaries of the city of Suf16 folk, the city of Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight County, 

17 Virginia. 

18 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

19 shall make a final written determination not later than 

20 three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

21 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

22 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

23 Tribe. 

24 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 

25 for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 


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1 upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva2 tion of the Tribe. 

3 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac4 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

5 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

6 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

7 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

8 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

9 SEC. 267. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

10 WATER RIGHTS. 

11 Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 

12 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

13 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 

14 TITLE III—LITTLE SHELL TRIBE 

15 OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS 

16 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Little Shell Tribe of 

18 Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2016’’. 

19 SEC. 302. FINDINGS. 

20 Congress finds that— 

21 (1) the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians is 

22 a political successor to signatories of the Pembina 

23 Treaty of 1863, under which a large area of land in 

24 the State of North Dakota was ceded to the United 

25 States; 


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1 (2) the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of 

2 North Dakota and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the 

3 Rocky Boy’s Reservation of Montana, which also are 

4 political successors to the signatories of the Pembina 

5 Treaty of 1863, have been recognized by the Federal 

6 Government as distinct Indian tribes; 

7 (3) the members of the Little Shell Tribe con8 tinue to live in the State of Montana, as their ances9 tors have for more than 100 years since ceding land 

10 in the State of North Dakota as described in para11 graph (1); 

12 (4) in the 1930s and 1940s, the Tribe repeatedly 

13 petitioned the Federal Government for reorganization 

14 under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et 

15 seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganiza16 tion Act’’); 

17 (5) Federal agents who visited the Tribe and 

18 Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier attested 

19 to the responsibility of the Federal Government for the 

20 Tribe and members of the Tribe, concluding that 

21 members of the Tribe are eligible for, and should be 

22 provided with, trust land, making the Tribe eligible 

23 for reorganization under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

24 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

25 Reorganization Act’’); 


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1 (6) due to a lack of Federal appropriations dur2 ing the Depression, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

3 lacked adequate financial resources to purchase land 

4 for the Tribe, and the members of the Tribe were de5 nied the opportunity to reorganize; 

6 (7) in spite of the failure of the Federal Govern7 ment to appropriate adequate funding to secure land 

8 for the Tribe as required for reorganization under the 

9 Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (com10 monly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), 

11 the Tribe continued to exist as a separate community, 

12 with leaders exhibiting clear political authority; 

13 (8) the Tribe, together with the Turtle Mountain 

14 Band of Chippewa of North Dakota and the Chip15 pewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation of 

16 Montana, filed 2 lawsuits under the Act of August 13, 

17 1946 (60 Stat. 1049) (commonly known as the ‘‘In18 dian Claims Commission Act’’), to petition for addi19 tional compensation for land ceded to the United 

20 States under the Pembina Treaty of 1863 and the 

21 McCumber Agreement of 1892; 

22 (9) in 1971 and 1982, pursuant to Acts of Con23 gress, the tribes received awards for the claims de24 scribed in paragraph (8); 


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1 (10) in 1978, the Tribe submitted to the Bureau 

2 of Indian Affairs a petition for Federal recognition, 

3 which is still pending as of the date of enactment of 

4 this Act; and 

5 (11) the Federal Government, the State of Mon6 tana, and the other federally recognized Indian tribes 

7 of the State have had continuous dealings with the 

8 recognized political leaders of the Tribe since the 

9 1930s. 

10 SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this title: 

12 (1) MEMBER.—The term ‘‘member’’ means an 

13 individual who is enrolled in the Tribe pursuant to 

14 section 307. 

15 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Little 

18 Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. 

19 SEC. 304. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is extended to 

21 the Tribe. 

22 (b) EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS.—Except as otherwise 

23 provided in this title, all Federal laws (including regula24 tions) of general application to Indians and Indian tribes, 

25 including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) 


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1 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), 

2 shall apply to the Tribe and members. 

3 SEC. 305. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Tribe and each member shall be eligible for 

6 all services and benefits provided by the United States to 

7 Indians and federally recognized Indian tribes, without re8 gard to— 

9 (1) the existence of a reservation for the Tribe; 

10 or 

11 (2) the location of the residence of any member 

12 on or near an Indian reservation. 

13 (b) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the delivery of 

14 services and benefits to members, the service area of the 

15 Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of Blaine, 

16 Cascade, Glacier, and Hill Counties in the State of Mon17 tana. 

18 SEC. 306. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this title diminishes 

20 any right or privilege of the Tribe or any member that ex21 isted before the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 (b) CLAIMS OF TRIBE.—Except as otherwise provided 

23 in this title, nothing in this title alters or affects any legal 

24 or equitable claim of the Tribe to enforce any right or privi25 lege reserved by, or granted to, the Tribe that was wrongVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3764.RH H3764

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1 fully denied to, or taken from, the Tribe before the date of 

2 enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 307. MEMBERSHIP ROLL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving recogni5 tion, services, and benefits pursuant to this title, the Tribe 

6 shall submit to the Secretary, by not later than 18 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, a membership roll 

8 consisting of the name of each individual enrolled as a 

9 member of the Tribe. 

10 (b) DETERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—The quali11 fications for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe 

12 shall be determined in accordance with sections 1 through 

13 3 of article 5 of the constitution of the Tribe dated Sep14 tember 10, 1977 (including amendments to the constitu15 tion). 

16 (c) MAINTENANCE OF ROLL.—The Tribe shall main17 tain the membership roll under this section. 

18 SEC. 308. TRANSFER OF LAND. 

19 (a) HOMELAND.—The Secretary shall acquire, for the 

20 benefit of the Tribe, trust title to 200 acres of land within 

21 the service area of the Tribe to be used for a tribal land 

22 base. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL LAND.—The Secretary may acquire 

24 additional land for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to secVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3764.RH H3764

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1 tion 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 465) (com2 monly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’). 


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Union Calendar No. 663 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3764 

[Report No. 114–847] 

A BILL 

To provide that an Indian group may receive Fedan Act of Congress, and for other purposes. eral acknowledgment as an Indian tribe only by 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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