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S. HRG. 109–576

THE THOMASINA JORDAN INDIAN TRIBES OF

VIRGINIA FEDERAL RECOGNITION ACT AND

THE GRAND RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS

OF MICHIGAN REFERRAL ACT

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

S. 437

TO EXPEDITE REVIEW OF THE GRAND RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS OF MICHIGAN TO SECURE A TIMELY AND JUST DETERMINATION

OF WHETHER THAT GROUP IS ENTITLED TO RECOGNITION AS A FEDERAL INDIAN TRIBE

S. 480

TO EXTEND FEDERAL RECOGNITION TO THE CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN

TRIBE, THE CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE—EASTERN DIVISION, THE

UPPER MATTAPONI TRIBE, THE RAPPAHANNOCK TRIBE, INC., THE

MONACAN INDIAN NATION, AND THE NANSEMOND INDIAN TRIBE

JUNE 21, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC

(
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, Chairman

BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota, Vice Chairman

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico

CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming

GORDON SMITH, Oregon

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska

MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina

TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington

JOHN TAHSUDA, III, Majority Staff Director

SARA G. GARLAND, Minority Staff Director

(II)
(III)

C O N T E N T S

Page

S. 437 and S. 480, text of ........................................................................................ 3

Statements:

Adkins, Stephen R., chief, Cickahominy Indian Tribe, Charles City, VA ... 86

Allen, Hon. George, U.S. Senator from Virginia ............................................ 72

Comp, Fran, vice chairman, Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians,

Grand Rapids, MI ......................................................................................... 91

Dorgan, Byron L., U.S. Senator from North Dakota, vice chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs ............................................................................... 78

Fleming, Lee, director, Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Department

of the Interior, Washington, DC .................................................................. 79

Levin, Hon. Carl, U.S. Senator from Michigan .............................................. 70

McCain, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Arizona, chairman, Committee

on Indian Affairs ........................................................................................... 1

Moran, Hon. James P., U.S. Representative from Virginia .......................... 75

O’Conner, Michael, president, Virginia Petroleum, Convenience and Grocery Association, Richmond, VA .................................................................. 94

Rountree, Helen, professor emerita of anthropology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA ...................................................................................... 89

Warner, Hon. John W., U.S. Senator from Virginia ...................................... 77

Willerup, David, pastor, Westwood Reform Church, Muskegon, MI ............ 93

Yob, Ron, chairman, Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, Grand Rapids, MI ............................................................................................................ 91

APPENDIX

Prepared statements:

Adkins, Stephen R.(with attachment) ............................................................. 101

Allen, Hon. George, U.S. Senator from Virginia (with attachment) ............ 105

Barton, Rev. Jonathan M., general minister, Virginia Council of Churches

(with attachment) ......................................................................................... 121

Fleming, Lee ..................................................................................................... 124

O’Conner, Michael ............................................................................................ 127

Rountree, Helen (with attachment) ................................................................ 131

Warner, Hon. John W., U.S. Senator from Virginia ......................................

Willerup, David (with attachment) ................................................................. 152

Yob, Ron (with attachment) ............................................................................. 167

Additional material submitted for the record:

Kildee, Hon. Dale E., U.S. Representative from Michigan letter to Hon.

Peter Hoekstra, U.S. Representative from Michigan ................................. 221

(1)

THE THOMASINA E. JORDAN INDIAN TRIBES

OF VIRGINIA FEDERAL RECOGNITION ACT

AND THE GRAND RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA

INDIANS OF MICHIGAN REFERRAL ACT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2006

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC.

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m. in room 485,

Senate Russell Office Building, Hon. John McCain (chairman of the

committee) presiding.

Present: Senators McCain, Dorgan, and Thomas

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN MCCAIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM

ARIZONA, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

The CHAIRMAN. Good morning. We are here today to receive testimony on two bills, S. 437, the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan Referral Act, and S. 480, the Thomasina E. Jordan

Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2005.

These bills, if enacted, would allow the mentioned Indian groups

to bypass the Department of the Interior Federal acknowledgement

process regulations. According to a status report sent to the committee by the DOI Office of Federal Acknowledgement, each of the

groups listed in the bills have submitted petitions for recognition

through the DOI regulations.

The solemnity of Federal recognition which establishes a government-to-government relationship between the United States and an

Indian tribe demands not only a fair and transparent process but

a process that is above reproach. And, while the relationship established is Federal, the impacts are felt locally, as well, as has been

reported to this Committee by States attorneys general and local

communities.

Hearings held by this committee in the past have indicated that

the regulatory process, although well intentioned, can be criticized

as too slow, too costly, and too opaque. Recognition by legislation,

on the other hand, has been justly criticized for being too summary

and arbitrary. Therefore, it is Congress’ responsibility to ensure

that the decision whether to extend recognition to an Indian group

be conducted in a fair and transparent fashion, in keeping with the

gravity of that decision.

It has long been my view that Congress is ill equipped to conduct

the rigorous review needed to provide the basis for such a decision.
2

It is also my view that is substantively unfair to provide a legislative path short-circuiting the process for some tribes while others

labor for years to get through the regulations. On the other hand,

there are, from time to time, extenuating circumstances for particular Indian groups that require Congressional resolution, and I have

supported legislation in those circumstances.

The witnesses today will provide testimony, both pro and con, as

to the unique history of each of the groups listed in these bills and

whether the extenuating circumstances exist such that Congressional recognition is warranted.

I also welcome our colleagues from the Senate who are here and

those from the House who have sponsored this legislation.

[Text of S. 437 and S. 480 follow:]
3

1

II

109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 437

To expedite review of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan

to secure a timely and just determination of whether that group is

entitled to recognition as a Federal Indian tribe.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 17, 2005

Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To expedite review of the Grand River Band of Ottawa

Indians of Michigan to secure a timely and just determination of whether that group is entitled to recognition

as a Federal Indian tribe.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan Refer6 ral Act’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

8 this Act is as follows:
4

2

•S 437 IS

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I—REFERRAL TO THE SECRETARY

Sec. 101. Purpose.

Sec. 102. Report.

Sec. 103. Action by Congress.

TITLE II—MEMBERSHIP; JURISDICTION; LAND

Sec. 201. Recognition.

Sec. 202. Membership.

Sec. 203. Federal services and benefits.

Sec. 204. Rights of the Tribe.

Sec. 205. Tribal funds.

Sec. 206. Jurisdiction of trust land.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) BAND; TRIBE.—The terms ‘‘Band’’ and

4 ‘‘Tribe’’ mean the Grand River Band of the Ottawa

5 Indians of Michigan.

6 (2) DATE OF RECOGNITION.—The term ‘‘date

7 of recognition’’ means the date on which recognition

8 of the Tribe by the Secretary was published in the

9 Federal Register under section 201.

10 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

11 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

13 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

15 the Secretary of the Interior.
5

3

•S 437 IS

1 TITLE I—REFERRAL TO THE

2 SECRETARY

3 SEC. 101. PURPOSE.

4 The purpose of this title is to obtain an expedited

5 review of the petition of the Band in order to secure a

6 timely and just determination of whether the Band is enti7 tled to recognition as a Federal Indian tribe under the

8 rules that govern the recognition of a new group as an

9 Indian tribe.

10 SEC. 102. REPORT.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 31, 2005,

12 the Secretary shall review the petition of the Band and

13 submit to Congress a report describing the findings of the

14 Secretary regarding whether—

15 (1) the majority of members of the Band are

16 descendants of, and political successors to, signato17 ries of—

18 (A) the treaty made and concluded at Chi19 cago, in the State of Illinois, between Lewis

20 Cass and Solomon Sibley, Commissioners of the

21 United States, and the Ottawa, Chippewa, and

22 Pottawatamie, Nations of Indians on August

23 29, 1821 (7 Stat. 218);

24 (B) the treaty made and concluded at the

25 city of Washington in the District of Columbia,
6

4

•S 437 IS

1 between Henry R. Schoolcraft, commissioner on

2 the part of the United States, and the Ottawa

3 and Chippewa nations of Indians, by their

4 chiefs and delegates on March 28, 1836 (7

5 Stat. 491); and

6 (C) the articles of agreement and conven7 tion made and concluded at the city of Detroit,

8 in the State of Michigan, July 31, 1855, be9 tween George W. Manypenny and Henry C. Gil10 bert, commissioners on the part of the United

11 States, and the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians

12 of Michigan, parties to the treaty of March 28,

13 1836;

14 (2) the history of the Band parallels the history

15 of Indian tribes the members of which are descend16 ants of the signatories to the treaties described in

17 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1),

18 including—

19 (A) the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa

20 and Chippewa Indians;

21 (B) the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chip22 pewa Indians;

23 (C) the Bay Mills Band of Chippewa Indi24 ans;
7

5

•S 437 IS

1 (D) the Little Traverse Bay Band of

2 Odawa Indians; and

3 (E) the Little River Band of Ottawa Indi4 ans;

5 (3) the majority of members of the Band con6 tinue to reside in the ancestral homeland of the

7 Band (which is now the Western lower quadrant of

8 the State of Michigan), as recognized in the treaties

9 described in paragraph (1);

10 (4)(A) the Band filed for reorganization of the

11 tribal government of the Band in 1935 under the

12 Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as the

13 ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et

14 seq.);

15 (B) the Commissioner of Indian Affairs attested

16 to the continued social and political existence of the

17 Band and concluded that the Band was eligible for

18 reorganization; and

19 (C) due to a lack of Federal appropriations to

20 implement the provisions of the Indian Reorganiza21 tion Act, the Band was denied the opportunity to re22 organize;

23 (5)(A) the Band continued political and social

24 existence as a viable tribal government during the

25 participation of the Band in the Northern Michigan
8

6

•S 437 IS

1 Ottawa Association in 1948, which subsequently

2 pursued a successful land claim with the Indian

3 Claims Commission; and

4 (B) the Band carried out tribal governmental

5 functions through the Northern Michigan Ottawa

6 Association while retaining control over local deci7 sions;

8 (6) the Federal Government, the government of

9 the State of Michigan, and local governments have

10 had continuous dealings with recognized political

11 leaders of the Band from 1836 to the present; and

12 (7) the Band was included in the Michigan In13 dian Land Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 105–

14 143; 111 Stat. 2652) and was required to submit a

15 fully documented petition not later than December

16 15, 2000, to qualify for land claim funds set aside

17 for the Band, which the Secretary segregated and

18 holds in trust for the Band pending recognition as

19 the respective share of funds of the Band under that

20 Act.

21 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section,

22 the Secretary shall consult with and request information

23 from—

24 (1) elected leaders of the Band; and
9

7

•S 437 IS

1 (2) anthropologists, ethno-historians, and gene2 alogists associated with the Band;

3 (3) attorneys of the Band; and

4 (4) other experts, as the Secretary determines

5 appropriate.

6 (c) CONCLUSION.—

7 (1) POSITIVE REPORT.—Not later than August

8 31, 2005, if the Secretary determines by a prepon9 derance of the evidence that the Band satisfies each

10 condition of subsection (a), the Secretary shall sub11 mit to Congress a positive report indicating that de12 termination.

13 (2) NEGATIVE REPORT.—Not later than August

14 31, 2005, if the Secretary determines by a prepon15 derance of the evidence that the Band fails to satisfy

16 a condition of subsection (a), the Secretary shall

17 submit to Congress a negative report indicating that

18 determination.

19 (d) FAILURE TO SUBMIT REPORT.—If the Secretary

20 fails to submit to Congress a report in accordance with

21 subsection (c)—

22 (1) not later than November 30, 2005, the Sec23 retary shall recognize the Band as an Indian tribe;

24 and

25 (2) title II shall apply to the Band.
10

8

•S 437 IS

1 SEC. 103. ACTION BY CONGRESS.

2 (a) ACTION BY DEADLINE.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—If Congress acts on the re4 port of the Secretary under section 102(c) by the

5 date that is 60 days after the date of receipt of the

6 report, the Secretary shall carry out the actions de7 scribed in this subsection.

8 (2) POSITIVE REPORT.—If the Secretary sub9 mitted a positive report under section 102(c)(1)—

10 (A) not later than November 30, 2005, the

11 Secretary shall recognize the Band as an Indian

12 tribe; and

13 (B) title II shall apply to the Band.

14 (3) NEGATIVE REPORT.—If the Secretary sub15 mitted a negative report under section 102(c)(2), the

16 Secretary shall—

17 (A) return the petition of the Band to the

18 list maintained by the Office of Federal Ac19 knowledgment; and

20 (B) grant the Band any opportunity avail21 able to the Band to prove the status of the

22 Band as an Indian tribe.

23 (b) FAILURE TO ACT BY DEADLINE.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—If Congress fails to act on

25 the report of the Secretary under section 102(c) by

26 the date that is 60 days after the date of receipt of
11

9

•S 437 IS

1 the report, the Secretary shall carry out the actions

2 described in this subsection.

3 (2) POSITIVE REPORT.—If the Secretary sub4 mitted a positive report under section 102(c)(1)—

5 (A) not later than November 30, 2005, the

6 Secretary shall recognize the Band as an Indian

7 tribe; and

8 (B) title II shall apply to the Band.

9 (3) NEGATIVE REPORT.—If the Secretary sub10 mitted a negative report under section 102(c)(2), the

11 Secretary shall—

12 (A) return the petition of the Band to the

13 list maintained by the Office of Federal Ac14 knowledgment; and

15 (B) grant the Band any opportunity avail16 able to the Band to prove the status of the

17 Band as an Indian tribe.

18 TITLE II—MEMBERSHIP;

19 JURISDICTION; LAND

20 SEC. 201. RECOGNITION.

21 Not later than November 30, 2005, if subsection

22 (a)(2) or (b)(2) of section 103 applies, the Secretary

23 shall—

24 (1) recognize the Tribe; and
12

10

•S 437 IS

1 (2) publish notice of the recognition by the Sec2 retary in the Federal Register.

3 SEC. 202. MEMBERSHIP.

4 (a) LIST OF PRESENT MEMBERSHIP.—Not later

5 than 120 days after the date of recognition, the Tribe shall

6 submit to the Secretary a list of all individuals that were

7 members of the Tribe on the date of recognition.

8 (b) LIST OF INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBER9 SHIP.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that

11 is 18 months after the date of recognition, the Tribe

12 shall submit to the Secretary a membership roll list13 ing all individuals enrolled for membership in the

14 Tribe.

15 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The qualifications for

16 inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall

17 be determined by the Tribe, in consultation with the

18 Secretary, based on the membership clause in the

19 governing document of the Tribe.

20 (3) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—On receiving

21 the membership roll under paragraph (1), the Sec22 retary shall publish notice of the membership roll in

23 the Federal Register.

24 (c) MAINTENANCE OF ROLLS.—The Tribe shall en25 sure that the membership roll of the Tribe is maintained.
13

11

•S 437 IS

1 SEC. 203. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 31, 2005,

3 the Tribe and each member of the Tribe shall be eligible

4 for all services and benefits provided by the Federal Gov5 ernment to Indians because of their status as Indians

6 without regard to—

7 (1) the existence of a reservation; or

8 (2) the location of the residence of a member on

9 or near an Indian reservation.

10 (b) JURISDICTION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

12 for the purpose of delivering a Federal service to an

13 enrolled member of the Tribe, the jurisdiction of the

14 Tribe extends to—

15 (A) all land and water designated to the

16 Ottawa in the treaties described in subpara17 graphs (A) and (B) of section 102(a)(1); and

18 (B) all land and water described in any

19 other treaty that provides for a right of the

20 Tribe.

21 (2) EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAW.—Notwithstand22 ing paragraph (1), the jurisdiction of the Tribe shall

23 be consistent with Federal law.

24 SEC. 204. RIGHTS OF THE TRIBE.

25 (a) ABROGATED AND DIMINISHED RIGHTS.—Any

26 right or privilege of the Tribe or any member of the Tribe
14

12

•S 437 IS

1 that was abrogated or diminished before the date of rec2 ognition under section 201 is reaffirmed.

3 (b) EXISTING RIGHTS OF TRIBE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act does not diminish

5 any right or privilege of the Tribe or any member

6 of the Tribe that existed prior to the date of recogni7 tion.

8 (2) LEGAL AND EQUITABLE CLAIMS.—Except

9 as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing in this Act

10 alters or affects any legal or equitable claim of the

11 Tribe to enforce any right or privilege reserved by

12 or granted to the Tribe that was wrongfully denied

13 to or taken from the Tribe prior to the date of rec14 ognition.

15 (c) FUTURE APPLICATIONS.—This Act does not ad16 dress the merits of, or affect the right of the Tribe to sub17 mit, any future application regarding—

18 (1) placing land into trust; or

19 (2) gaming (as defined in section 4 of the In20 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)).

21 SEC. 205. TRIBAL FUNDS.

22 Notwithstanding section 110 of the Michigan Indian

23 Land Claims Settlement Act (111 Stat. 2663), effective

24 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, any funds
15

13

•S 437 IS

1 set aside by the Secretary for use by the Tribe shall be

2 made available to the Tribe.

3 SEC. 206. JURISDICTION OF TRUST LAND.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe shall have jurisdiction

5 over all land taken into trust by the Secretary for the ben6 efit of the Tribe, to the maximum extent allowed by law.

7 (b) SERVICE AREA.—The Tribe shall have jurisdic8 tion over all members of the Tribe that reside in the serv9 ice area of the Tribe in matters pursuant to the Indian

10 Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), as

11 if the members resided on a reservation (as defined in that

12 Act).

Æ
16

1

II

109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 480

To extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe,

the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the

Nansemond Indian Tribe.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 1, 2005

Mr. ALLEN (for himself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian

Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock

Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the

Nansemond Indian Tribe.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal

6 Recognition Act of 2005’’.
17

2

•S 480 IS

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE

Sec. 101. Findings.

Sec. 102. Definitions.

Sec. 103. Federal recognition.

Sec. 104. Membership; governing documents.

Sec. 105. Governing body.

Sec. 106. Reservation of the Tribe.

Sec. 107. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE II—CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE—EASTERN DIVISION

Sec. 201. Findings.

Sec. 202. Definitions.

Sec. 203. Federal recognition.

Sec. 204. Membership; governing documents.

Sec. 205. Governing body.

Sec. 206. Reservation of the Tribe.

Sec. 207. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE III—UPPER MATTAPONI TRIBE

Sec. 301. Findings.

Sec. 302. Definitions.

Sec. 303. Federal recognition.

Sec. 304. Membership; governing documents.

Sec. 305. Governing body.

Sec. 306. Reservation of the Tribe.

Sec. 307. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE IV—RAPPAHANNOCK TRIBE, INC.

Sec. 401. Findings.

Sec. 402. Definitions.

Sec. 403. Federal recognition.

Sec. 404. Membership; governing documents.

Sec. 405. Governing body.

Sec. 406. Reservation of the Tribe.

Sec. 407. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE V—MONACAN INDIAN NATION

Sec. 501. Findings.

Sec. 502. Definitions.

Sec. 503. Federal recognition.

Sec. 504. Membership; governing documents.

Sec. 505. Governing body.

Sec. 506. Reservation of the Tribe.

Sec. 507. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE VI—NANSEMOND INDIAN TRIBE
18

3

•S 480 IS

Sec. 601. Findings.

Sec. 602. Definitions.

Sec. 603. Federal recognition.

Sec. 604. Membership; governing documents.

Sec. 605. Governing documents.

Sec. 606. Governing body.

Sec. 607. Reservation of the Tribe.

Sec. 608. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

1 TITLE I—CHICKAHOMINY

2 INDIAN TRIBE

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds that—

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

6 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In7 dian Tribe was 1 of about 30 tribes that received

8 them;

9 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en10 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor

11 of the Jamestown Colony, under which—

12 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed

13 to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send

14 warriors to protect the English; and

15 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to

16 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own

17 tribal governance;

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

19 the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area

20 around the York River in present-day King William

21 County, leading to the formation of a reservation;
19

4

•S 480 IS

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

5 from their reservation, which caused the loss of a

6 land base;

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

8 in Williamsburg established a grammar school for

9 Indians called Brafferton College;

10 (7) a Chickahominy child was 1 of the first In11 dians to attend Brafferton College;

12 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

13 began to migrate from King William County back to

14 the area around the Chickahominy River in New

15 Kent and Charles City Counties;

16 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named

17 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took

18 a Chickahominy woman as his wife;

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

20 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to

21 appear in the Charles City County census records;

22 (11) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

23 formed Samaria Baptist Church;
20

5

•S 480 IS

1 (12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men

2 were assessed a tribal tax so that their children

3 could receive an education;

4 (13) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax

5 to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy sup6 plies, and pay a teacher’s salary;

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

8 Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief

9 O.W. Adkins that he had instructed the Commis10 sioner of Revenue for Charles City County to record

11 Chickahominy tribal members on the county tax rolls

12 as Indian, and not as white or colored;

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

14 various Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia

15 wrote letters of introduction for Chickahominy

16 Chiefs who had official business with Federal agen17 cies in Washington, D.C.;

18 (16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.W. Adkins

19 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af20 fairs, requesting money to acquire land for the

21 Chickahominy Indian Tribe’s use, to build school,

22 medical, and library facilities and to buy tractors,

23 implements, and seed;

24 (17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of In25 dian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.W.
21

6

•S 480 IS

1 Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the

2 Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In3 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.),

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

5 (18) in 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.W. Adkins

6 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af7 fairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial

8 designation on Selective Service records for Chicka9 hominy soldiers;

10 (19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of In11 dian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of

12 the Richmond News-Leader newspaper of Richmond,

13 Virginia, to help Virginia Indians obtain proper ra14 cial designation on birth records;

15 (20) Collier stated that his office could not offi16 cially intervene because it had no responsibility for

17 the Virginia Indians, ‘‘as a matter largely of histori18 cal accident’’, but was ‘‘interested in them as de19 scendants of the original inhabitants of the region’’;

20 (21) in 1948, the Veterans’ Education Commit21 tee of the Virginia State Board of Education ap22 proved Samaria Indian School to provide training to

23 veterans;

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

25 Chickahominy Indian Tribe;
22

7

•S 480 IS

1 (23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

2 purchased and donated to the Charles City County

3 School Board land to be used to build a modern

4 school for students of the Chickahominy and other

5 Virginia Indian tribes;

6 (24) the Samaria Indian School included stu7 dents in grades 1 through 8;

8 (25) In 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of

9 the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the

10 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, requested

11 Chickahominy Chief O.W. Adkins to provide assist12 ance in analyzing the status of the constitutional

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

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

15 board closed Samaria Indian School and converted

16 the school to a countywide primary school as a step

17 toward full school integration of Indian and non-In18 dian students;

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

20 board began receiving funds under the Indian Self21 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25

22 U.S.C. 458aa et seq.) on behalf of Chickahominy

23 students, which funding is provided as of the date

24 of enactment of this Act under title V of the Indian
23

8

•S 480 IS

1 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act

2 (25 U.S.C. 458aaa et seq.);

3 (28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

4 bought land and built a tribal center using monthly

5 pledges from tribal members to finance the trans6 actions;

7 (29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

8 was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the

9 Commonwealth of Virginia, along with 5 other In10 dian tribes; and

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

12 special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day

13 dinner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe.

14 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this title:

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

17 the Secretary of the Interior.

18 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem19 ber’’ means—

20 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem21 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of

22 this Act; and

23 (B) an individual who has been placed on

24 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance

25 with this title.
24

9

•S 480 IS

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

2 Chickahominy Indian Tribe.

3 SEC. 103. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

4 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex6 tended to the Tribe.

7 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ8 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap9 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or

10 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18,

11 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsist12 ent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe

13 and tribal members.

14 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en16 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members

17 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided

18 by the Federal Government to federally recognized

19 Indian tribes without regard to—

20 (A) the existence of a reservation for the

21 Tribe; or

22 (B) the location of the residence of any

23 tribal member on or near any Indian reserva24 tion.
25

10

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1 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de2 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the

3 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be

4 the area comprised of Charles City County, Virginia.

5 SEC. 104. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

6 The membership roll and governing documents of the

7 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov8 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to

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

10 SEC. 105. GOVERNING BODY.

11 The governing body of the Tribe shall be—

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

13 of the date of enactment of this Act; or

14 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in

15 accordance with the election procedures specified in

16 the governing documents of the Tribe.

17 SEC. 106. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, if, not later than 25 years after the date of

20 enactment of this Act, the Tribe transfers to the Secretary

21 land within the boundaries of the Virginia counties of

22 Charles City, James City, or Henrico, the Secretary shall

23 take the land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

24 (b) GAMING.—No reservation or tribal land or land

25 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall be eligi-
26

11

•S 480 IS

1 ble to satisfy the terms for an exception under section

2 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

3 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming on

4 land acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of

5 an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section

6 20(a) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).

7 SEC. 107. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND

8 WATER RIGHTS.

9 Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in

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

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

12 TITLE II—CHICKAHOMINY IN13 DIAN TRIBE—EASTERN DIVI14 SION

15 SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

16 Congress finds that—

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

18 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In19 dian Tribe was 1 of about 30 tribes that received

20 them;

21 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en22 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor

23 of the Jamestown Colony, under which—
27

12

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1 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed

2 to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send

3 warriors to protect the English; and

4 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to

5 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own

6 tribal governance;

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

8 the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area

9 around the York River in present-day King William

10 County, leading to the formation of a reservation;

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

12 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle

13 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy;

14 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced

15 from their reservation, which caused the loss of a

16 land base;

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

18 in Williamsburg established a grammar school for

19 Indians called Brafferton College;

20 (7) a Chickahominy child was 1 of the first In21 dians to attend Brafferton College;

22 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

23 began to migrate from King William County back to

24 the area around the Chickahominy River in New

25 Kent and Charles City Counties;
28

13

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1 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named

2 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took

3 a Chickahominy woman as his wife;

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

5 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to

6 appear in the Charles City County census records;

7 (11) in 1870, a census revealed an enclave of

8 Indians in New Kent County that is believed to be

9 the beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—

10 Eastern Division;

11 (12) other records were destroyed when the

12 New Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a

13 State census as the only record covering that period;

14 (13) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

15 formed Samaria Baptist Church;

16 (14) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men

17 were assessed a tribal tax so that their children

18 could receive an education;

19 (15) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax

20 to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy sup21 plies, and pay a teacher’s salary;

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

23 1 through 8 was established in New Kent County for

24 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division;
29

14

•S 480 IS

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

2 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division

3 began forming a tribal government;

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

5 was elected to be Chief;

6 (19) in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church

7 was organized;

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

9 issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern

10 Division;

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

12 Kent County was closed and students were bused to

13 Samaria Indian School in Charles City County;

14 (22) in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe

15 and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Divi16 sion lost their schools as a result of the required in17 tegration of students;

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

19 Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanc20 tuary to accommodate church growth;

21 (24) in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—

22 Eastern Division was granted State recognition

23 along with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes;

24 (25) in 1985—
30

15

•S 480 IS

1 (A) the Virginia Council on Indians was

2 organized as a State agency; and

3 (B) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East4 ern Division was granted a seat on the Council;

5 (26) in 1988, a nonprofit organization known

6 as the ‘‘United Indians of Virginia’’ was formed; and

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

8 Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs

9 the organization.

10 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

11 In this title:

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem15 ber’’ means—

16 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem17 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of

18 this Act; and

19 (B) an individual who has been placed on

20 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance

21 with this title.

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

23 Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division.

24 SEC. 203. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

25 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—
31

16

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex2 tended to the Tribe.

3 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ4 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap5 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or

6 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18,

7 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsist8 ent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe

9 and tribal members.

10 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en12 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members

13 shall be eligible for all future services and benefits

14 provided by the Federal Government to federally rec15 ognized Indian tribes without regard to—

16 (A) the existence of a reservation for the

17 Tribe; or

18 (B) the location of the residence of any

19 tribal member on or near any Indian reserva20 tion.

21 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de22 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the

23 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be

24 the area comprised of New Kent County, Virginia.
32

17

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1 SEC. 204. 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. 205. 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

11 accordance with the election procedures specified in

12 the governing documents of the Tribe.

13 SEC. 206. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, if, not later than 25 years after the date of

16 enactment of this Act, the Tribe transfers to the Secretary

17 any land within the boundaries of New Kent County,

18 James City County, or Henrico County, Virginia, the Sec19 retary shall take the land into trust for the benefit of the

20 Tribe.

21 (b) GAMING.—No reservation or tribal land or land

22 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall be eligi23 ble to satisfy the terms for an exception under section

24 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming on

26 land acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of
33

18

•S 480 IS

1 an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section

2 20(a) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).

3 SEC. 207. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND

4 WATER RIGHTS.

5 Nothing in this title 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 TITLE III—UPPER MATTAPONI

9 TRIBE

10 SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

11 Congress finds that—

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

13 the Chickahominy Indian Tribes—

14 (A) lived approximately 20 miles from

15 Jamestown; and

16 (B) were significantly involved in English17 Indian affairs;

18 (2) Mattaponi Indians, who later joined the

19 Chickahominy Indians, lived a greater distance from

20 Jamestown;

21 (3) in 1646, the Chickahominy Indians moved

22 to Mattaponi River basin, away from the English;

23 (4) in 1661, the Chickahominy Indians sold

24 land at a place known as ‘‘the cliffs’’ on the

25 Mattaponi River;
34

19

•S 480 IS

1 (5) in 1669, the Chickahominy Indians—

2 (A) appeared in the Virginia Colony’s cen3 sus of Indian bowmen; and

4 (B) lived in ‘‘New Kent’’ County, which in5 cluded the Mattaponi River basin at that time;

6 (6) in 1677, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi

7 Indians were subjects of the Queen of Pamunkey,

8 who was a signatory to the Treaty of 1677 with the

9 King of England;

10 (7) in 1683, after a Mattaponi town was at11 tacked by Seneca Indians, the Mattaponi Indians

12 took refuge with the Chickahominy Indians, and the

13 history of the 2 groups was intertwined for many

14 years thereafter;

15 (8) in 1695, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi

16 Indians—

17 (A) were assigned a reservation by the Vir18 ginia Colony; and

19 (B) traded land of the reservation for land

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

21 the date of enactment of this Act, is the

22 Mattaponi Indian Reservation), which had been

23 owned by the Mattaponi Indians before 1661;

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

25 Indian School at the College of William and Mary;
35

20

•S 480 IS

1 (10) in 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued

2 funding of interpreters for the Chickahominy and

3 Mattaponi Indian Tribes;

4 (11) James Adams, who served as an inter5 preter to the Indian tribes known as of the date of

6 enactment of this Act as the ‘‘Upper Mattaponi In7 dian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Chickahominy Indian Tribe’’,

8 elected to stay with the Upper Mattaponi Indians;

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

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

11 (13) in 1787, Thomas Jefferson, in Notes on

12 the Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned the

13 Mattaponi Indians on a reservation in King William

14 County and said that Chickahominy Indians were

15 ‘‘blended’’ with the Mattaponi Indians and nearby

16 Pamunkey Indians;

17 (14) in 1850, the census of the United States

18 revealed a nucleus of approximately 10 families, all

19 ancestral to modern Upper Mattaponi Indians, living

20 in central King William County, Virginia, approxi21 mately 10 miles from the reservation;

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

23 King William County marriage records listed Upper

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

25 on the reservation;
36

21

•S 480 IS

1 (16) during the period of 1884 through the

2 present, county marriage records usually refer to

3 Upper Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’;

4 (17) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist

5 James Mooney heard about the Upper Mattaponi In6 dians but did not visit them;

7 (18) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an8 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod9 ern Virginia Indians with a section on the Upper

10 Mattaponis;

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

12 the Upper Mattaponi Indians opposed the use of a

13 ‘‘colored’’ designation in the 1930 United States

14 census and won a compromise in which the Indian

15 ancestry of the Upper Mattaponis was recorded but

16 questioned;

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

18 (A) the leadership of the Upper Mattaponi

19 Indians, with the help of Frank Speck and oth20 ers, fought against the induction of young men

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

22 Forces of the United States; and

23 (B) a tribal roll for the Upper Mattaponi

24 Indians was compiled;
37

22

•S 480 IS

1 (21) from 1945 to 1946, negotiations took

2 place to admit some of the young people of the

3 Upper Mattaponi to high schools for Federal Indians

4 (especially at Cherokee) because no high school

5 coursework was available for Indians in Virginia

6 schools; and

7 (22) in 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Indians ap8 plied for and won State recognition as an Indian

9 tribe.

10 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

11 In this title:

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem15 ber’’ means—

16 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem17 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of

18 this Act; and

19 (B) an individual who has been placed on

20 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance

21 with this title.

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

23 Upper Mattaponi Tribe.

24 SEC. 303. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

25 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—
38

23

•S 480 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex2 tended to the Tribe.

3 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ4 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap5 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or

6 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18,

7 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsist8 ent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe

9 and tribal members.

10 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en12 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members

13 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided

14 by the Federal Government to federally recognized

15 Indian tribes without regard to—

16 (A) the existence of a reservation for the

17 Tribe; or

18 (B) the location of the residence of any

19 tribal member on or near any Indian reserva20 tion.

21 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de22 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the

23 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be

24 the area within 25 miles of the Sharon Indian
39

24

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1 School at 13383 King William Road, King William,

2 Virginia.

3 SEC. 304. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

4 The membership roll and governing documents of the

5 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov6 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to

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

8 SEC. 305. GOVERNING BODY.

9 The governing body of the Tribe shall be—

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

11 of the date of enactment of this Act; or

12 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in

13 accordance with the election procedures specified in

14 the governing documents of the Tribe.

15 SEC. 306. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, if, not later than 25 years after the date of

18 enactment of this Act, the Tribe transfers to the Secretary

19 land within the boundaries of King William County, Vir20 ginia, the Secretary shall take the land into trust for the

21 benefit of the Tribe.

22 (b) GAMING.—No reservation or tribal land or land

23 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall be eligi24 ble to satisfy the terms for an exception under section

25 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25
40

25

•S 480 IS

1 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming on

2 land acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of

3 an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section

4 20(a) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).

5 SEC. 307. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND

6 WATER RIGHTS.

7 Nothing in this title 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 TITLE IV—RAPPAHANNOCK

11 TRIBE, INC.

12 SEC. 401. FINDINGS.

13 Congress finds that—

14 (1) during the initial months after Virginia was

15 settled, the Rappahannock Indians had 3 encounters

16 with Captain John Smith;

17 (2) the first encounter occurred when the Rap18 pahannock weroance (headman)—

19 (A) traveled to Quiyocohannock (a prin20 cipal town across the James River from James21 town), where he met with Smith to determine

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

23 had previously sailed into the Rappahannock

24 River, killed a Rappahannock weroance, and

25 kidnapped Rappahannock people; and
41

26

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1 (B) determined that Smith was too short

2 to be that ‘‘great man’’;

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

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

5 Smith was taken to the Rappahannock principal vil6 lage to show the people that Smith was not the

7 ‘‘great man’’;

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

9 exploration of the Chesapeake Bay (July to Septem10 ber 1608), when, after the Moraughtacund Indians

11 had stolen 3 women from the Rappahannock King,

12 Smith was prevailed upon to facilitate a peaceful

13 truce between the Rappahannock and the

14 Moraughtacund Indians;

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

16 tribes meet on the spot of their first fight;

17 (6) when it was established that both groups

18 wanted peace, Smith told the Rappahannock King to

19 select which of the 3 stolen women he wanted;

20 (7) the Moraughtacund King was given second

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

22 Wighcocomoco (on the Potomac River) guide, was

23 given the third woman;

24 (8) in 1645, Captain William Claiborne tried

25 unsuccessfully to establish treaty relations with the
42

27

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1 Rappahannocks, as the Rappahannocks had not par2 ticipated in the Pamunkey-led uprising in 1644, and

3 the English wanted to ‘‘treat with the

4 Rappahannocks or any other Indians not in amity

5 with Opechancanough, concerning serving the county

6 against the Pamunkeys’’;

7 (9) in April 1651, the Rappahannocks conveyed

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

9 Fauntleroy;

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

11 Accopatough, weroance of the Rappahannock Indi12 ans;

13 (11) in September 1653, Lancaster County

14 signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indians, the

15 terms of which treaty—

16 (A) gave Rappahannocks the rights of

17 Englishmen in the county court; and

18 (B) attempted to make the Rappahannocks

19 more accountable under English law;

20 (12) in September 1653, Lancaster County de21 fined and marked the bounds of its Indian settle22 ments;

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

24 ‘‘the tribe called the great Rappahannocks lived on
43

28

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1 the Rappahannock Creek just across the river above

2 Tappahannock’’;

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

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

5 Act, is comprised of Richmond and Essex Counties,

6 Virginia) signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indi7 ans that—

8 (A) mirrored the Lancaster County treaty

9 from 1653; and

10 (B) stated that—

11 (i) Rappahannocks were to be re12 warded, in Roanoke, for returning English

13 fugitives; and

14 (ii) the English encouraged the

15 Rappahannocks to send their children to

16 live among the English as servants, who

17 the English promised would be well-treat18 ed;

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

20 1652 Act stating that ‘‘there be no grants of land

21 to any Englishman whatsoever de futuro until the

22 Indians be first served with the proportion of 50

23 acres of land for each bowman’’;

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

25 Virginia Indians;
44

29

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1 (17) as of the date of that census—

2 (A) the majority of the Rappahannocks

3 were residing at their hunting village on the

4 north side of the Mattaponi River; and

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

6 were counting only the Indian tribes along the

7 rivers, which explains why only 30 Rappahan8 nock bowmen were counted on that river;

9 (18) the Rappahannocks used the hunting vil10 lage on the north side of the Mattaponi River as

11 their primary residence until the Rappahannocks

12 were removed in 1684;

13 (19) in May 1677, the Treaty of Middle Planta14 tion was signed with England;

15 (20) the Pamunkey Queen Cockacoeske signed

16 on behalf of the Rappahannocks, ‘‘who were sup17 posed to be her tributaries’’, but before the treaty

18 could be ratified, the Queen of Pamunkey com19 plained to the Virginia Colonial Council ‘‘that she

20 was having trouble with Rappahannocks and

21 Chickahominies, supposedly tributaries of hers’’;

22 (21) in November 1682, the Virginia Colonial

23 Council established a reservation for the Rappahan24 nock Indians of 3,474 acres ‘‘about the town where

25 they dwelt’’;
45

30

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1 (22) the Rappahannock ‘‘town’’ was the hunt2 ing village on the north side of the Mattaponi River,

3 where the Rappahannocks had lived throughout the

4 1670s;

5 (23) the acreage allotment of the reservation

6 was based on the 1658 Indian land act, which trans7 lates into a bowman population of 70, or an approxi8 mate total Rappahannock population of 350;

9 (24) in 1683, following raids by Iroquoian war10 riors on both Indian and English settlements, the

11 Virginia Colonial Council ordered the

12 Rappahannocks to leave their reservation and unite

13 with the Nanzatico Indians at Nanzatico Indian

14 Town, which was located across and up the Rappa15 hannock River some 30 miles;

16 (25) between 1687 and 1699, the

17 Rappahannocks migrated out of Nanzatico, return18 ing to the south side of the Rappahannock River at

19 Portobacco Indian Town;

20 (26) in 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieu21 tenant Richard Covington ‘‘escorted’’ the

22 Portobaccos and Rappahannocks out of Portobacco

23 Indian Town, out of Essex County, and into King

24 and Queen County where they settled along the

25 ridgeline between the Rappahannock and Mattaponi
46

31

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1 Rivers, the site of their ancient hunting village and

2 1682 reservation;

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

4 were raised on Thomas Nelson’s Bleak Hill Planta5 tion in King William County;

6 (28) of those girls—

7 (A) 1 married a Saunders man;

8 (B) 1 married a Johnson man; and

9 (C) 1 had 2 children, Edmund and Carter

10 Nelson, fathered by Thomas Cary Nelson;

11 (29) in the 19th century, those Saunders, John12 son, and Nelson families are among the core Rappa13 hannock families from which the modern Tribe

14 traces its descent;

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

16 Bird (and his wife), Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson,

17 and Carter Spurlock (all Rappahannock ancestors)

18 were listed on the tax roles of King and Queen

19 County and taxed at the county poor rate;

20 (31) Edmund Bird was added to the tax roles

21 in 1821;

22 (32) those tax records are significant docu23 mentation because the great majority of pre-1864

24 records for King and Queen County were destroyed

25 by fire;
47

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•S 480 IS

1 (33) beginning in 1819, and continuing through

2 the 1880s, there was a solid Rappahannock presence

3 in the membership at Upper Essex Baptist Church;

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

5 Christianity by at least some Rappahannock Indians;

6 (35) while 26 identifiable and traceable Rappa7 hannock surnames appear on the pre-1863 member8 ship list, and 28 were listed on the 1863 member9 ship roster, the number of surnames listed had de10 clined to 12 in 1878 and had risen only slightly to

11 14 by 1888;

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

13 a Methodist circuit rider, Joseph Mastin, secured

14 funds to purchase land and construct St. Stephens

15 Baptist Church for the Rappahannocks living nearby

16 in Caroline County;

17 (37) Mastin referred to the Rappahannocks

18 during the period of 1850 to 1870 as ‘‘Indians, hav19 ing a great need for moral and Christian guidance’’;

20 (38) St. Stephens was the dominant tribal

21 church until the Rappahannock Indian Baptist

22 Church was established in 1964;

23 (39) at both churches, the core Rappahannock

24 family names of Bird, Clarke, Fortune, Johnson,

25 Nelson, Parker, and Richardson predominate;
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33

•S 480 IS

1 (40) during the early 1900’s, James Mooney,

2 noted anthropologist, maintained correspondence

3 with the Rappahannocks, surveying them and in4 structing them on how to formalize their tribal gov5 ernment;

6 (41) in November 1920, Speck visited the

7 Rappahannocks and assisted them in organizing the

8 fight for their sovereign rights;

9 (42) in 1921, the Rappahannocks were granted

10 a charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia for11 malizing their tribal government;

12 (43) Speck began a professional relationship

13 with the Tribe that would last more than 30 years

14 and document Rappahannock history and traditions

15 as never before;

16 (44) in April 1921, Rappahannock Chief

17 George Nelson asked the Governor of Virginia,

18 Westmoreland Davis, to forward a proclamation to

19 the President of the United States, along with an

20 appended list of tribal members and a handwritten

21 copy of the proclamation itself;

22 (45) the letter concerned Indian freedom of

23 speech and assembly nationwide;

24 (46) in 1922, the Rappahannocks established a

25 formal school at Lloyds, Essex County, Virginia;
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34

•S 480 IS

1 (47) prior to establishment of the school, Rap2 pahannock children were taught by a tribal member

3 in Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia;

4 (48) in December 1923, Rappahannock Chief

5 George Nelson testified before Congress appealing

6 for a $50,000 appropriation to establish an Indian

7 school in Virginia;

8 (49) in 1930, the Rappahannocks were engaged

9 in an ongoing dispute with the Commonwealth of

10 Virginia and the United States Census Bureau

11 about their classification in the 1930 Federal cen12 sus;

13 (50) in January 1930, Rappahannock Chief

14 Otho S. Nelson wrote to Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat15 istician of the United States Census Bureau, asking

16 that the 218 enrolled Rappahannocks be listed as

17 Indians;

18 (51) in February 1930, Truesdell replied to

19 Nelson saying that ‘‘special instructions’’ were being

20 given about classifying Indians;

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

22 Steuart at the Census Bureau asking about the enu23 merators’ failure to classify his people as Indians,

24 saying that enumerators had not asked the question

25 about race when they interviewed his people;
50

35

•S 480 IS

1 (53) in a followup letter to Truesdell, Nelson

2 reported that the enumerators were ‘‘flatly denying’’

3 his people’s request to be listed as Indians and that

4 the race question was completely avoided during

5 interviews;

6 (54) the Rappahannocks had spoken with Caro7 line and Essex County enumerators, and with John

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

9 (55) Nelson asked Truesdell to list people as

10 Indians if he sent a list of members;

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

12 who concluded that the Bureau’s rule was that peo13 ple of Indian descent could be classified as ‘‘Indian’’

14 only if Indian ‘‘blood’’ predominated and ‘‘Indian’’

15 identity was accepted in the local community;

16 (57) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau

17 classed all nonreservation Indians as ‘‘Negro’’, and

18 it failed to see why ‘‘an exception should be made’’

19 for the Rappahannocks;

20 (58) therefore, in 1925, the Indian Rights As21 sociation took on the Rappahannock case to assist

22 the Rappahannocks in fighting for their recognition

23 and rights as an Indian tribe;

24 (59) during the Second World War, the

25 Pamunkeys, Mattaponis, Chickahominies, and
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36

•S 480 IS

1 Rappahannocks had to fight the draft boards with

2 respect to their racial identities;

3 (60) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau in4 sisted that certain Indian draftees be inducted into

5 Negro units;

6 (61) finally, 3 Rappahannocks were convicted of

7 violating the Federal draft laws and, after spending

8 time in a Federal prison, were granted conscientious

9 objector status and served out the remainder of the

10 war working in military hospitals;

11 (62) in 1943, Frank Speck noted that there

12 were approximately 25 communities of Indians left

13 in the Eastern United States that were entitled to

14 Indian classification, including the Rappahannocks;

15 (63) in the 1940s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat16 istician, of the United States Census Bureau, listed

17 118 members in the Rappahannock Tribe in the In18 dian population of Virginia;

19 (64) on April 25, 1940, the Office of Indian Af20 fairs of the Department of the Interior included the

21 Rappahannocks on a list of Indian tribes classified

22 by State and by agency;

23 (65) in 1948, the Smithsonian Institution An24 nual Report included an article by William Harlen

25 Gilbert entitled, ‘‘Surviving Indian Groups of the
52

37

•S 480 IS

1 Eastern United States’’, which included and de2 scribed the Rappahannock Tribe;

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

4 Rappahannocks operated a school at Indian Neck;

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

6 teach 10 students bused by King and Queen County

7 to Sharon Indian School in King William County,

8 Virginia;

9 (68) in 1965, Rappahannock students entered

10 Marriott High School (a white public school) by ex11 ecutive order of the Governor of Virginia;

12 (69) in 1972, the Rappahannocks worked with

13 the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans to fight

14 for Federal recognition;

15 (70) in 1979, the Coalition established a pot16 tery and artisans company, operating with other Vir17 ginia tribes;

18 (71) in 1980, the Rappahannocks received

19 funding through the Administration for Native

20 Americans of the State of Virginia to develop an

21 economic program for the Tribe; and

22 (72) in 1983, the Rappahannocks received

23 State recognition as an Indian tribe.

24 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

25 In this title:
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38

•S 480 IS

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 title.

11 (3) TRIBE.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’

13 means the organization possessing the legal

14 name Rappahannock Tribe, Inc.

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

16 not include any other Indian tribe, subtribe,

17 band, or splinter group the members of which

18 represent themselves as Rappahannock Indians.

19 SEC. 403. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

20 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex22 tended to the Tribe.

23 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ24 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap25 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or
54

39

•S 480 IS

1 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18,

2 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsist3 ent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe

4 and tribal members.

5 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en7 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members

8 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided

9 by the Federal Government to federally recognized

10 Indian tribes without regard to—

11 (A) the existence of a reservation for the

12 Tribe; or

13 (B) the location of the residence of any

14 tribal member on or near any Indian reserva15 tion.

16 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de17 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the

18 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be

19 the area comprised of King and Queen, Caroline,

20 and Essex Counties, Virginia.

21 SEC. 404. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

22 The membership roll and governing documents of the

23 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov24 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to

25 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act.
55

40

•S 480 IS

1 SEC. 405. GOVERNING BODY.

2 The governing body of the Tribe shall be—

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

4 of the date of enactment of this Act; or

5 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in

6 accordance with the election procedures specified in

7 the governing documents of the Tribe.

8 SEC. 406. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi10 sion of law, if the Tribe transfers the land described in

11 subsection (b) and any other land within the boundaries

12 of King and Queen County, Essex County, and Caroline

13 County, Virginia, to the Secretary, the Secretary shall

14 take such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

15 (b) GAMING.—No reservation or tribal land or land

16 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall be eligi17 ble to satisfy the terms for an exception under section

18 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

19 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming on

20 land acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of

21 an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section

22 20(a) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).
56

41

•S 480 IS

1 SEC. 407. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND

2 WATER RIGHTS.

3 Nothing in this title 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 TITLE V—MONACAN INDIAN

7 NATION

8 SEC. 501. FINDINGS.

9 Congress finds that—

10 (1) In 1677, the Monacan Tribe signed the

11 Treaty of Middle Plantation between Charles II of

12 England and 12 Indian ‘‘Kings and Chief Men’’;

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

14 Spotswood negotiated to save the Virginia Indians

15 from extinction at the hands of the Iroquois;

16 (3) specifically mentioned in the negotiations

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

18 Saponi, Ocheneeches (Occaneechi), Stengenocks, and

19 Meipontskys;

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

21 Benjamin Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors

22 of the present Monacan community, listed as

23 ‘‘white’’ with mulatto children;

24 (5) in 1782, tax records also began for those

25 families;
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42

•S 480 IS

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

2 29 families, mostly large, with Monacan surnames,

3 the members of which are genealogically related to

4 the present community;

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

6 Bear Mountain Indian Mission;

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

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

9 the structure is listed as a landmark on the National

10 Register of Historic Places;

11 (9) in 1920, 304 Amherst Indians were identi12 fied in the United States census;

13 (10) from 1930 through 1931, numerous letters

14 from Monacans to the Bureau of the Census re15 sulted from the decision of Dr. Walter Plecker,

16 former head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the

17 State of Virginia, not to allow Indians to register as

18 Indians for the 1930 census;

19 (11) the Monacans eventually succeeded in

20 being allowed to claim their race, albeit with an as21 terisk attached to a note from Dr. Plecker stating

22 that there were no Indians in Virginia;

23 (12) in 1947, D’Arcy McNickle, a Salish In24 dian, saw some of the children at the Amherst Mis-
58

43

•S 480 IS

1 sion and requested that the Cherokee Agency visit

2 them because they appeared to be Indian;

3 (13) that letter was forwarded to the Depart4 ment of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Chi5 cago, Illinois;

6 (14) Chief Jarrett Blythe of the Eastern Band

7 of Cherokee did visit the Mission and wrote that he

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

9 Cherokee school’’;

10 (15) in 1979, a Federal Coalition of Eastern

11 Native Americans established the entity known as

12 ‘‘Monacan Co-operative Pottery’’ at the Amherst

13 Mission;

14 (16) some important pieces were produced at

15 Monacan Co-operative Pottery, including a piece

16 that was sold to the Smithsonian Institution;

17 (17) the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan Con18 sortium, established in 1981, has since been orga19 nized as a nonprofit corporation that serves as a ve20 hicle to obtain funds for those Indian tribes from the

21 Department of Labor under Native American pro22 grams under the Job Training Partnership Act (29

23 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.);

24 (18) in 1989, the Monacan Tribe was recog25 nized by the State of Virginia, which enabled the
59

44

•S 480 IS

1 Tribe to apply for grants and participate in other

2 programs; and

3 (19) in 1993, the Monacan Tribe received tax4 exempt status as a nonprofit corporation from the

5 Internal Revenue Service.

6 SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this title:

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 title.

18 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Mon19 acan Indian Nation.

20 SEC. 503. 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 ap-
60

45

•S 480 IS

1 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or

2 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18,

3 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsist4 ent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe

5 and tribal 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

11 Indian tribes without regard to—

12 (A) the existence of a reservation for the

13 Tribe; or

14 (B) the location of the residence of any

15 tribal member on or near any Indian reserva16 tion.

17 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de18 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the

19 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be

20 the area comprised of all land within 25 miles from

21 the center of Amherst, Virginia.

22 SEC. 504. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

23 The membership roll and governing documents of the

24 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
61

46

•S 480 IS

1 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to

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

3 SEC. 505. GOVERNING BODY.

4 The governing body of the Tribe shall be—

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

6 of the date of enactment of this Act; or

7 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in

8 accordance with the election procedures specified in

9 the governing documents of the Tribe.

10 SEC. 506. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of law, if the Tribe transfers to the Secretary a parcel

13 of land consisting of approximately 10 acres located on

14 Kenmore Road in Amherst County, Virginia, and a parcel

15 of land consisting of approximately 165 acres located at

16 the foot of Bear Mountain in Amherst County, Virginia,

17 the Secretary shall take the land into trust for the benefit

18 of the Tribe.

19 (b) GAMING.—No reservation or tribal land or land

20 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall be eligi21 ble to satisfy the terms for an exception under section

22 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

23 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming on

24 land acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of
62

47

•S 480 IS

1 an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section

2 20(a) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).

3 SEC. 507. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND

4 WATER RIGHTS.

5 Nothing in this title 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 TITLE VI—NANSEMOND INDIAN

9 TRIBE

10 SEC. 601. FINDINGS.

11 Congress finds that—

12 (1) from 1607 until 1646, Nansemond

13 Indians—

14 (A) lived approximately 30 miles from

15 Jamestown; and

16 (B) were significantly involved in English17 Indian affairs;

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

19 Nansemonds in communication with each other, the

20 Christianized Nansemonds in Norfolk County, who

21 lived as citizens, and the traditionalist Nansemonds,

22 who lived further west;

23 (3) in 1638, according to an entry in a 17th

24 century sermon book still owned by the Chief’s fam-
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48

•S 480 IS

1 ily, a Norfolk County Englishman married a

2 Nansemond woman;

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

4 all of members of the Nansemond Indian tribe alive

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

6 of the traditionalist Nansemonds;

7 (5) in 1669, the 2 Nansemond sections ap8 peared in Virginia Colony’s census of Indian

9 bowmen;

10 (6) in 1677, Nansemond Indians were signato11 ries to the Treaty of 1677 with the King of Eng12 land;

13 (7) in 1700 and 1704, the Nansemonds and

14 other Virginia Indian tribes were prevented by Vir15 ginia Colony from making a separate peace with the

16 Iroquois;

17 (8) Virginia represented those Indian tribes in

18 the final Treaty of Albany, 1722;

19 (9) in 1711, a Nansemond boy attended the In20 dian School at the College of William and Mary;

21 (10) in 1727, Norfolk County granted William

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

23 clearing swamp land and bearing arms (which privi24 leges were forbidden to other nonwhites) because of

25 their Nansemond ancestry, which meant that Bass
64

49

•S 480 IS

1 and his kinsmen were original inhabitants of that

2 land;

3 (11) in 1742, Norfolk County issued a certifi4 cate of Nansemond descent to William Bass;

5 (12) from the 1740s to the 1790s, the tradi6 tionalist section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles

7 west of the Christianized Nansemonds, was dealing

8 with reservation land;

9 (13) the last surviving members of that section

10 sold out in 1792 with the permission of the State of

11 Virginia;

12 (14) in 1797, Norfolk County issued a certifi13 cate stating that William Bass was of Indian and

14 English descent, and that his Indian line of ancestry

15 ran directly back to the early 18th century elder in

16 a traditionalist section of Nansemonds on the res17 ervation;

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

19 people of European and Indian descent to obtain a

20 special certificate of ancestry;

21 (16) the law originated from the county in

22 which Nansemonds lived, and mostly Nansemonds,

23 with a few people from other counties, took advan24 tage of the new law;
65

50

•S 480 IS

1 (17) a Methodist mission established around

2 1850 for Nansemonds is currently a standard Meth3 odist congregation with Nansemond members;

4 (18) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist

5 James Mooney—

6 (A) visited the Nansemonds; and

7 (B) completed a tribal census that counted

8 61 households and was later published;

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

10 Indian school in the segregated school system of

11 Norfolk County;

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

13 (21) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an14 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod15 ern Virginia Indians that included a section on the

16 Nansemonds; and

17 (22) the Nansemonds were organized formally,

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

19 and received State recognition.

20 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

21 In this title:

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

23 the Secretary of the Interior.

24 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem25 ber’’ means—
66

51

•S 480 IS

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 title.

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

8 Nansemond Indian Tribe.

9 SEC. 603. 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 ap15 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or

16 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18,

17 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsist18 ent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe

19 and tribal 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

25 Indian tribes without regard to—
67

52

•S 480 IS

1 (A) the existence of a reservation for the

2 Tribe; or

3 (B) the location of the residence of any

4 tribal member on or near any Indian reserva5 tion.

6 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de7 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the

8 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be

9 the area comprised of the cities of Chesapeake,

10 Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suf11 folk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

12 SEC. 604. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Tribe shall submit

15 to the Secretary a membership roll consisting of all indi16 viduals currently enrolled for membership in the Tribe.

17 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The qualifications for inclu18 sion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be deter19 mined by the Tribe in accordance with the membership

20 clauses in the governing document of the Tribe and in con21 sultation with the Secretary.

22 (c) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 90 days after the

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish

24 in the Federal Register notice of the membership roll of

25 the Tribe.
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53

•S 480 IS

1 (d) MAINTENANCE OF MEMBERSHIP ROLL.—The

2 Tribe shall ensure that the membership roll of the Tribe

3 is maintained and kept current.

4 SEC. 605. GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

5 The governing documents of the Tribe in effect on

6 the date of enactment of this Act shall be the interim gov7 erning documents for the Tribe until those documents are

8 modified in accordance with the documents.

9 SEC. 606. GOVERNING BODY.

10 The governing body of the Tribe shall be—

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

12 of the date of enactment of this Act; or

13 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in

14 accordance with the election procedures specified in

15 the governing documents of the Tribe.

16 SEC. 607. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, if the Tribe transfers any land acquired by

19 the Tribe to the Secretary, the Secretary may take the

20 land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

21 (b) GAMING.—No reservation or tribal land or land

22 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall be eligi23 ble to satisfy the terms for an exception under section

24 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming on
69

54

•S 480 IS

1 land acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of

2 an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section

3 20(a) of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).

4 SEC. 608. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND

5 WATER RIGHTS.

6 Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in

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

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

Æ
70

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Thomas.

Senator THOMAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I really do not have

a statement. I think you have covered the two points. One is why

does it take so long to do this regularly, and should there be shortcuts in the Congress. So I think it is important to have the hearing

and I thank you for that.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, sir.

Could Senator Allen and Senator Levin decide among themselves

as to who would like to go first by age or alphabet, whichever is

appropriate.

Senator ALLEN. I will let Senator Levin go first, since seniority,

and his bill was introduced 1 or 2 minutes before mine.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

Senator Levin, welcome. I know you are busy with the authorization bill on the floor, so we appreciate your being here, and also

Senator Allen’s courtesy in having you go first.

Senator Levin.

STATEMENT OF HON. CARL LEVIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM

MICHIGAN

Senator LEVIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Senator Thomas. First let me thank you for holding this hearing. I add

my thanks to Senator Allen for his graciousness in allowing me to

go first, mainly not just because of my age, which I do not like to

emphasize, but because of the floor responsibility which I am in the

middle of, so thank you very much, George.

Mr. Chairman, thank you and the committee for holding today’s

hearing on the status of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians.

In 1994 Congress passed and the President signed legislation

that gave Federal recognition to several Michigan tribes, including

the sister tribe of the Grand River Band, the Little River Band of

Ottawa Indians. The Grand River Band should have been recognized at that time, but for various reasons it was not.

To remedy this situation, Senator Stabenow and I have introduced S. 437, the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan

Referral Act, which would refer the matter of Federal status of the

Grand River Band to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary

would then determine whether the Grand River Band meets the

same criteria that Congress used in 1994 to recognize the other

tribes, and then act accordingly in an expeditious manner.

I would note that our bill does not legislatively recognize the

Grand River Band; it does direct the Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA]

to make a decision on the merits in a timely fashion. It is a critical

difference, but it is an important difference, particularly in the

light of the chairman’s opening statement.

The salient questions would be whether members of the Grand

River Band are descendants of persons who signed the relevant

treaties and whether today’s members continue to reside in their

ancestral territory. We believe that the Grand River Band meets

those criteria. The historic record is clear that today’s Grand River

Band are direct descendants of those who signed the relevant treaties.

The Grand River Band are a very traditional Indian people, and

because of their traditional lifestyles they have a high rate of tribal
71

intermarriage. In addition to signing the treaties, their ancestors

were also instrumental in bringing their land claims to the Indian

Claims Commission in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. The Federal,

State, and local governments have had dealings with the Grand

River Band on a continuing basis.

The Grand River Band also lives today in the same areas of

Michigan that they have occupied when the first Europeans arrived. They reside now in Mason, Oceana, Muskegon, and Kent

Counties. Burial mounds of the Grand River Band are located

along the Grand River, itself, from Lansing to Muskegon, and they

conduct their ceremonies and annual Grand River Ottawa pow wow

near these sacred mounds.

I want to mention very briefly there is another tribe in a similar

situation, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians

who were signatories to the 1836 and 1855 treaties. They have not

been federally recognized, even though they submitted their documented petition over 10 years ago. I hope that the Burt Lake Band

will also be the focus of future Federal recognition.

Mr. Chairman, the importance of this bill is that we need an expeditious decision by the regulators and the administrators. That

is critical because of land claim judgments which were settled by

Congress which were brought by the Grand River and other treaty

tribes during the Indian Claims Commission period.

The 1997 act provided that funds will be distributed to unrecognized tribes whose members are descendants of treaty signatories,

provided—and this is the key issue—the tribes submitted a fully

documented petition by December 15, 2000, and that the BIA approves recognition by December 2006. That is what the key issue

here is, as to whether we can get the BIA to make their decision

in time to make a deadline which will have a major financial impact in terms of a claim which was properly and timely filed by this

band.

So we have the Grand River Band that submitted its petition, including 21 boxes of materials, on December 5, 2000, in time. Nearly

4 years later the BIA granted the tribe its first technical assistance

meeting in 2004. In January 2005, the BIA provided a detailed, 29-

page letter describing deficiencies and omissions in the Grand

River Band’s original material. After 18 months of work, the Grand

River Band now has delivered its response on June 9.

The materials include certified copies of all of its membership

rolls, 700 members, along with a 63-page legal response and a 265-

page ethno-historical response prepared by Dr. James McClerkin,

who is the most eminent Native American ethno-historian in

Michigan. Each of the 749 citations is supported by documentation,

along with numerous maps, charts, family trees, and population reports, so this exhausting and expensive process has gone on.

We can’t allow it to go back and forth for years and years. It is

essential that a BIA determination regarding the Grand River

Band be made in a timely way, because if no action is taken within

the next few months the Grand River Band will be denied millions

of dollars that have been specifically set aside for the band by Federal law. It would be an injustice. It would be an injustice not to

allow the Grand River Band to take its rightful place among the

family of federally recognized tribes. But, again, this legislation
72

does not decide that; it calls for an expeditious, prompt determination by the BIA.

I will leave for the record a number of technical changes to be

made in the bill. I won’t go through all those now, but I would,

again, simply thank the committee for holding this hearing. It is

urgently necessary. We need to get this decision made in time so

that justice will not be denied a band that has truly worked hard,

done everything that it is required to do, played by the rules, and

now I believe and Senator Stabenow believe is entitled to a favorable response, but, in any event, is entitled to a decision within the

time period provided by law.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Levin. I know

you have to leave to go to the floor. Thank you. Your complete

statement will be made a part of the record.

May I also say I know that Senator Warner is on the floor with

this important legislation and he may not be able to be here. His

statement will be made part of the record.

I know that Senator Allen will speak. I think that you and Senator Warner are basically in agreement on this issue.

Thank you, Senator Levin.

Senator LEVIN. Thank you.

STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE ALLEN, U.S. SENATOR FROM

VIRGINIA

Senator ALLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Thomas,

thank you for being here. I very much appreciate, Mr. Chairman,

your holding this hearing on this important issue to consider what

I consider to be the unique and extraordinary stories of these six

Virginia Indian tribes. I think you will see in not just my testimony

but the testimony of Chief Adkins and Dr. Rountree the extenuating circumstances that call for legislation and Congressional action

insofar as these six Virginia tribes are concerned.

I, of course, respectfully urge the committee to move as quickly

as possible to extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy, the

Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock,

the Monacan, and the Nansemod Tribes by voting in favor of this

measure, S. 480, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2005.

I am joined in this measure with my colleague and partner from

Virginia, Senator Warner, and I think I speak for him, as well, in

this effort to get long overdue recognition and the recognized status

to a group of Americans who have been a part of this country’s history from before 400 years ago and continue to be.

The six tribes seeking Federal recognition, Mr. Chairman, have

suffered humiliation and indignities that have gone largely unnoticed by most Americans because many of these injustices were not

the result of any actions undertook by these Virginia tribes. Instead, these indignities originated in Government policies that

sought to eliminate their culture and heritage. I believe the circumstances of their situation warrants Congressional recognition.

Some express concern about granting Federal recognition without

investigative processes used by the Department of the Interior.

However, if one closely examines the history of these Virginia Indians they will see why this legislation has been introduced and why
73

some of my colleagues continue to push for recognition on the

House side, including Congressman Moran, whom you will hear

from shortly.

The history of these six tribes begins well before the first Europeans landed on this continent. History has shown their continued

inhabitance in Virginia. Through much of the last 400 years, they

have undergone great hardship; however, many have worked hard

to maintain and preserve their tradition and heritage. To put the

long history of Virginia Indians in context, while many of the federally recognized Indian tribes have signed agreements with the Government of the United States of America, the Virginia Indian tribes

hold treaties with the kings of England, including the Treaty of

1677 between the tribes and Charles II.

Like the plight of many American Indian tribes over the last 4

centuries, the Virginia tribes were continually moved off their land

and many assimilated into U.S. society. Even then, the Virginia Indians were not extended the same rights as were extended or offered to U.S. citizens. The years of racial discrimination and coercive policies took a tremendous toll on the population of Virginia

Indians. Even while living under such difficult circumstances and

constant upheaval, the Virginia Indians were able to maintain a

consistent culture.

And here is where the extenuating circumstances—Mr. Chairman, your criteria or burden of proof. Here is the extenuating circumstances for the Virginia tribes. Following the turn of the 20th

century, members of these six tribes suffered more injustice. New

State mandates in the 20th century forced Virginia Indians to renounce their Indian names and their heritage.

They passed in Virginia what was called the ‘‘Racial Integrity

Act of 1924.’’ This was a damaging, wrong policy in Virginia’s history. This measure enforced by State officials, the Registrar of the

Bureau of Vital Statistics, in particular a person named Dr. William Plecker sought to destroy all records of the Virginia Indians

and recognize them not as Indians but as the designation was then,

‘‘colored.’’

People were threatened with imprisonment for noting ‘‘Indian’’

on a birth certificate. Mothers were not allowed to take their newborn children home if they were given an Indian name. Many generations were, of course, affected by this policy that was enforced

throughout Virginia and left many Indians searching for their true

identity.

A respected journalist who is here in the audience, Peter Hardin,

wrote a comprehensive, thorough article which appeared on March

5, 2000, in ‘‘The Richmond Times Dispatch,’’ and I would like to

have that article made part of the record.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection.

Senator ALLEN. Now, the Racial Integrity Act, Mr. Chairman and

Senators Dorgan and Thomas, left the records of tens of thousands

of Virginia Indians inaccurate or deliberately misleading until

1997. As Governor—I was Governor then—that year I signed legislation that directed State agencies and officials to correct all State

records related to Virginia Indians, reclassifying them as American

Indian and not colored. My administration championed this initia-
74

tive when we learned of the pain that this racist policy inflicted on

many Virginia citizens.

I was also briefed on the problem that many Virginia Indians experienced when trying or attempting to trace their ancestry or have

their records of their children and deceased relatives corrected.

Now, to combat those injustices we want to make sure that any

American Indian whose certified copy of birth record contains an

incorrect racial designation were able to obtain those for a fee. I

think this is the height of insult that someone to correct their

record would then have to be paying fees to get these old records,

and so we made sure that there wasn’t any fee charged to correct

a racial designation that was actually not caused by an Indian individual but rather by State government policy.

Now, because, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, of

the arrogant, manipulating, and wrongful policies of Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act, the Virginia Indian tribes have had a difficult

time collecting and substantiating official documents necessary for

Federal recognition. Through no fault of their own, the records they

need to meet the stringent and difficult requirements for Federal

recognition are simply not available. I fear that, unless my colleagues and I take legislative action, these six tribes will be faulted

and denied Federal recognition for circumstances over which they

truly had and have no control.

The Virginia tribes have filed a petition with the Department of

the Interior’s Branch of Acknowledgement and Research; however,

I believe Congressional action is the appropriate path for Federal

recognition.

The six tribes represented today have faced discrimination and

attacks on their culture that are unheard of in most regions and

States of the United States. Federal recognition brings some benefits to Virginia Indians, including access to education, grants, housing assistance, and health care services which are available to most

American Indians. The education grants, in particular, can provide

an avenue for Virginia Indians to improve their prospects for employment and hopefully secure better-paying jobs.

The benefits of Federal recognition would not be restitution for

years of institutional racism and hostility, but would provide new

opportunities for members of these six tribes. This recognition is a

simple matter of justice, fair treatment, and honor and pride of

heritage and of family.

I can understand some concerns of Members of Congress have

with gambling and property claims that relate to federally recognized Indian tribes. The issue of gambling is resolved in this measure. It complies with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and also

the Virginia laws. The tribes presently, if they so desired, could

have bingo. They do not want to have bingo. People are concerned

about casinos. The reality is, if they want to have casinos or anything they are going to need to have approval from Virginia’s government, and Virginia has horse racing and the lottery. I do not

foresee them having casinos. If they did have casinos, then everyone could have casinos under such law, but I do not see that happening and they can’t do it without Virginia government support.

The Virginia General Assembly, Mr. Chairman and members of

the committee, have passed resolutions supporting this legislation.
75

Governors have supported this legislation. This is a right that has

been stripped for many decades from Virginia tribes. They are not

seeking Federal recognition for superficial gain, but it is to right

a wrong.

I do believe, Mr. Chairman, that the circumstances in these cases

are special, and that is why, with my colleague, Senator Warner,

I have introduced this legislation. I am hopeful that you and members of the committee will objectively review this situation, consider the testimony and evidence that Chief Adkins and Dr. Rountree will present to this committee, and make the right decision to

move this legislation to the floor as was done by your predecessor

chairman, Senator Campbell.

I thank you again, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee,

for holding this hearing and your consideration of this very important matter of justice and equity for Virginia Indian tribes.

Thank you.

[Prepared statement of Senator Allen and ‘‘Richmond Times Dispatch’’ article appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Allen. We very

much appreciate your advocacy, your knowledge, and your passion

that you bring to this issue. We know you can’t stay. We thank you

very much for being here.

Congressman Moran, thank you. Please proceed.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES P. MORAN, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

FROM VIRGINIA

Mr. MORAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much.

It is nice to see my former colleagues and now illustrious Senators,

Senator Dorgan and Senator Thomas. I appreciate the fact that the

three of you would come to this hearing.

We have been before this committee, as Senator Allen said, and

Senator Campbell worked to get this legislation favorably through

the committee. The story of the Virginia tribes represent represents

a unique travesty of justice, a national travesty that we are dealing

with today. This hearing is particularly timely, because this Nation

is about to recognize and celebrate the Jamestown Settlement,

which occurred 400 years ago.

That Jamestown Settlement could not have been successful if it

had not been for these Indian tribes teaching survival skills to the

English explorers and settlers. They welcomed them in. They

taught them how to farm, what foods could be eaten. Many of the

Indians were not immune to the diseases that the English settlers

carried, and they died as a result.

Subsequently, the settlers killed, expelled, subdued these Indian

tribes. The Indians lost their land. For much of the 19th and 20th

centuries they were treated in the same way that African slaves

were treated: Without any rights. As Senator Allen just described,

this was deliberate policy. One of the most troubling legislation actually occurred in the first half of the 20th century. I am going to

try to summarize some of this because Senator Warner has joined

us, as well, and I do think it is quite a testament to the importance

of this issue that both of our Senators are so strongly supporting

Federal recognition.
76

As I say, this is a unique situation, at least in two ways. These

six tribes signed treaties, but they were treaties with the kings of

England. They still exist, but they, were not made with the American Government.

Senator Allen suggested that the most important treaty was the

Treaty of 1677 with King Charles II. That treaty has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia every year for the last 328

years. The Governor, and when Senator Allen was Governor he accepted tributes from the tribes, often turkeys and other game, and

it is celebrated at the State capital. There is no question about the

legitimacy of this treaty.

But in the intervening years between 1677 and the birth of this

Nation, these tribes, as I say, were dispossessed of their land, and

they were too weak to pose any threat, so they were never in a position to negotiate or receive recognition from the nascent Federal

Government. It was the first English permanent settlement in the

New World, and the Virginia Indians were the ones that enabled

it to happen, and yet they have not been recognized by the U.S.

Federal Government.

The second reason that this is unique is that they were the victims of I guess you would have to call a ‘‘paper genocide’’ that was

a result of the laws and, at that time, the attitude of the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the time that the Federal Government grated Native Americans the right to vote, Virginia’s elected officials

were embracing the eugenics movement and adopted racially hostile laws that were targeted at those classes of people who didn’t

fit into the dominant white society.

Those laws and attitudes culminated with the enactment of the

Racial Integrity Act of 1924. It empowered zealots like Walter

Plecker. He was a State official. He destroyed the records of these

Indian tribes. He reclassified in Orwellian fashion, as Senator

Allen has said, all non-whites as colored. In order to get your child

out of a hospital, you had to check a box whether you were white

or colored, in the term that was used then. It particularly targeted

Native Americans so that they could deny them their identity.

The letter hasn’t shown up, but people talk about a letter that

Mr. Plecker wrote to Adolph Hitler bragging about the fact that he

had eliminated the identity of the Native Americans in the State.

I do not know whether such a letter actually exists, but that is exactly what it was all about: To eliminate Native Americans in Virginia.

You could be sentenced to 1 year in jail if you did not check off

the right box. There were only two boxes. So obviously what happened is that there were no more Native Americans left in the

State.

Now, the Racial Integrity Act was struck down by the Federal

courts, but not until 1967. For up to 50 years the State officials

waged a war to destroy all public and many private records that

would have affirmed the existence of Native Americans in Virginia.

Now, historians have affirmed that there is no other State in the

Nation that compares to Virginia’s efforts to eradicate its citizens’

Indian identity.

All of Virginia’s State recognized tribes have filed petitions with

the Bureau of Acknowledgement seeking Federal recognition, but it
77

is a very difficult burden, as you know, Mr. Chairman, for these

tribes to be able to get that kind of acknowledgement. They have

been told that they probably won’t process the paperwork in their

lifetimes.

They weren’t able to get jobs. They weren’t able to get a public

school education. The only education they’ve got were from religious groups, missionaries. That is one of the reasons, as Senator

Allen referred to, they believe gambling is a sin. They do not want

to have anything to do with gambling. They could gamble if they

wanted with bingo parlors. They won’t do it, even though the

American Legion or the VFW bingo parlor is down the street. They

won’t do it. This is a very difficult and really undignified process

for Indians to have to go through, particularly these tribes where

their records were officially destroyed. That just aggravates the injustice that has already been visited upon these tribes.

It wasn’t until 1997 when then Governor George Allen signed

legislation directing State agencies to correct these State records

that had been deliberately altered to list Virginia Indians as colored. The law allows living members of the tribes to try to correct

those records, but the law can’t correct the damage done to past

generations; 2 years later the Virginia General Assembly adopted

a resolution calling upon us in the Congress to enact legislation

recognizing the Virginia Indian tribes. Well, that was 7 years ago.

Now, we have submitted that legislation. We have continued to

push it. We are counting on you now, Mr. Chairman and the members of this committee. There is no doubt that the Chickahominy,

the Eastern Chickahominy, the Monacan, the Nansemod, the Rappahannock, and the Upper Mattaponi Tribes exist. They do exist.

They’ve existed on a continuous basis since before western European settlers first stepped foot in America. They are here with us

today. Helen Rountree will testify on the next panel.

The CHAIRMAN. Congressman Moran, would you please summarize, because——

Mr. MORAN. I will. She spent her lifetime researching this. You

are going to hear from her, Senator.

This is a compelling case, and I hope you will correct this travesty of justice. We are counting on you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Moran appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Congressman Moran. And

thank you for taking the time to come over today and be a part of

this and add important testimony on this issue.

We now recognize our friend and colleague, Chairman Warner.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN W. WARNER, U.S. SENATOR FROM

VIRGINIA

Senator WARNER. Thank you, Senator McCain and members of

the committee.

First, I’d like to commend the committee and its leadership in

seeking to rectify obvious wrongs inflicted many years ago in the

history of our State. And I want to commend the members of the

tribes who have joined here this morning, and hundreds of others

who are back in their homes awaiting the outcome of this very important hearing.
78

I want you to know that throughout my career here I have supported Federal recognition of these tribes. I am certain that we can

devise a means where we can do so, albeit recognizing a lot of the

records do not exist. Somehow, we’ve got the power, I believe, here

in the Congress to do what is right.

My only concern, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee,

is the issue of gambling. We’ve witnessed how gambling in various

parts of the United States has literally transformed communities,

transformed the quality of life sought by so many people. While the

current leadership of these tribes have represented they have no

interest in gambling, we all recognize we are not immortal, and

others will succeed as time marches on with regard to the management of their tribal desires.

Therefore, I want you to know that, while I strongly will work

to get this Federal recognition, I equally will strongly work to resist any legislation that does not ensure that these areas designated by the Federal Government and the people on them will

conduct themselves consistent, as it relates to gambling, as the law

of the Commonwealth of Virginia, whatever that law may be at

such time as that issue may arise.

With that in mind, I join my colleagues this morning and I implore the committee to exercise every possible way to achieve our

goals, but at the same time achieve them such that the issue of

gaming will be controlled by the State law.

I thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I thank

you for taking the time to be in here this morning.

Senator Dorgan.

STATEMENT OF HON. BYRON L. DORGAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM

NORTH DAKOTA, VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN

AFFAIRS

Senator DORGAN. Mr. Chairman, first of all, thank you. I missed

just the first part of Senator Allen’s testimony. A bill that I’ve introduced is being heard in the Commerce Committee, so I am sorry

I was delayed. But thank you for offering us the historical perspective and the interest that you have with respect to justice for these

tribes. I think the committee has to try to work through these

issues, and your testimony is very valuable to us. Thank you very

much.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Thomas, I thank you for coming this

morning. I appreciate it. And Senator Warner, we certainly understand your concern on this gambling issue, which seems to pervade

this issue of tribal recognition and has caused considerable controversy in other States as Indian tribes achieve recognition or entities receive recognition as recognized tribes.

I thank the witnesses for coming this morning. I appreciate your

being here. Thanks again.

Our next panel: Lee Fleming is director of the Office of Federal

Acknowledgement of the Department of the Interior.

Welcome, Mr. Fleming. Your complete statement will be made

part of the record. We thank you for being here this morning.

Please proceed.
79

STATEMENT OF LEE FLEMING, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, WASHINGTON, DC

Mr. FLEMING. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the

committee. My name is Lee Fleming and I am the director of the

Office of Federal Acknowledgement at the Department of the Interior. I am here today to provide the Administration’s testimony on

two bills, S. 437, entitled ‘‘The Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan Referral Act,’’ and S. 480, ‘‘The Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2005.’’

The acknowledgement of the continued existence of another sovereign is one of the most solemn and important responsibilities delegated to the Secretary of the Interior. Federal acknowledgement

enables Indian tribes to participate in Federal programs and establishes a government-to-government relationship between the

United States and the Indian tribe. Acknowledgement carries with

it certain immunities and privileges, including exemptions from

State and local jurisdictions and the ability of newly acknowledged

Indian tribes to undertake certain economic opportunities.

The Department recognizes that under the United States Constitution Congress has the authority to recognize a distinctly Indian community as an Indian tribe, but along with that authority

it is important that all parties have the opportunity to review all

the information available before recognition is granted. That is why

the Department of Interior supports a recognition process that requires groups to go through the Federal acknowledgement process,

because it provides a deliberative, uniform mechanism to review

and consider groups seeking Indian tribal status.

Legislation such as S. 437 and S. 480 would allow these groups

to bypass this process, allowing them to avoid the scrutiny to which

other groups have been subjected. While legislation in Congress

can be a tool to accomplish this goal, a legislative solution should

be used sparingly in cases where there is an overriding reason to

bypass the process.

Interior strongly supports all groups going through the Federal

acknowledgement process under 25 C.F.R. part 83. The Department believes that the Federal acknowledgement process set forth

in 25 C.F.R. part 83 allows for the uniform and rigorous review

necessary to make an informed decision establishing this important

government-to-government relationship.

Before the development of these regulations, the Federal Government and the Department of the Interior made determinations as

to which groups were Indian tribes when negotiating treaties and

determining which groups could reorganize under the Indian Reorganization Act. Ultimately, treaty rights and land claims litigation

highlighted the importance of these tribal status decisions; thus,

the Department in 1978 recognized the need to end ad hoc decision-making and adopt uniform regulations for Federal acknowledgement.

Under the Department’s regulations, petitioning groups must

demonstrate that they meet each of the seven mandatory criteria.

The petitioner must:

One, demonstrate that it has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900;
80

Two, show that a predominant portion of the petitioning group

comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community

from historical times until the present;

Three, demonstrate that it has maintained political influence or

authority over its members as an autonomous entity from historical

times until the present;

Four, provide a copy of the group’s present governing document,

including its membership criteria;

Five, demonstrate that its membership consists of individuals

who descend from a historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian

tribes that combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity and provide a current membership list;

Six, show that the membership of the petitioning group is composed principally of persons who are not members of any acknowledged North American Indian Tribe; and, last,

Seven, demonstrate that neither the petitioner nor its members

are subject of Congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship.

A criterion shall be considered met if the available evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of the validity of the facts relating

to that criterion. A petitioner must satisfy all seven mandatory criteria in order for the Department to acknowledge the continued

tribal existence of a group as an Indian tribe. Currently, the Department’s workload of 19 groups seeking Federal acknowledgement consists of 10 petitions on active consideration and nine petitions on the ready waiting for active consideration.

Now, with respect to S. 437, the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, and another petitioning group, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Incorporated, both of these groups are

affected by the timing of deadlines for the distribution of judgment

funds under the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.

Both groups have applied for Federal acknowledgement under the

regulations.

The Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, which would receive

recognition under this bill, has not submitted a complete documented petition demonstrating its ability to meet all seven mandatory criteria. The group did submit partial documentation in December 2000, and received a technical assistance review letter from

the office in January 2005. The purpose of the technical assistance

review is to provide the group with the opportunity to supplement

its petition due to obvious deficiencies or significant omissions. As

of last week, the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians submitted

additional documentation in response to the technical assistance

review letter.

Under section 110 of the Settlement Act, if the Grand River

Band of Ottawa Indians or the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and

Chippewa Indians, Incorporated, are acknowledged before December 15, 2006, each could receive a significant lump sum from the

judgment fund in excess of $4.4 million, provided that the group

and its membership meet the eligibility criteria set forth under the

Settlement Act.

If no new tribes are recognized before that date, the money is,

instead, distributed per capita to the Indians on the descendent

roll. The Secretary would have 90 days to segregate the funds and
81

to deposit those funds into a separate account established in the

group’s name.

Section 205 of this bill provides that, notwithstanding section

110 of the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act, effective

beginning on the date of enactment of this act any funds set aside

by the Secretary for use by the tribes shall be made available to

the tribe.

Under S. 437 and the Settlement Act, funds are not set aside for

the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians until they are recognized.

Although not clear, we interpret section 205 of S. 437 to mean that,

if the Grand River Band is acknowledged prior to December 15,

2006, any funds set aside for them under section 110 of the Settlement Act would not be subject to plans approved in accordance

with the Settlement Act.

We do not support section 205 because it takes away the membership’s right to participate in the development of the use and distribution plan for the judgment funds. If S. 437 is enacted, we suggest that section 205 be amended.

The Department also has concerns over the three different membership lists referenced in sections 102 and 202. It is unclear why

three different lists would be required. In addition, S. 437 appears

to be ambiguous concerning the nature and extent of jurisdiction

and possible conflicts with treaty rights of other Federally recognized tribes. The Department would like to work with the committee in order to find an equitable solution to all parties connected

to the Settlement Act.

Now, with respect to S. 480, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian

Tribes of Virginia Recognition Act of 2005, this bill provides Federal recognition as Indian tribes to six Virginia groups: The Chickahominy Indian Tribe; the Chickahominy Indian Tribe Eastern Division; the Upper Mattaponi Tribe; the Rappahannock Tribe, Incorporated; the Monacan Indian Nation; and the Nansemod Indian

Tribe.

Under the regulations, these six groups have submitted letters of

intent and partial documentation to petition for Federal acknowledgement as Indian tribes. Some of these groups are awaiting technical assistance reviews under the Department’s regulations. As

stated above, the purpose of the technical assistance review is to

provide the groups with opportunities to supplement their petitions

due to obvious deficiencies and significant omissions. Today, none

of these petitioning groups have submitted completed documented

petitions demonstrating their ability to meet all seven mandatory

criteria.

The Federal acknowledgment regulations provide a uniform

mechanism to review and consider groups seeking tribal status. S.

480 and S. 437, however, allow these groups to bypass these standards, allowing them to avoid the scrutiny to which other groups

have been subjected.

We look forward to working with these groups and assisting

them further as they continue under the Federal acknowledgment

process.

This concludes my prepared statement, and I would be happy to

answer any questions the Committee may have.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Fleming appears in appendix.]
82

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Fleming.

You just mentioned that they have not submitted the documentation for the Federal recognition process under your responsibilities?

Mr. FLEMING. All of these groups have submitted partial documentation, some more than others. And with respect to the Grand

River Bands, they just recently submitted about 10 archival boxes

last week.

The CHAIRMAN. What about the Virginia tribes?

Mr. FLEMING. The Virginia tribes have provided documentation

over time. We have been in the midst of developing their technical

assistance review letters, but they are far from completing their

documented petitions.

The CHAIRMAN. Was your office involved in the drafting of either

of the bills before us today?

Mr. FLEMING. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. In the Virginia case, there is overwhelming evidence that there has been substantial destruction or corruption of

documentation. Is it realistic to believe that they could meet the

Federal acknowledgment process criteria?

Mr. FLEMING. The regulations allow for all kinds of evidence, and

evidence is found on the Federal level, the State level, the county

level, the local level—church records, for example—and tribal

group and family records. We have had many groups provide that

type of documentation.

In doing cursory review of records in many of these counties

where these groups reside, there are records for these groups to research and provide under the process. We certainly would like to

provide technical assistance to show what these documents will

show to help each group as they prepare their petitions.

The CHAIRMAN. How do you respond to criticism of your office

that the process takes so long?

Mr. FLEMING. It is a necessary thorough process. We have been

reviewed by the Government Accountability Office [GAO]. We have

understood the length of time it takes for petitioning groups, but

it is a process also burdened by the number of groups that are already lined up in the process.

The CHAIRMAN. What was the GAO’s conclusions?

Mr. FLEMING. The GAO’s conclusions were that they recommend

that we improve on the timeliness and the transparency of this

process, because this process affects many——

The CHAIRMAN. Are you implementing those recommendations?

Mr. FLEMING. Yes; we are.

The CHAIRMAN. How soon can you let us know of your implementation of those recommendations?

Mr. FLEMING. We can certainly provide the committee with——

The CHAIRMAN. I mean when will it be completed?

Mr. FLEMING. The overall process?

The CHAIRMAN. The implementation of those recommendations

by the GAO.

Mr. FLEMING. Those recommendations have been——

The CHAIRMAN. They have already been implemented?

Mr. FLEMING [continuing]. Implemented.

The CHAIRMAN. Finally, under the conditions, the normal situation as it prevails today, if both of these entities were federally rec-
83

ognized tribes, what is the situation as to regard to both of them

being able to engage in gaming?

Mr. FLEMING. If these tribes are recognized, they would have the

same equal footing as the other 561 federally recognized tribes.

With regard to the Virginia groups, however, there is a provision

that addresses the ability of these groups with regard to gaming.

The CHAIRMAN. And the case prohibiting it?

Mr. FLEMING. Prohibiting.

The CHAIRMAN. In the case of the Michigan legislation, there is

none?

Mr. FLEMING. I believe that is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. I thank you, Mr. Fleming.

Senator Thomas.

Senator THOMAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think you have

asked most of the question.

I guess you said, of course, you are concerned about going

through the Congress, but 437 doesn’t go through the Congress, it

simply asks for your department to get the job done, doesn’t it?

Mr. FLEMING. That is correct. The bill has deadlines that are

stale. Most of those deadlines in the proposed bill have already

passed, so something would need to be addressed with regard to a

new schedule or dates.

Senator THOMAS. Why would you say that you haven’t come to

some decision prior to now? Why is it taking so long to come up

with a final decision?

Mr. FLEMING. Senator, we have so many groups that are ahead

of some of these other petitioning groups. They have been lined up,

and we have nine groups, for example, that are under various

phases of what is known as ‘‘active consideration.’’ This is a period

of time where our professionals are looking at the evidence of these

nine particular groups. Once those groups are cleared off of active

consideration, then we have ten groups that are lined up that are

ready, that have completed documentation, and then we are able

to apply our resources to reviewing those 10 petitioning groups.

Senator THOMAS. How long have you been considering the Michigan group?

Mr. FLEMING. The Michigan groups, the Burt Lake Band submitted their letter of intent in 1985, the Grand River Band group submitted their letter of intent in the midnineties. Now, a letter of intent simply says we are interested in the process. Under the Settlement Act and those deadlines, those petitioning groups did meet

some of these intermediary deadlines for getting a documented petition into our office. In fact, Burt Lake is one of the groups that

is further along. They are expecting a final determination in September of this year.

Senator THOMAS. Well, I agree with the idea that it really

shouldn’t go around this, but can there be groups that have been

longer than 10 or 12 years ago that are still pending? I do not understand the administrative process that you are 10 years off and

you still are behind a bunch of other groups. What is the story?

Mr. FLEMING. This is a concern that I think we all——

Senator THOMAS. Well what are you doing about it? I mean, having a concern doesn’t solve the problem.
84

Mr. FLEMING. Let me give you an example. One group submitted

their letter of intent in 1978. The regulation allows the group to

then research documentation. Twenty years later the group submitted their material. No fault of their own other than it is a process

that takes time to research and find the documents to provide in

the process. So the Department gets blamed for those 20 years that

the group is working on its petition. Then we issue a technical assistance review letter.

Senator THOMAS. I do not think we are talking about how long

it takes for them to do it; it is when it gets to the department, how

soon does that decision come?

Mr. FLEMING. When the petitioner goes on active consideration,

then the regulation provides certain regulatory due process periods

of time. For example, 12 months is involved in the review of the

evidence to make sure that the evidence is applied to all 7 mandatory criteria. When we propose a finding, either to acknowledge or

to not acknowledge, that allows for then a 6-month public comment

period to allow the petitioner and the public to comment on our

finding.

Then the petitioner is allowed to months to respond to any comments that may have come in from an interested party. Then the

Department has 2 months to work on the production of the final

determination. So right there you are just under the regulatory

process of these various phases of due process. That is 22 months.

Senator THOMAS. Okay. Well, I understand the difficulty, but I

just think we need to be as watchful as we can to make sure that

these things do not go on for years standing in line.

What would you do then in 480, finally, if, because of the age of

the years involved here, that some of these documents that you require are not available but that the evidence is still there that

should happen? I guess——

Mr. FLEMING. I would state that the records are there. The

records are available on the Federal level. For example, the Federal

census is taken every 10 years. You have the 1930 being the most

available right now. These groups should look for their families and

members on the Federal Census. In fact, in a cursory look some of

the individuals are even identified as Rappahannock, Mattaponi, or

Pamonky. This is 1930 in the middle of that period of time when

Virginia had some of its policies affecting vital records. But even

vital records, the names of the parents and the names of the children are listed with their dates of birth, place of birth, and so on

and so forth. These are the types of records that help demonstrate

the genealogies of these families.

Sure enough, you may find different designations in these

records, but even when you do a cursory look of records on the

county level you are finding hunting and gaming documents where

individuals are listed as ‘‘IN’’ or ‘‘IND,’’ standing for Indian. Church

records, these records are very helpful in demonstrating events

that are taking place in the communities. You almost have to follow the genealogy of a church, because some members will disassociate from a mother church and create another church and then another church, but then you go back and you look at those types of

records.
85

Our staff is ready to assist these groups in identifying these various records at these various levels. Civil War destroyed some of

the courthouse records, but from 1865 to the present there are

records there to help document those time periods. Prior to that

there are other records on the other levels that I had just mentioned.

Senator THOMAS. Well, I know it is difficult, but I just think we

have to come to some decisions, and it can’t go on endlessly without

some decision-making.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Allen, would you like to ask questions?

Senator ALLEN. First of all, I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for letting me be an ex officio member of the committee.

The CHAIRMAN. You are always welcome here.

Senator ALLEN. Well, I wanted to hear the testimony of Chief

Adkins, who will explain, as well as Dr. Rountree, on why it is so

difficult to get these records, mostly because of vital statistics, the

best records, of course, purged any reference to Indian or American

Indian or whatever, anything other than white or colored.

One can say that this is a simple thing to do, but I would simply

ask Mr. Fleming, you have read our legislation here. As you go

through the documentation, the treaties, the Chickahominy, the

Nansemod, the Rappahannock, all these different tribes, it is very

interesting history, really, of Virginia. Some of these treaties were

entered into in 1614 before the Pilgrims even landed up at Plymouth Rock. And you just see trying to reconstruct, it is more than

just the last few years. It is even prior to that.

Do you have any question whatsoever that these tribes do exist,

or people have the bloodlines, that there are Chickahominy, there

are Rappahannock Indians, there are Monacan Indians or Upper

Mattaponi and the others that are involved in our legislation?

Mr. FLEMING. The groups exist, and we know they exist because

they have petitioned under our process. We also have, in total, actually 12 groups from Virginia that have petitioned for Federal acknowledgment. What struck me in looking at the bill—and when

you cursorily look at all the events that were listed chronologically,

it raised a yellow flag in my mind because there are evidentiary

gaps that are in these findings.

We would advise then, under technical assistance to these

groups, find documents to help supplement these periods where

there are gaps. Our staff did do a cursory look at the various types

of records that could be found at the State archives, the State library, in the counties, in the churches, in the families of these

groups, and, as you start to gather the evidence, you align the evidence chronologically under the seven mandatory criteria to help

demonstrate that there is a continued tribal existence socially and

politically and that they do, indeed, descend from an historical

tribe or tribes.

I think what other concern I have is in the bill, as we compare

it to our petitioners in the process, there are two Rappahannock

groups, there are two Chickahominy groups, there are two

Mattaponi groups that, when you have two groups, there are questions with regard to then membership. What is going on here?

These issues are ironed out through the acknowledgment process
86

and it allows for clear definition of who is who and who belongs to

whatever group.

Senator ALLEN. How long do you think it would take to go

through your processes to have these tribes recognized using your

agency?

Mr. FLEMING. It depends on the group in doing research, because

a lot of that time is involved with the research. It would be interesting to see if there could be some cooperation between not only

our office in providing technical assistance, but other institutions.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has tremendous research institutions, and one can foresee some kind of coordination between the

groups and academia, where most of these records are kept in their

institutions, such as William and Mary, for example. The

Brafforton School for Indians was established in the early 1600’s

and ran and then eventually became William and Mary. Those

records have references to Indian students who came from these

various groups of today.

Senator ALLEN. What’s the average for a tribe to be recognized

using your agency, as opposed to a——

Mr. FLEMING. The GAO did an analysis of that. They looked at

the various groups. Our regulation went through revisions in 1994,

but we can provide you the data on that, because not only do you

have work that is being done by each group, but you are also having work done by the Department of Interior. They broke down

some of those time frames to give an idea of how long it took a

group to document versus how long did it take a group to go

through our process.

Senator ALLEN. So what is the answer to the question?

Mr. FLEMING. I’d have to get back to you on that.

Senator ALLEN. Roughly.

Mr. FLEMING. Roughly probably 6 to 10 years.

Senator ALLEN. Total?

Mr. FLEMING. Some groups less, some groups more.

Senator ALLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Fleming.

Our next panel is: Stephen Adkins, who is the chief of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe; Helen Rountree, who is the professor

emerita of anthropology at the Old Dominion University; Ron Yob,

who is the chairman of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians;

Reverend David Willerup, the pastor of the Westwood Reform

Church in Muskegon, Michigan; and Michael O’Connor, who is the

president, Virginia Petroleum, Convenience, and Grocery Association in Richmond, VA.

Chief Adkins, we will begin with you, sir.

STATEMENT OF STEPHEN R. ADKINS, CHIEF, CHICKAHOMINY

INDIAN TRIBE, CHARLES CITY, VA

Mr. ADKINS. Thank you, Senator McCain, Chairman McCain,

and members of the committee for allowing me to testify here

today.

I will omit some of my prepared oral testimony. Senator Allen

has spoken to some of my points, as well as Senator Warner and

Congressman Moran. But I would like to say that one of the bright

spots in our history occurred in 1997 when Senator Allen signed
87

that legislation that compelled the State to go back and change the

vital statistics, the birth records of my tribe and several other

tribes in Virginia, and also I would thank the Senator for his unflagging support from the State House to the Halls of Congress.

You, Senator McCain, I would like to thank you for the fact that

you told Chief Ken Adams and myself in February of this year at

the winter conference of the National Congress of American Indians that you would give consideration to and look at the bill that

we have before this committee, and I thank you for honoring that

commitment and having us here today. This is the third time, in

fact, that I have appeared before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, so my story really hasn’t changed. It hasn’t changed since

1607 when we actually greeted the English settlers as sovereign

nations. The Senator, Senator Allen, talked about our treaties.

The first treaty engaged with the colonists was in 1614, that

being between the Chickahominy and English settlers. Then we

had treaties in intervening years. In the 1640’s, the treaty that

Congressman Moran alluded to delineated some of the responsibilities of the tribes and the officials regarding what the tribes would

do and what the governing body would do. One provision of that

treaty was that a tribute would be made every year to the State

House as a condition of that treaty. That tradition has continued

for over 31⁄2 centuries, which I think would lend some compelling

evidence to some of the points that Mr. Fleming brought up regarding the continuity of our people for those years.

I would like to say a little bit about Walter Plecker. I won’t go

into the whole thing because that has been talked about today. I

would like to mention that we have gotten support from three Governors—Governor Allen, Governor Warner, Governor Kane—letters

that have come pledging their support for our efforts around Federal recognition.

But when I think about Walter Plecker, the rabid separatist that

he was, and those things that were done to my people, it is not

something I like to talk about, but what that caused us to do was

unite more strongly as tribes and to really work hard to preserve

our heritage.

Now, the obvious barriers that we had were barriers that were

created that caused the public to look at us as something other

than Indian, so we fought the system and the image that we had

in the public. No other State had officials that were as rigid, as

zealous enforcers of such a vile act as Virginia had, so we faced the

bureaucratic obstacles as well as the scrutiny of the public in maintaining our heritage. Very hard to do. But I would say it made us

stronger. Some people under adverse conditions wither and die

away; I would say this made us stronger and gave us a more compelling desire and urge and more deliberateness in pursuing our

rightful place as recognized tribes within these great United States

of America.

I am glad to be here today to offer this testimony.

I have with me today Dr. Helen Rountree, who is prepared to assist with any questions you may have about our history.

Senator McCain, I could tell you much about the publicized stories of 17th century Virginia, and you have heard much of that, so

I won’t talk much about that. But I would say that well known is
88

the story of Chief Powhatan, and more widely known is the story

of his daughter, Pocahontas, whose very picture hangs in the Capitol Building here in D.C., along with her husband, her English

husband John Rolfe.

I would say that without the hospitality of my forebears, the first

permanent English settlement would not have been Jamestown. To

be sure, there would have been one, but it wouldn’t have been

Jamestown.

People know about the 17th century and how that early history

so callously denied our Indian heritage, but I want you to remember most and recognize most is that myself, along with the chiefs

here today, stand on the shoulders of those people who gave their

lives, whose very lives were destroyed because of the harsh realities that existed in the 17th century and have carried on through

the 20th and now the 21st century. I stand here on the shoulders

of Chief Wowinchopunk, who was chief of the Paspahegh, whose

whole tribe was annihilated by 1610. Some of those descendants

found refuge with the Chickahominy Tribe, but as a tribal group

they were destroyed. That is 3 years after the English settlement.

As we commemorate Jamestown 2007, the birth of this great Nation, those of Indian heritage in Virginia are reminded of this history and it is painful. We are actively involved in the commemoration of the birth of this great Nation and we think it is the right

thing to do. We know that one of the legacies of this effort will be

that our story will be told the way it happened. The legacy will find

its way into the history books, the textbooks of our schools, so that

is a good thing.

But we are seeking recognition through an act of Congress rather

than the BIA because we think the actions taken by the Commonwealth of Virginia during the 20th century erased our history by

altering key documents as part of a systematic plan, a systematic

plan to deny our existence. We think this state action separates us

from other tribes of this country that were protected from this blatant denial of Indian heritage and identity, so it distinguishes us

from those tribes.

The Senator talked about the article from Peter Hardin, so I

won’t mention that, but I do concur that I would like to see that

in the records.

It was socially unacceptable to kill Indians in Virginia, but we

became fair game to this documented genocide, the eugenics movement, and all of the attendant things that occurred under the leadership of Walter Plecker that sought to destroy who we are, that

Racial Integrity Act of 1924.

Now, the thing about it, that law stayed in effect half of my life.

My Mom and Dad traveled to Washington, DC, on February 20,

1935, to be married as Indians because they couldn’t do it in the

Commonwealth of Virginia. People ask me why I do not have an

Indian name. The answer is quite simple. My Mom and Dad

weighed the risks of naming me what they would have loved to

name me and said it is not worth the risk of going to jail. Now,

I am not alone in that plight. There are people here today who do

not carry Indian names because of the threat of going to jail for a

year if that happened. Again, no other ethnic community was probably denied in that way.
89

I would like to talk a little bit about——

The CHAIRMAN. Chief, you have got to talk a little bit faster. We

are well over time. I have been informed we have a vote at 11:15,

so we want to be able to give all of the——

Mr. ADKINS. Okay. Give me 11⁄2 minutes.

We think that recognition through Congress because of the history of racism in very recent times that intimidated our people,

prevented us from believing that we could fit into a petition process

that would either understand or reconcile the State action with our

heritage. We fear the process would not be able to see beyond the

corrupted documentation that was designed to deny our heritage.

Mr. McCain, the story I just told you I do not like to tell. It is

very painful. But that is how we got here to day.

I would like to end this testimony with a quote from Chief Powhatan. I think it is very timely and I would like for you to hear

that. I used this quote last year but I want this year to specially

honor him. Last summer I was one of two chiefs to be hosted by

the British Government. We went to England and we were honored, first time a Virginia Indian had been honored in England

since Pocahontas visited there with her husband, John Rolfe. But

here is that quote:

I wish that your love to us might not be less than ours to you. Why should you

take by force that which you can have from us by love? Why should you destroy

us who have provided you with food? What can you get by war? In such circumstances, my men must watch, and if a twig should but break all would cry out,

‘Here comes Captain Smith.’ And so, in this miserable manner to end my miserable

life. And, Captain Smith, this might soon be your fate too. I, therefore, exhort you

to peaceable councils, and above all I insist that the guns and swords, the cause

of all our jealousy and uneasiness, be removed and sent away.

Senator McCain, our bill would give us this peace that Chief

Powhatan sought, it would honor the treaty our ancestors made

with the early colonists and the Crown, and at this time in our history when we are commemorating the 400th anniversary of the

birth of the greatest nation in the world, it would show respect for

our heritage and our identity, that through jealousy perhaps has

never before been acknowledged.

Thank you.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Adkins appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

The written statements of all the witnesses will be included in

the record completely. We are going to have to stick fairly close to

the 5-minute rule here because of the vote that is going to take

place so we have time to hear your testimony as well as answer

questions. I apologize for any inconvenience that may cause you.

Dr. Rountree, thank you, and thank you for all the hard work

you have done for many years on this issue.

STATEMENT OF HELEN ROUNTREE, PROFESSOR EMERITA OF

ANTHROPOLOGY, OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY, NORFOLK, VA

Ms. ROUNTREE. Thank you, sir. I will make this very succinct

and count on questions afterwards. I am going to cut down even

the few pages I have.

I am Dr. Helen Rountree, an ethno-historian trained in both anthropology and history, but my primary area is cultural

anthropology.
90

I started working with American Indians in Nevada and worked

with people who were more fluent in Shoshone than they were in

English, but in 1969 I became acquainted with Virginia Indians,

saw serious parallels, and said I had better get to work and begin

researching here. I have been doing it ever since.

I not only have spent time visiting and living with the modern

people, but I have literally scoured the published and unpublished

records in Virginia, including the speed reading the often unindexed county records from 1607 onward. I have found the records

that Mr. Fleming is looking for. I hope you will ask me what I have

done with them besides publishing them, for I have produced no

less than six books on the subject of the Powhatan Indians of Virginia. Number seven is in the hopper. The one that is most germane to this hearing came out 16 years ago, ‘‘The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through Four Centuries.’’ Roughly one-third of the

book is end notes and bibliography which gives the resources of the

records I found to prove I didn’t make anything up. These records

are going to be easy to throw in a Xerox machine and send to

Washington if I ever get the word to do it. I have yet to get a word

to do it. Do please ask me about that. It is a point of bitterness

with me. Sorry. It is on behalf of the Indians I work with.

I am not the first social scientist to work with these tribes in Virginia. There have been social scientists, including anthropologists

like me who specialize in American Indians, North American Indians, working with them for 120 years, just under 120. So it is not

as if I am the first, and it is not as if they are recently appearing.

They are not.

I learned early on what it was going to take to show that ethnic

groups were actually here. The criteria I was using were subsequently codified by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They were not

news to me. I knew those criteria, too. In my opinion, the six tribes

represented here today meet those criteria. Why they did not

choose the BIA route is their own business and they can answer

that, but they do meet the criteria. The people are authentic. On

that basis, I will stand firm.

There are several things that make the Indian groups in Virginia

an exception, and many of them, in my opinion as an outsider,

have to do with Pocahontas, believe it or not. When the icon of

Indianness in your State is a legendary figure from 400 years back

and an internationally famous turncoat who has been Disneyfied,

it is a little hard for modern-day tribal people to look Indian in the

eyes of the general public. And talk about being overshadowed,

these people I work with have been overshadowed badly for as long

as the Pocahontas legend has been going on. People would much

rather talk about Pocahontas to me. I work with Virginia Indians.

‘‘Well, tell me about Pocahontas.’’ It goes on all the time.

This has blinded people in Virginia, many people, to the fact that

there have been Indian tribes all along in their midst. They didn’t

want to look at the reality. They preferred to look at the legend.

It has gone on for 400 years now.

Pocahontas also played into the difficulties of the 20th century

with that racial integrity legislation. The one drop rule—one drop

of non-white ancestry makes you colored—was believed in by many

Virginia people, including my ancestors there, back in the 19th cen-
91

tury when they began to try to make it a matter of law of racial

definitions. The first thing they discovered was that some of the

aristocratic Virginians traced their ancestry back to Pocahontas,

and therefore some of the State’s aristocrats would be the very first

people put onto the Jim Crow Coach. ‘‘We cannot allow that to happen,’’ so they wrote an exception right from the beginning of the

20th century for, as they were called, the ‘‘Pocahontas descendants.’’ But for the die-hard white supremacists in the State—

Plecker was only one of several—for those die-hards, they saw that

as a hole in the dike that had to be plugged, and the quickest way

to plug it was to say the only people with Indian ancestry are those

Pocahontas descendants today, and all these other people claiming

to be Indian are only using the Indian label as a ‘‘waystation to

whiteness.’’ That is a direct quote, a ‘‘waystation to whiteness.’’

So the stridency that you heard all across the south in the first

one-half of the 20th century was much magnified in Virginia, and

the attacks on people saying publicly they were Indian, like Steve’s

ancestors, were that much more public and that much more relentless.

When the racial definitions were repealed——

The CHAIRMAN. Dr. Rountree.

We have run out of time. Please summarize.

Ms. ROUNTREE. I will summarize.

It is not a waystation to whiteness they’ve claimed. They are still

saying they are Indian. Anybody can be anything they want to in

Virginia now. They are still saying they are Indian, so I think they

deserve recognition on that basis.

Thank you.

[Prepared statement of Ms. Rountree appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Rountree. Thank you

for your passion.

Chairman Yob, welcome back.

STATEMENT OF RON YOB, CHAIRMAN, GRAND RIVER BANDS

OF OTTAWA INDIANS, GRAND RAPIDS, MI, ACCOMPANIED BY

FRAN COMP, VICE CHAIRMAN

Mr. YOB. Sir, thank you.

[Remarks in Native tongue.]

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, my name is Ron Yob and I am chairman

of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan. I would

ask the committee that Vice Chairman Fran Comp will be allowed

to assist me if there are any questions from the committee.

Thank you very much for holding this hearing today on bill S.

437 that would expedite review of the Grand River Band of Ottawa

Indians to secure timely and just determination on whether the

tribe is entitled to recognition as a Federal Indian tribe. I want to

be clear that this is not a recognition bill. This would allow the

tribe to participate in an expedited process through the Office of

Federal Acknowledgment and allow the OFA to make a final determination.

We’d like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow for their interest and
92

support of our tribe. For many good and valid reasons, the tribe is

very hopeful that the committee will favorably consider S. 437.

The story of our tribe is long and varied, as is the story of recognition of all the Michigan Indian treaty tribes, of which the

Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians is the only one that remains

unrecognized. The Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians is the

largest unrecognized treaty tribe in Michigan, and perhaps the

United States. Our members live primarily in western Michigan in

the same area we have lived since before the Europeans first arrived there. Our prehistoric burial mounds are located along the

Grand River near the city of Grand Rapids, and in many other

areas of the river, from below Lansing to Grand Haven.

As we are pressed for time, I would like to focus the testimony

on the legislation and why we are pursuing an expedited process

to pursue Federal acknowledgment.

The Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan is comprised of 19 bands of Ottawa Indians who occupy the territory

along the Grand River Valley and other river valleys in what is

now southwest Michigan, including the cities of Grand Rapids and

Muskegon. There are about 700 tribal members, the majority living

in and around the counties of Kent, Muskegon, and Oceana. We are

signatories to five treaties, and all successor tribes have now been

recognized by the United States except for the Grand River Bands

of Ottawa Indians.

In 1997 Congress passed the Michigan Indian Lands Claim Settlement Act to implement distribution of several land claim

awards. The law provides that to be eligible for the set-aside a nonrecognized tribe must file its documented petition by December 15,

2000. We have done so. The act provides 6 years for the BIA to

issue a final determination on that petition. The BIA has not done

so. If the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians is not recognized

by March 15, 2007, we are going to lose millions of dollars for tribal

programs that would otherwise be available.

S. 437 was introduced by Senators Levin and Stabenow to ensure

that our petition would be acted on in time for the Grand River

Bands of Ottawa Indians to qualify for the funds set aside by Congress for the tribe. After making our submission on December 8,

2000, the Grand River Bands did not hear from the Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA] until April 2004, when they granted us a technical assistance meeting at the request of Congressman Peter

Hoekstra. It was another 9 months before we received our technical

assistance letter on January 26, 2005. The Grand River Bands

have spent the past 17 months collecting materials, preparing a 63-

page legal response supported by a 265-page ethno-historical response, additional documents, and two certified copies of our membership documents. We filed this as our response to the TA letter

on June 9, 2006.

My conclusion: The Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians has

the support of its community and other Michigan tribes, and

thankfully our Senators. This bill does not directly recognize the

tribe, but instead refers the matter to the BIA for a determination

with time lines for deciding the tribe’s status and filing a report to

Congress. The Congress has directly reaffirmed the existence of
93

four other Michigan tribes, so there is an ample precedent for direct reaffirmation of our status.

The Grand River Bands have always been an active leader in the

Michigan Indian community. We participate, though often unofficially, in Indian child welfare cases, repatriation matters, and

other dealings with other State, local, and private entities. We have

spearheaded the return of the original 1855 Treaty of the Grand

Rapids to be exhibited in the museum named for our great former

President Gerald Ford.

If S. 437 is not passed and Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians

remains in the Federal acknowledgment process, not only will

Grand River lose millions of dollars, we estimate it will take 15 to

25 years to complete this process.

Thank you again for your attention to S. 437, and we pray that

the committee will act favorably on this legislation.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Yob appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Chairman Yob.

Reverend Willerup, welcome.

STATEMENT OF DAVID WILLERUP, PASTOR, WESTWOOD

REFORM CHURCH, MUSKEGON, MI

Mr. WILLERUP. Thank you very much, Chairman McCain.

I am here today as a pastor of Westwood Reform Church, the

former president of Positively Muskegon, which was a ballot action

committee formed in 2003 to face one referral question that was

put before the city of Muskegon. We faced a single question referral

in September 9, 2003, whether the city of Muskegon should host

a casino or not. Most of the reason why we are here today has to

do with that particular referral and activities after that referral in

September 2003.

Prior to September 2003 the Archimedes Group, LLC, was involved in some redevelopment claims for our downtown. Our downtown in Muskegon—and Muskegon is only a population of 40,000

residents with a beautiful beach. We have significant investment

from Grand Valley State University in a technologically advanced

Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Research Center, and

also Water Research Facilities Institute. Both of these represent

millions of dollars of investment.

Well, the Archimedes group approached the Downtown Muskegon Redevelopment Corporation with a proposal to put a casino on

23 acres of defunct mall property which was rejected. For the next

several months the Archimedes group published their plan on this

mall property. I attended one of those meetings where they said

that the casino would be the economic savior of Muskegon and, as

a reverend, that got my ire up. So when I stood up at the meeting

to ask what avenue they would take, because in Michigan there are

only two ways to get a casino, one is through a private corporation

which was enacted only for three casinos in the city of Detroit, or

tribal. At that point I was silenced and told to sit down.

It took the next several months of public debate to get the Archimedes group to even admit that this would be done through a tribal process, and not until after the vote, which went 52 percent to

48 percent in favor of the referendum from Muskegon city residents

only, that the tribe became active politically.
94

There was a political action committee formed by the Archimedes

Group called Yes Muskegon. This group has been behind the tribe

since the introduction of the idea of a casino for downtown Muskegon. I do have testimony here. I district have proof of my claims

that I would like to have included in the record.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection.

Mr. WILLERUP. Thank you. They include letters from business

and community leaders stating their objection to a casino as an

economic engine.

In September 2003, as I stated, the referral went in favor where

more people turned out for this one non-binding election than voted

for the Governor. In November 2003 the ‘‘Muskegon Chronicle’’ reported that a deal had been struck between the Archimedes Group

and the tribe. In December 2003 I called Senator Stabenow’s office

to see if she was at all interested in expediting the procedure, at

which point I was told no. And then in February 2004 I find that

she sponsored legislation.

Also in 2004 a tribe that had been previously politically inactive

began investing in lobbyists, and over the next 2 years over

$200,000 was invested with firms that are mentioned in my testimony.

So I would like to make clear to the committee today that my

point in being here is to let you know that it is casino interest

which is driving this time line. The Archimedes Group had made

a public promise that they would have a casino up and running in

3 to 5 years. That will not happen without tribal recognition.

I would also like to state that I am not—if that casino were not

part, if casino were not part of this effort, I would be in support

of the tribe’s search for recognition. I do not believe that any people

should be denied what has been promised to them, should be denied their culture or their heritage or the avenue through which

those things are protected. But because casino is clearly behind it,

I ask that this committee consider that, as a progenitor of this bill,

we have something that looks a whole lot less like ‘‘Of the people,

by the people, for the people,’’ and a whole lot more like ‘‘Of Las

Vegas, by the lobbyists, and for the management company.’’

Thank you.

[Prepared statement of Reverend Willerup appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, sir.

Mr. O’Connor, welcome.

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL O’CONNOR, PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA

PETROLEUM, CONVENIENCE AND GROCERY ASSOCIATION,

RICHMOND, VA

Mr. O’CONNOR. Good morning, Senator. I will summarize.

I appreciate Senator Allen for his efforts in including our views

in the hearing this morning, as well.

I am president of the statewide trade association that represents

petroleum marketers and convenience store operators in the State

of Virginia. All of our members stand to be affected by S. 480, the

Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition

Act should it be enacted.

While honorable in its intention, S. 480 poses a serious threat to

small businesses across our State. If passed, S. 480 could create an
95

anti-competitive marketplace for goods such as tobacco and gasoline and strain the State budget by reducing excise tax revenue

from those products. In fact, if passed, the impact of S. 480 could

be multi-faceted.

The U.S. Government and the government of the Commonwealth

of Virginia would recognize the referenced tribes as sovereign entities. The groups would no longer be subject to the taxing power of

the Commonwealth. Pursuant to S. 480, these groups would be permitted to purchase and to take into trust land in some of the most

populous areas of our State. In fact, it appears that one of the

groups could acquire land anywhere in the State of Virginia and

turn it into a reservation. This would create havoc for State laws

and for law enforcement.

For our members, the single greatest concern is that these tribes

will have the ability to establish retail business outside of the jurisdiction of traditional State powers to collect taxes. That means that

any convenience store, truck stop, or smoke shop established by

one of the recognized tribes could sell gasoline and tobacco to the

public free of State taxes.

The type of tax evasion I am referencing today is not conceptual.

It is occurring today in many States and has led to high-profile disputes in New York, Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico, among

others. In these States, Native American tribes have used recognition to open convenience stores and truck stops that sell gasoline

and tobacco products tax free to non-Native Americans. This is in

spite of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling saying that such sales can

be subject to State taxes.

For example, in New York it is estimated that $360 to $400 million per year is not recouped due to cigarette excise tax evasion.

Let me be clear in summing up about our position. We are not

opposed to recognition of Virginia’s tribes; however, the people

whom I represent do not deserve to have a life’s investment threatened by a marketer selling gasoline to non-tribal members at a

171⁄2 cent price advantage, an advantage that would be gained solely through tax evasion.

Because this legislation is not just about recognizing existing reservations but pulls in other areas of the State into new reservations, the competitive disadvantage large numbers of convenience

store retailers would feel is exacerbated.

Mr. Chairman, any legislation of this kind must ensure that tribal members are required to pay all excise taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and other products. Accordingly, unless strong protections

against excise and sales tax evasion are included in S. 480, VPCGA

must oppose the bill in its current form; however, we would welcome the opportunity to work with the committee, Senator Allen,

and any of the proponents to address the concerns that we have

aired today.

I appreciate your time.

[Prepared statement of Mr. O’Connor appears in appendix.]

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. O’Connor.

Mr. O’Connor, in many States the tribes and the States have sat

down and worked out agreements so that these impacts are mitigated. In some of the States the tribes collect taxes equal to those
96

imposed by the State, etc. Would you be supportive if such agreements could be worked out?

Mr. O’CONNOR. I think the answer to that is if the agreements

were embedded in the legislation it would certainly give a great

deal more comfort to the people that I represent.

The CHAIRMAN. How do you feel, Chief Adkins, about that issue?

Mr. ADKINS. First, I’d like to say this is the first time I’ve seen

Mr. O’Connor, and if he is sincere about working with the tribes

I am just kind of amazed that this is the first time I’ve heard anything that he’s talking about today. But the tribes would be willing

to work with the State in a way that we honor the sovereignty and

respect the laws of the State of Virginia.

The CHAIRMAN. Chairman Yob, how do you respond to Reverend

Willerup’s concern that this is simply a casino-driven deal; that the

funding that you have received is primarily from developers who

would like to see a casino in operation? And I say that because, as

you know, in other parts of the State of Michigan there has been

great controversy about casinos and its impact on the local communities. How would you respond to Reverend Willerup’s concerns?

Mr. YOB. Well, basically our tribal council doesn’t—as you noticed, our letter of intent was in 1994. The Archimedes people

agreement is in 2003. That is 9 years later. Our tribal council do

not even talk casino. We do not want casinos. We never brought

up casinos. We have been approached over the years by numerous

people from Nevada, from Florida. They wanted to fly us to Florida

and show us operations in New Jersey, North Dakota. I can go on

and on, monthly. I will say no. We were approached by the Archimedes people several times and we still would say no to them.

The CHAIRMAN. Have the Archimedes people funded some of your

efforts?

Mr. YOB. Yes; they have, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Out of altruism?

Mr. YOB. Excuse me?

The CHAIRMAN. Because they support your effort for recognition

or because they think there’s some financial gain that they would

eventually realize?

Mr. YOB. I can’t talk for the Archimedes people, but the only

thing I can say is that I have seen the nature of the Archimedes

people change when they started seeing the plight of our people

and they started seeing our priorities. Our casinos are way down

the list. We’ve got too many other things that we need to correct

in our State with our own people that have nothing to do with

gaming. You know, the only reason that we even worked things out

with Archimedes is once, when they brought us to Muskegon, for

instance, the person drove by a cemetery and told me that is where

his mother was and that is where his brother was buried, and that

showed me that connection to that community. He did mention the

county-wide vote which was 60-some percent to 40-some percent,

actually, that showed that they were in favor of doing that.

When that point comes along, that is—our tribal council truly

does not want—I mean, I won’t say we won’t have one, but that

is not our intentions, that is not our priority. We have many, many

other things that concern the welfare of our people, whether it be

education, health care, care for our elders, housing, et cetera.
97

The CHAIRMAN. I understand that, but there’s a clear record and

it is not illegal, but there is a clear record of gaming industry people funding tribes’ recognition process, helping fund them, and in

return there have been casinos set up. I am not saying there’s anything illegal about it, but it certainly is a charitable instinct on the

part of this group whose general purpose is to make money. I guess

we will have to see.

Ms. Rountree, are your criteria for what constitutes a tribe the

same as the Federal Government’s criteria?

Ms. ROUNTREE. Yes, sir; they are.

The CHAIRMAN. With regard to the Virginia groups, has your research provided evidence of an ongoing tribal government?

Ms. ROUNTREE. Yes; it has.

The CHAIRMAN. There’s no gaps?

Ms. ROUNTREE. Not since 1850 when the better records came

about.

The CHAIRMAN. There seems to be some difference of opinion between that view and that of Mr. Fleming.

Ms. ROUNTREE. I have tried communicating with Mr. Fleming

and he does not readily answer letters and does not answer questions directly. I have offered to send him any or all documents that

are relevant. He has not communicated to me what to send. That

is why I sent him nothing.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Fleming, I hope you will be in receipt of and

take in consideration the documents that Dr. Rountree has. Will

you do that?

Mr. FLEMING. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

Chief Adkins, it is not your responsibility, but if we in the Congress were to grant recognition based in part on the destruction of

records, what should we tell a group whose family histories were

destroyed by fire?

Mr. ADKINS. I think what distinguishes us from those groups and

what I would offer is that the State systematically worked to destroy us, and I call it paper genocide. If ours were simply destroyed

by fire—and I do not trivialize that—it would be much easier to go

back and fill in the gaps than it is to go through records that have

been given the official seal of designating us in some class that we

are not. That is the argument, sir, that I would give.

The CHAIRMAN. I think that is an excellent point.

Senator Dorgan.

Senator DORGAN. Mr. Chairman, I had to go back to the Commerce Committee, so I missed a part of the presentation. I will review those that I missed and I want to thank the panel for being

here. This is a hearing that is very important, and one in which

we have a lot to learn. I think we have learned a lot today from

the submissions of the statements, so thank you very much for

being with us.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Allen.

Senator ALLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Rountree, in your research—and you mentioned this—you

paraphrased or summarized your testimony, but in your written

testimony you talked about how much more difficult it was to hunt

for the personal names and associations in the records because
98

they didn’t have the accurate racial labels, and that the law that

was passed in 1924 insofar as records where you are either white

or colored was the term that was used was repealed. What year

was that repealed?

Ms. ROUNTREE. In 1975.

Senator ALLEN. All right. So you have over 50 years, 51 years of

records that way. Now, with all your research you have done, how

does that affect you as a researcher trying to put together a record

of a continuity, plus the names weren’t the previous names because

you couldn’t use Indian names, as Chief Adkins mentioned, and his

parents had to get married in the District of Columbia to be able

to have a proper record. How does that affect the research and

record?

Ms. ROUNTREE. It draws the research out quite a lot longer, for

starters, because I have to try to find James Mooney’s list of family

heads, for instance, circa 1900, and work back from that using family names, rather than going the quick and dirty route and just

looking for Indian references in the column under race. It took a

great deal longer. I was working with names.

It also means that for individuals that are not obviously connected by genealogy to some of those family heads but are still part

of the tribes, I may be missing them. I could very well, unless

somebody comes along and points out, ‘‘Oh, yes, he was Indian,

too.’’

Senator ALLEN. What’s the likelihood of something like that happening?

Ms. ROUNTREE. Once in a while it does, actually.

Senator ALLEN. Once in a while.

Ms. ROUNTREE. The big holdup in the 20th century—and this is

liable to drive me nuts. It will take the modern people getting more

courage and sharing the information with me. I’ve constructed the

genealogies from the public records. The modern people, especially

the old-timers in the 1970’s, were simply scared to death of talking

about any of this with me. They didn’t trust me, an outsider. Why

should they trust an outsider?

And anybody who got married outside of their home county I was

likely to miss and not know some of those connections. I do not

have complete genealogies on some of the tribes as a result, even

now. They will be submitting their own, obviously, and they will

know better. But I haven’t got Steve’s parents’ dates. I didn’t see

it until his testimony when I read it last night to know when his

parents were married. That is not in my records. They married

elsewhere. I was having to go on local records.

And in the case of the Eastern Chickahominy, none of them married locally, thanks to Plecker and his campaign, between 1923 and

1946. So I’ve missed a whole generation of people there in the public record.

Senator ALLEN. To answer the Chairman’s question which gets

to his burden of proof of extenuating circumstances, the question

he asked, when you are doing research, let’s assume, say, during

the War Between the States records are burned at a courthouse,

what’s the difference between records being destroyed in a county

courthouse versus this racial designation, this eugenics movement

of 51 years, versus, say, county records in Gloucester being burned?
99

Ms. ROUNTREE. It is a difference of degree. When a county courthouse is burned in the 19th century that takes everything out. You

cannot replace it. There’s no way I can get around some of these

things. Family tradition will only take you back so far. I mean,

these people are not coming from a culture that memorizes, as in

traditional Hawaii, memorizing all their genealogy back 25 generations. So the records are gone and they just are gone.

In the case of the things Plecker did, he changed racial designations to make people harder to find. He made them go elsewhere

to do some of these public record things. The records are going to

be elsewhere. Washington, DC and Philadelphia were favorite

spots. It is possible to track down those people with extra time and

trouble and retrieve that information. The information is harder to

retrieve but it is retrievable. But when a courthouse burns completely you have lost it. It is gone.

Senator ALLEN. Chief Adkins, we heard from Mr. O’Connor on

some of these issues. On the gambling issue, it is your understanding, speaking for your tribe and others, that in the event that you

all are Federally recognized, the only way that you conduct any

sort of gambling—casinos, blackjack, slot machines, and all the others—would be if it was agreed to by the State government, the

Governor of Virginia and laws passed by the General Assembly. Is

that your understanding?

Mr. ADKINS. We have agreed to that. That is true.

Senator ALLEN. I just wanted to make that part of the record.

Mr. Fleming mentioned that, as well.

Insofar as gas taxes, in the event on any tribal lands that you

all had a convenience store and a filling station, gasoline, ethanol,

whatever it may be that is sold there, would it be your view that

you would be paying the road taxes, the gas taxes to any sales

made to someone who is not a member of the tribe?

Mr. ADKINS. That is my view and in no way would we attempt

tax evasion. Even in the tribal communities we perceive that as

being illegal. I do not know how the larger community looks at

that, but we are not inclined to break the law, so tax evasion is

not within the scope of things we plan to do. And if we did engage

in any kind of retail activity, you know, there would be negotiations and dialog between the government and the tribes. So we are

not trying to circumvent the State laws.

Senator ALLEN. Well, the chairman, Senator McCain, mentioned,

and obviously where he is from in Arizona there are recognized

tribes, Navajo, Pima, and others. Would you all envision such compacts or contracts or agreements with the Commonwealth of Virginia, whether it is gas taxes or tobacco taxes, taxes on beer or any

other item that may be sold there?

Mr. ADKINS. We haven’t looked that far ahead, but I think it is

logical to assume that somewhere in our future we would engage

in activities that we would have to negotiate with the State, but

I think those laws clearly delineate that taxes must be collected

from non-Natives. I have little knowledge of that because we

haven’t even looked at that. You know those things that we are interested in.

Senator ALLEN. Understood.
100

Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Mr. Chairman for allowing me to

participate in this way on this important matter.

The CHAIRMAN. We hope you will become a permanent member

of this Committee, Senator Allen.

Dr. Rountree, are you compensated by the Chickahominies for

your work?

Ms. ROUNTREE. Nary a penny.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

These are obviously, as I said in my opening statement, very difficult issues and hard to ascertain exactly the right way to go on

them. I certainly understand the desire of people to see action, particularly when 6 and 10 years is a minimum some cases have been

on the books, or going through the process for a long period of time.

We will probably mark up both of these bills subject to the vote

of the committee and see if we can’t move the process forward. I

understand the impatience of both tribes. I also understand the

concerns of people like Rev. Willerup and people in the communities who are affected by gaming operations. It has become more

and more controversial as gaming operations have grown rather

dramatically.

I understand that that is not an issue with your tribe, yet I think

there are many people who would like to see that in the law, Senator Allen, because there have been cases where tribes have appeared before this committee and said, ‘‘We will not engage in gaming,’’ and then a few years later a new tribal council is elected,

which is the right of the tribe, and then they have decided to

change their policy. So I think if people of the Commonwealth of

Virginia are concerned, maybe a compact or agreement such as you

talk about and is envisioned might be helpful.

I thank the witnesses. Thank you very much.

This hearing is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 11:20 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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APPENDIX

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

PREPARED STATEMENT OF STEPHEN R. ADKINS, CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE

Thank you Chairman McCain and other distinguished members of this committee

for inviting me here today to speak on S. 480 which is pending before your committee. The bill, introduced by Senator George Allen is titled the Thomasina E. Jordan

Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2005-S. 480. A hearing on our

Federal recognition bill was held by this committee on October 9, 2002 [S. 2694] before Chairman Campbell. In addition, as you may remember I appeared before your

committee last May and entered the testimony and evidence from the 2002 hearing

into record. I am proud to appear again before the committee in this session of Congress for a more complete hearing on our legislation on behalf of the six tribes

named in S. 480, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Monacan, the Nansemond, the

Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, and my tribe the Chickahominy. That evidence included a strong letter of support from our Governor, Mark Warner, testimony from the Virginia Council of Churches and our anthropologist and many others supporting our Federal recognition through Congress. As part of the record

today I am submitting the letter from our current Governor, Timothy Kaine, who

at his recent inaugural address pledged his strong support for the Federal recognition of the Virginia tribes. Beside me today is Dr. Helen Rountree, who is a renowned anthropologist specializing in the heritage of the Virginia tribes, who

worked on the petitions we filed with the BIA, and is prepared to assist with any

questions you may have about our history.

Senator McCain, I could tell you the much publicized story of the 17th Century

Virginia Indians, but you, like most Americans, know our first contact history. Well

known is the story of Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas, her picture

being in this very capitol building with her English husband John Rolfe. I often say

this country is here today because of the kindness and hospitality of my forebears

who helped the English Colonists at Jamestown gain a foothold in a strange and

new environment. But what do you know or what does mainstream America know

about what happened in those years between the 17th century and today. The fact

that we were so prominent in early history and then so callously denied our Indian

heritage is the story that most don’t want to remember or recognize. I, and those

chiefs here with me, stand on the shoulders of the Paspahegh led by Chief,

Wowinchopunk whose wife was captured and taken to Jamestown Fort and ‘‘run

through’’ with a sword, whose children were tossed overboard and then their brains

were ‘‘shot out’’ as they floundered in the water, and whose few remaining tribal

members sought refuge with a nearby tribe, possibly the Chickahominy. With this

horrific action in August 1610, a whole Nation was annihilated. A Nation who befriended strangers, and, ultimately died at the hands of those same strangers. As

we commemorate Jamestown 2007 and the birth of our Nation today, those of Indian heritage in Virginia are reminded of this history.

We are seeking recognition through an act of Congress rather than the BIA because actions taken by the Commonwealth of Virginia during the 20th Century

erased our history by altering key documents as part of a systematic plan to deny
102

our existence. This State action separates us from the other tribes in this country

that were protected from this blatant denial of Indian heritage and identity. It has

now been well documented in an article written by Peter Hardin of the Richmond

Times dispatch in 2000, the documentary genocide, the Virginia Indians suffered at

the hands of Walter Ashby Plecker, a rabid separatist, who ruled over the Bureau

of Vital Statistics in Virginia for 34 years, from 1912–46. Although socially unacceptable to kill Indians outright, Virginia Indians became fair game to Plecker as

he led efforts to eradicate all references to Indians on Vital Records. A practice that

was supported by the State’s establishment when the eugenics movement was endorsed by leading State Universities and when the State’s legislature enacted the

Racial Integrity Act in 1924. A law that stayed in effect until 1967 and caused my

parents to have to travel to Washington DC on February 20, 1935 in order to be

married as Indians. This vile law forced all segments of the population to be registered at birth in one of two categories, white or colored. Our anthropologist says

there is no other State that attacked Indian identity as directly as the laws passed

during that period of time in Virginia. No other ethnic community’s heritage was

denied in this way. Our State, by law, declared there were no Indians in the State

in 1924, and if you dared to say differently, you went to jail or worse. That law

stayed in affect half of my life.

I have been asked why I do not have a traditional Indian name. Quite simply my

parents, as did many other native parents, weighed the risks and decided it was

not worth the risk of going to jail.

On that note, I would like to honor Senator Allen who as Governor sponsored legislation in 1997 that acknowledged this injustice. Unfortunately while this law allows those of the living generations to correct birth records, the law has not and

cannot undo the damage done by Plecker and his associates to my ancestors records.

We are seeking recognition through Congress because this history of racism, in

very recent times, intimidated the tribal people in Virginia and prevented us from

believing that we could fit into a petitioning process that would understand or reconcile this State action with our heritage. We feared the process would not be able

to see beyond the corrupted documentation that was designed to deny our Indian

heritage. Many of the elders in our community also feared, and for good reason, racial backlash if they tried.

My father and his peers lived in the heart of the Plecker years and carried those

scars to their graves. When I approached my father and his peers regarding our

need for State or Federal recognition they pushed back very strongly. In unison they

said. ‘‘Let sleeping dogs lie and do not rock the boat’’. Their fears of reprisal against

those folks who had risked marrying in Virginia and whose birth records accurately

reflected their identity outweighed their desire to openly pursue any form of recognition. Those fears were not unfounded because the threat of fines or jail time was

very real to modem Virginia Indians.

Senator McCain, the story I just recounted to you is very painful and I do not

like to tell that story. Many of my people will not discuss what I have shared with

you but I felt you needed to understand recent history opposite the romanticized,

inaccurate accounts of 17th century history.

Let me tell you how we got here today. The six tribes on this bill gained State

recognition in the Commonwealth of Virginia between 1983–89. In 1997 as I mentioned, Governor Allen passed the statute that acknowledged the State action but

it couldn’t fix the problem—the damage to our documented history had been done.

Although there were meager attempts to gain Federal acknowledgment by some of

the tribes in the mid-20th century, our current sovereignty movement began directly

after the passage of Governor Allen’s legislation acknowledging the attack on our

heritage. In 1999 we came to Congress when we were advised by the Bureau of Acknowledgment and Research [BAR] now the Office of Federal Acknowledgment

[OFA] that many of us would not live long enough to see our petition go through

the administrative process. A prophecy that has come true. We have buried three

of our chiefs since then.

Given the realities of the OFA and the historical slights suffered by the Virginia

Indian tribes for the last 400 years, the six tribes referenced in S. 480 feel that our

situation clearly distinguishes us as candidates for Congressional Federal recognition.

As Chief of my community, I have persevered in this process for one reason. I do

not want my family or my community to let the legacy of Walter Plecker stand. I

want the assistance of Congress to give the Indian Communities in Virginia, their

freedom from a history that denied their Indian identity. Without acknowledgment

of our identity, the harm of racism is the dominant history. I want my children and

the next generation, to have their Indian Heritage honored and to move past what

I experienced and my parents experienced. We, the leaders of the six Virginia tribes,
103

are asking Congress to help us make history for the Indian people of Virginia, a

history that honors our ancestors who were there at the beginning of this great

country.

I want to end with a quote credited to Chief Powhatan. I use this quote last year,

but I want this year especially to honor him. Last summer I was one of two Chiefs

to be hosted by the British Government; this was the first time a Virginia Indian

had been honored since Pocahontas visited England with her English husband John

Rolfe. I was moved that Pocahontas has been regarded with honor and distinction

far beyond what America has afforded her father the paramount chief in this country. To date no chief in Virginia that lived in that era or since has received as much

honor as Pocahontas. This quote, from Chief Powhatan to John Smith, maybe has

been forgotten but ironically the message still has relevance today:

I wish that your love to us might not be less than ours to you. Why should

you take by force that which you can have from us by love? why should you

destroy us who have provided you with food? What can you get by war? In

such circumstances, my men must watch and if a twig should but break,

all would cry out, ‘‘Here comes Captain Smith.’’ And so, in this miserable

manner to end my miserable life. And, Captain Smith, this might soon be

your fate too. I, therefore, exhort you to peaceable councils, and above all

I insist that the guns and swords, the cause of all our jealousy and uneasiness, be removed and sent away.

Senator McCain, our bill would give us this peace that Chief Powhatan sought,

it would honor the treaty our ancestors made with the early Colonists and the

Crown, and at this time that we are commemorating the 400th anniversary of the

birth of the greatest nation in the world it would show respect for our heritage and

identity, that through jealously perhaps has never before been acknowledged.
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF R. LEE FLEMING, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF FEDERAL

ACKNOWLEDGMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Lee

Fleming and I am the director for the Office of Federal Acknowledgment at the Department of the Interior. I am here today to provide the Administration’s testimony

on S. 437, the ‘‘Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan Referral Act’’ and

S. 480, the ‘‘Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

of 2005.’’ The acknowledgment of the continued existence of another sovereign is one

of the most solemn and important responsibilities delegated to the Secretary of the

Interior. Federal acknowledgment enables Indian tribes to participate in Federal

programs and establishes a government-to-government relationship between the

United States and the Indian tribe. Acknowledgment carries with it certain immunities and privileges, including exemptions from State and local jurisdictions and the

ability of newly acknowledged Indian tribes to undertake certain economic opportunities.

The Department recognizes that under the U.S. Constitution Indian Commerce

Clause, Congress has the authority to recognize a ‘‘distinctly Indian community’’ as

an Indian tribe. But along with that authority, it is important that all parties have

the opportunity to review all the information available before recognition is granted.

That is why the Department of the Interior supports a recognition process that requires groups go through the Federal acknowledgment process because it provides

a deliberative uniform mechanism to review and consider groups seeking Indian

tribal status. Legislation such as S. 437 and S. 480 would allow these groups to bypass this process—allowing them to avoid the scrutiny to which other groups have

been subjected. While legislation in Congress can be a tool to accomplish this goal,

a legislative solution should be used sparingly in cases where there is an overriding

reason to bypass the process.

Interior strongly supports all groups going through the Federal acknowledgement

process under 25 CFR part 83. The Department believes that the Federal acknowledgment process set forth in 25 CFR part 83, ‘‘Procedures for Establishing that an

American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe,’’ allows for the uniform and rigorous review necessary to make an informed decision establishing this important

government-to-government relationship. Before the development of these regulations, the Federal Government and the Department of the Interior made determinations as to which groups were Indian tribes when negotiating treaties and determining which groups could reorganize under the Indian Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C.

461). Ultimately, treaty rights litigation on the West coast, and land claims litigation on the East coast, highlighted the importance of these tribal status decisions.

Thus, the Department, in 1978, recognized the need to end ad hoc decisionmaking

and adopt uniform regulations for Federal acknowledgment.

Under the Department’s regulations, petitioning groups must demonstrate that

they meet each of seven mandatory criteria. The petitioner must:

(1) demonstrate that it has been identified as an American Indian entity

on a substantially continuous basis since 1900;

(2) show that a predominant portion of the petitioning group comprises a

distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times

until the present;

(3) demonstrate that it has maintained political influence or authority over

its members as an autonomous entity from historical times until the

present;

(4) provide a copy of the group’s present governing document including its

membership criteria;

(5) demonstrate that its membership consists of individuals who descend

from an historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes that combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity and provide a

current membership list;

(6) show that the membership of the petitioning group is composed principally of persons who are not members of any acknowledged North American Indian tribe; and

(7) demonstrate that neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject

of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the

Federal relationship.

A criterion shall be considered met if the available evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of the validity of the facts relating to that criterion. A petitioner

must satisfy all seven of the mandatory criteria in order for the Department to acknowledge the continued tribal existence of a group as an Indian tribe. Currently,
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the Department’s workload of 19 groups seeking Federal acknowledgment consists

of 10 petitions on ‘‘Active Consideration’’ and 9 petitions on the ‘‘Ready, Waiting for

Active Consideration’’ lists.

S. 437 The Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians [Petitioner #146] and another

petitioning group, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Inc. [Petitioner #101] both are affected by the timing of deadlines for the distribution of judgment funds under Public Law 105–143, the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act [Settlement Act]. Both groups have applied for Federal acknowledgment

under 25 CFR part 83. The Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, which would receive recognition under S. 437, has not submitted a complete documented petition

demonstrating its ability to meet all seven mandatory criteria. The group did submit

partial documentation in December 2000 and received a technical assistance review

letter from the Office of Federal Acknowledgment in January 2005. The purpose of

the technical assistance review is to provide the group with opportunity to supplement its petition due to obvious deficiencies and significant omissions. As of last

week, the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians submitted additional documentation

in response to the technical assistance review letter.

Under section 110 of the Settlement Act, if the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians or the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Inc. are acknowledged

before December 15, 2006, each could receive a significant lump sum from the judgment fund, in excess of $4.4 million, provided that the group and its membership

meet the other eligibility criteria set forth under the Settlement Act. If no new

tribes are recognized before that date, the money is instead distributed per capita

to the Indians on the descendant roll. The Secretary would have 90 days to segregate the funds and to deposit those funds into a separate account established in

the group’s name.

Section 205 of S. 437 provides that:

Notwithstanding section 110 of the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act (111 Stat. 2663), effective beginning on the date of enactment of

this act, any funds set aside by the Secretary for use by the Tribe shall be

made available to the tribe.

Under S. 437 and the Settlement Act, funds are not set aside for the Grand River

Band of Ottawa Indians until they are recognized. Although not clear, we interpret

section 205 of S. 437 to mean that if the Grand River Band is acknowledged prior

to December 15, 2006, any funds set aside for them under section 110 of the Settlement Act would not be subject to plans approved in accordance with the Settlement

Act.

We do not support section 205 because it takes away the membership’s right to

participate in the development of the use and distribution plan for the judgment

funds. If S. 437 is enacted, we suggest that section 205 be amended as follows:

Notwithstanding section 105 of the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act (111 Stat. 2663), the Grand River Band shall have 1 year from

the date of its Federal recognition to submit a plan to the Secretary for the

use and distribution of any funds it receives under section 110 of the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.

The Department also has concerns over the three different membership lists referenced in section 102 and section 202. It is unclear why three different lists would

be required. In addition, S. 437 appears to be ambiguous concerning the nature and

extent of jurisdiction, and possible conflicts with treaty rights of other federally recognized tribes.

The Department would like to work with the committee in order to find an equitable solution to all parties connected to the Settlement Act.

S. 480, the ‘‘Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition

Act of 2005,’’ provides Federal recognition as Indian tribes to six Virginia groups:

The Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division,

the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe.

Under 25 CFR part 83, these six groups have submitted letters of intent and partial documentation to petition for Federal acknowledgment as Indian tribes. Some

of these groups are awaiting technical assistance reviews under the Department’s

acknowledgment regulations. As stated above, the purpose of the technical assistance review is to provide the groups with opportunities to supplement their petitions due to obvious deficiencies and significant omissions. To date, none of these

petitioning groups have submitted completed documented petitions demonstrating

their ability to meet all seven mandatory criteria.
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The Federal acknowledgment regulations provide a uniform mechanism to review

and consider groups seeking Indian tribal status. S. 480 and S. 437, however, allow

these groups to bypass these standards—allowing them to avoid the scrutiny to

which other groups have been subjected. We look forward to working with these

groups and assisting them further as they continue under the Federal acknowledgment process.

This concludes my prepared statement. I will be happy to answer any questions

the committee may have.
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