19–010 

Calendar No. 490 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 112–200 

PROVIDING FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE LUMBEE 

TRIBE OF NORTH CAROLINA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

AUGUST 2, 2012.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. AKAKA, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany S. 1218] 

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill 

(S. 1218) to provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of 

North Carolina, and for other purposes, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon and recommends that the bill do 

pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1218 is to provide Federal recognition to the 

Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (as designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment at the Department 

of the Interior), make applicable to the group and its members all 

laws that are generally applicable to American Indians and Federally-recognized Indian tribes, and make available to the Lumbee 

tribe all services for which Federally-recognized tribes are eligible. 

Further, the bill authorizes any group of Indians in Robeson and 

adjoining counties in North Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, to submit a petition 

to the Department of the Interior for acknowledgment as an Indian 

Tribe. 


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1See H. Rep. No. 1752, 73d Cong., 2d Sess.; S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Sess.; H. Rep. 

No. 1654, 84th Cong., 2d. Sess.; S. Rep. No. 84–2012, 84th Cong., 2d Sess.; S. Rep. No. 100– 

579, 100th Cong. 2d Sess.; H. Rep. No. 102–215, 102d Cong., 1st Sess.; H. Rep. No. 103–290, 

103d Cong., 1st Sess.; S. Rep. No. 108–213, 108th Cong., 1st Sess.; S. Rep. No. 109–334, 109th 

Cong., 2d Sess.; H. Rep. No. 110–164, 110th Cong., 1st Sess.; and H. Rep. No. 111–103, 111th 

Cong., 1st Sess. 2The Lumbee Indians have been recognized by the State of North Carolina as Croatans, Indians of Robeson County, Cherokee Indians of Robeson County, and Lumbee Indians. One of the 

primary purposes of the initial State recognition was to fund a segregated school system, operated for and attended exclusively by Lumbee Indian children. 

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

The question of whether to provide Federal recognition to the 

Lumbee Indians is a longstanding one. Attempts to obtain Federal 

recognition for the group began in 1888. Since that time, there 

have been numerous bills introduced in Congress to recognize the 

group, but none have been enacted into law. There have also been 

numerous reports and studies conducted on the history of the 

Lumbee Indians. A history of these bills and some of the studies 

are better described in previous reports of the House of Representatives and Senate.1 The information in this report is primarily derived from previous congressional reports, Committee hearing 

records, and letters submitted by interested parties. 

Although the Lumbee Indians have so far failed to gain Federal 

recognition, the State of North Carolina has recognized the group 

as an Indian tribe, under various names and for varying purposes, 

since 1885.2

Given the history of the Lumbee Indians and the inability of the 

group to utilize the Federal Acknowledgment Process, the Committee supports congressional action to extend Federal recognition 

to the Lumbee Indians (as designated as petitioner number 65 by 

the Office of Federal Acknowledgment at the Department of the Interior). 

HISTORY OF RECOGNIZING INDIAN TRIBES

The recognition of an Indian group as a Federally-recognized Indian tribe is an important action. It is an affirmation by the United 

States of a tribe’s right to self-government and the existence of a 

formal government-to-government relationship between the United 

States and the tribe. Once a tribe is Federally recognized, the tribe 

and its members have access to Federal benefits and programs, and 

the tribal government incurs a formal responsibility to its members 

as the primary governing body of the community. 

Before Congress ended the practice of treaty-making with Indian 

tribes in 1871, treaties were the usual manner of recognizing a government-to-government relationship between the United States and 

an Indian tribe. Since the abolishment of treaty-making, the 

United States has recognized Indian tribes by executive order, legislation, and administrative decisions by the Executive Branch. Additionally, Federal courts may clarify the status of an Indian group, 

though in many cases, the courts defer to the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. 

In order to provide a uniform and consistent process for recognizing an Indian group, the Department of the Interior developed 

an administrative process in 1978 through which Indian groups 

could petition for acknowledgment of a government-to-government 

relationship with the United States. The standards for this process 


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3 73 Fed. Reg. 30146–48 (May 23, 2008). 

4See Pub. L. 106–568 (2000). 

5http://www.bia.gov/idc/groups/xofa/documents/text/idc013624.pdf. 

are set forth in Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 

83: ‘‘Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group 

Exists as an Indian Tribe.’’ 

The regulations establish seven mandatory criteria, each of 

which must be met before a group can achieve status as a Federally recognized Indian tribe. The criteria are as follows: 

(1) The petitioning group has been identified as an American 

Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900; 

(2) A predominant portion of the group comprises a distinct 

community and has existed as a community from historical 

times until the present; 

(3) The group has maintained political influence or authority 

over its members as an autonomous entity from historical 

times until the present; 

(4) The group must provide a copy of its present governing 

documents (constitution and bylaws) and membership criteria; 

(5) The group’s membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or tribes, which combined 

and functioned as a single autonomous political entity; 

(6) The membership of the group is composed principally of 

persons who are not members of any other acknowledged 

North American Indian tribe; and 

(7) Neither the group nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship. 

The regulations have remained essentially unchanged since 1978, 

with the exception of revisions clarifying the evidence needed to 

support a recognition petition (1994), updated guidelines on the 

process (1997), a notice regarding BIA’s internal processing of federal acknowledgment petitions (2000), and a notice to provide guidance and direction to make the process more streamlined and efficient (2008).3

There have been numerous complaints about the process since 

1978, but the primary complaints have been about the high cost of 

gathering documentary evidence to meet the seven criteria and the 

length of time it takes the Department to review a petition. Since 

the Federal Acknowledgment Process regulations were established 

in 1978, the Department has issued 49 decisions under the process. 

Of that number, 17 petitioners were acknowledged as Indian tribes, 

and 32 petitioners were denied acknowledgment. 

Due to the problems associated with the Federal Acknowledgment Process, an increasing number of tribal groups have asked 

Congress to recognize or restore their status as Federally-recognized Indian tribes. Congress retains the authority to recognize 

tribal groups, as Congress did with the Loyal Shawnee Tribe of 

Oklahoma and the Graton Rancheria of California in 2000 in the 

Omnibus Indian Advancement Act.4 Since 1982, Congress has restored or recognized 9 Indian tribes.5


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6See H.R. 4009, 56th Cong., 1st Sess.; H.R. 19036, 61st Cong., 2d Sess.; S. 3258, 62d Cong., 

1st Sess. [House companion H.R. 20728]; H.R. 8083, 68th Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 4595, 72d Cong., 

2d Sess.; H.R. 5365, 73d Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 1632]; H.R. 4656, 84th Cong., 

1st Sess.; H.R. 5042, 100th Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 2672]; H.R. 2335, 101st Cong., 

1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 901]; H.R. 1426, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 

1036]; H.R. 334, 103d Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 420, 108th Cong., 1st Sess. [House companion H.R. 

898]; S. 660, 109th Cong., 1st Sess.; H.R. 65, 110th Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 333, 110th Cong., 1st 

Sess.; H.R. 31, 111th Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 1735, 111th Cong., 1st Sess. 7See Indian School Supervisor Pierce Report, filed with Senate on April 4, 1912; Special Indian Agent McPherson report, Doc. No. 677, 53d Cong., 2d Sess., prepared in 1914; Report of 

J.R. Swanton, Smithsonian Institution, at request of Bureau of Indian Affairs and submitted 

to Congress in 1933; and Fred A. Baker Report on the Siouan Tribe of Indians of Robeson County, July 9, 1935. 8 Report of J.R. Swanton, Smithsonian Institution, at request of Bureau of Indian Affairs and 

submitted to Congress in 1933 and included within S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Sess. 9See S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Sess. 

10See Statement of Reverend D.F. Lowery of Pembroke, North Carolina before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States House 

of Representatives, Hearing on H.R. 4656 Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, 

July 22, 1955. 

HISTORY OF THE LUMBEE INDIANS

Congress has deliberated on the status of the Lumbee Indians for 

more than a century. Since 1899, numerous bills have been introduced in Congress to recognize the Lumbee Indians, though none 

have been enacted into law.6

The Lumbees have been unable to trace their lineage back to any 

tribal group that had a treaty relationship with the United States. 

The name ‘‘Lumbee’’ comes from the Indians themselves and is a 

designation from the 1950’s based upon the name of the Lumber 

River, on which the Lumbee Indians reside. 

Several reports were issued by the Department of the Interior between 1900 and 1935 regarding the origins of the Lumbee Indians 

and their status.7 The reports indicate that the Lumbee Indians, 

at various times, have been considered to be Croatan Indians, 

Siouan Indians, Cherokee Indians, and Cheraw Indians. 

In 1885, the Lumbees were believed to be descendants of the lost 

Raleigh colony and were designated as Croatan Indians.8 In a 1934 

report to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the Department 

of the Interior described the Lumbee as follows: 

The evidence available thus seems to indicate that the 

Indians of Robeson County who have been called Croatan 

and Cherokee are descended mainly from certain Siouan 

Tribes of which the most prominent were the Cheraw and 

Keyauwee, but they probably included as well remnants of 

the Eno and Shakori, and very likely some of the coast 

groups such as the Waccamaw and Cape Fear.9

In 1955, the leader of the Lumbee Indians testified before the 

House of Representatives that the Indians of Robeson County were 

an ‘‘admixture of seven different tribes of Indians, including the 

Cherokee, Tuscarora, Hatteras, Pamli and Croatan.’’10

A report conducted in 1934 by J.R. Swanton, a specialist on 

southeastern Indians with the Smithsonian Institution, is considered to be the most reliable report on the origins of the Lumbee 

Indians. Mr. Swanson’s report, entitled the ‘‘Probable Identity of 

the Croatan Indians,’’ concludes that the Croatan Indians [now 

called the Lumbee] are likely descendants from the Cheraw and 

other related tribes. Mr. Swanton also concluded that the Cheraw 

Indians were ‘‘very probably of Siouan stock.’’ At that time, the 

Secretary of the Interior adopted the view of Mr. Swanton, but opVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 08, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR200.XXX SR200

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11See S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Session. 12See Legislative Hearing on H.R. 31 and H.R. 1385: Hearing before the House Comm. on 

Natural Resources, 111th Cong. (Mar, 18, 2009) (statement of George Skibine, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Policy and Economic Development for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior). 13See Statement of Reverend D.F. Lowery of Pembroke, North Carolina before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States House 

of Representatives, Hearing on H.R. 4656 Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, 

July 22, 1955. 14See North Carolina General Assembly 1953, chap. 874. 15See H.R. 4656, 84th Cong., 2d Sess. 

posed providing the Lumbee with any Federal wardship or any 

other governmental rights or benefits.11

The complex origins of the Lumbee have led past Administrations to oppose Federal recognition of the Lumbee Indians as a 

tribe. However, the current Administration recognizes the unique 

circumstances surrounding the Lumbee, and supports congressional 

action to recognize the Lumbee Indians as a tribe.12

When Congress previously considered bills to recognize the 

Lumbee, the Department of the Interior consistently requested that 

any recognition of the group not be construed as conferring a Federal wardship or any other governmental rights or benefits upon 

the Lumbee Indians. Such was the case in 1956, when Congress finally passed legislation designating the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina as Lumbee Indians. 

Between 1913 and 1953, the State of North Carolina recognized 

the Indians of Robeson County as Cherokee Indians. In 1951, the 

County Commissioners held a referendum at which the choice of a 

name for the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties was determined. The result of this referendum was 2,169 votes for ‘‘Lumbee 

Indians of North Carolina’’ and 35 votes to remain ‘‘Cherokee Indians of Robeson County.’’13 As a result of the referendum, the State 

of North Carolina modified its recognition of the Indians in 1953 

and recognized them as Lumbee Indians.14

Thereafter, the Lumbee Indians went to Congress seeking passage of a bill similar to that passed by the State of North Carolina. 

A bill was introduced and passed by the House of Representatives, 

which designated the Indians of Robeson County as Lumbee Indians.15

During consideration of the bill in the House, the purpose of the 

bill was thoroughly discussed between Members of Congress and 

representatives of the Lumbee during a hearing: 

Mr. Aspinall. The next question would be: What benefit 

would they [the Lumbee Indians] expect to get from this? 

Just purely the name ‘‘Lumbee Indian Tribe’’ does not appear to me to give too much importance to it, unless they 

expect to get some recognition later on as members of 

some authorized tribe, and then come before Congress asking for the benefits that naturally go to recognized tribes. 

Mr. Carlyle. No one has ever mentioned to me any interest in that, that they had any interest in becoming a part 

of a reservation or asking the Federal Government for anything. Their purpose in this legislation is to have a name 

that they think is appropriate to their group. I do not 

know that they refer to themselves as a tribe. They are 

citizens who belong to the Indian race and they were interVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 08, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR200.XXX SR200

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16 Hearing on H.R. 4656 Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, Subcommittee on 

Indian Affairs, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives, July 22, 1955. 17S. Rep. No. 2012, 84th Cong., 2d Sess. 18See Pub. L. 570, Act of June 7, 1956, 70 Stat. 254. 19See Memorandum to Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Office of the Solicitor [BIA–IA–0929] (1989), document included in H.R. Rep. No. 102–215 

(1991). 20See Public Law 90–287, 82 Stat. 93 (1968). The Committee notes that the two Acts are not 

identical, and that the Act of 1968 refers to a delegation of ‘‘[r]esponsibility, if any, for the Tiwa 

Indians.’’ 

ested in having a name that would have, they think, some 

significance.16

The Department of the Interior objected to the bill based on the 

lack of a treaty or other statutory obligation on the part of the 

United States to provide services to the Lumbee Indians. The Secretary of the Interior stated: 

We are therefore unable to recommend that the Congress take any action which might ultimately result in the 

imposition of additional obligations on the Federal Government or in placing additional persons of Indian blood 

under the jurisdiction of this Department. 

The persons who constitute this group of Indians have 

been recognized and designated as Indians by the State 

legislature. If they are not completely satisfied with such 

recognition, they, as citizens of the State, may petition the 

legislature to amend or otherwise to change that recognition. Except for the possibility of becoming entitled to Federal services as Indians, the position of this group of Indians would not be enhanced by enactment of this bill.17

Ultimately, Congress amended the bill as requested by the Department of the Interior by including the following language: 

‘‘Nothing in this Act shall make such Indians eligible for any services performed by the United States for Indians because of their 

status as Indians, and none of the statutes of the United States 

which affect Indians because of their status as Indians shall be applicable to the Lumbee Indians.’’18 Thus, the Indians of Robeson 

and adjoining counties were designated as Lumbee Indians, but not 

granted any eligibility for services or benefits under the Act of 

1956. 

As noted above, one of the Interior Department’s seven requirements under the existing administrative process for Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe is that neither the group nor its 

members be the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship. The Department of the Interior has interpreted the Act of 1956 as preventing the Lumbee Indians from utilizing the Federal Acknowledgment Process to become a Federally-recognized Indian tribe. In 

1989, the Solicitor for the Department of the Interior concluded 

that the Act of 1956 forbids a government-to-government relationship with the Lumbee Indians.19 Thus, the Lumbee Indians, unlike 

most Indian groups, cannot pursue the normal administrative process to obtain Federal recognition. 

The Committee notes that Congress has placed one other Indian 

tribe in a position similar to the Lumbee. This occurred in 1968 

when Congress enacted a law for the Tiwa Indians of Texas.20 The 

1968 Act proclaimed that nothing in the Act made the Tiwa IndiVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 08, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR200.XXX SR200

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21See 25 U.S.C. 1300g et seq., Public Law 100–89, 101 Stat. 667 (1987). 22See Legislative Hearing on H.R. 31 and H.R. 1385: Hearing before the House Comm. on 

Natural Resources, 111th Cong. (Mar, 18, 2009) (statement of George Skibine, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Policy and Economic Development for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior). 23Legislative Hearing on S. 660: Hearing before the Senate Comm. on Indian Affairs, 109th 

Cong. (July 12, 2006) (testimony of James Ernest Goins, Chairman, Lumbee Tribe of North 

Carolina). 24Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1294 and H.R. 65: Hearing before the House Comm. on Natural 

Resources, 110th Cong. (April 18, 2007) (testimony of Dr. Jack Campisi, Anthropologist and 

Consultant for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina). 25Legislative Hearing on S. 660: Hearing before the Senate Comm. on Indian Affairs, 109th 

Cong. (July 12, 2006) (testimony of Dr. Jack Campisi, Anthropologist and Consultant for the 

Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina). 

ans eligible for any services performed by the United States. As a 

result, Congress enacted the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Restoration Act 

of 1987, extending Federal recognition as an Indian tribe to the Indians formerly known as the Tiwa of Texas.21

Acknowledging these ‘‘rare circumstances,’’ the Department of Interior testified in support of the Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 31) 

during the 111th Congress.22 Subsequently, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 31 on June 3, 2009. 

The various reports submitted to Congress and testimony provided to the Committee during the last one hundred years all recognize the Lumbees as Indians. The 1956 law passed by Congress 

also recognizes the Lumbees as Indians. S. 1218 would extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe. 

The State of North Carolina has expressed longstanding recognition of the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe. In 1885, the State 

of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee Indians (then designated 

as Croatan Indians) as an Indian tribe and established a separate 

school system for their children, one that the Lumbee tribe itself 

ran. Enrollment in the school was restricted to Lumbee children 

who could demonstrate Lumbee descent four generations back, or 

into the 1770s. The State of North Carolina established the Indian 

Normal School in 1888 to train Lumbee teachers for the Tribe’s 

school system. The Indian Normal School has been in continuous 

operation since that time and is today the University of North 

Carolina at Pembroke. 

In addition to the school system, reports and documents show 

that the Lumbee Indians have had a strong community for more 

than the past one hundred years. There are two criteria for membership as a Lumbee. First, a person must prove descent from an 

ancestor on the base roll, which was developed using school and 

church records and the 1900 and 1910 Federal census. Second, a 

person must maintain contact with the Lumbee community.23 If a 

person cannot identify an ancestor, the person’s ancestry is considered by an Elder’s Review Committee.24

The Lumbees continue to maintain a strong tribal community 

and live in communities that are nearly exclusively Lumbee. In 

2006, the Committee heard expert testimony revealing that sixtyfour percent of the Lumbee members live within fifteen miles of 

Pembroke, North Carolina, where the original Lumbee school system was established.25 Additionally, the Committee was informed 

that seventy percent of Lumbee marriages are between tribal members. 

The Lumbees have a longstanding history of functioning like an 

Indian tribe and being recognized as such by State and local auVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 08, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR200.XXX SR200

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thorities. Since 1885, the Lumbee have maintained an active political relationship with the State of North Carolina. For nearly 100 

years, the Lumbee operated their own school system, established 

by the State. In defense of their schools, the Lumbee tribal leaders 

lobbied the State of North Carolina to set aside a 1913 Attorney 

General’s opinion that held that the Robeson County Board of Education could overrule the tribal leader’s decisions about enrollment 

in the Lumbee schools. In 1921, the State legislature confirmed the 

Lumbees’ authority to decide enrollment in its schools. 

Religion and culture have also remained strong in the Lumbee 

community, and often churches operate in a semi-government fashion. There are more than 130 all-Indian churches among the 

Lumbees in Robeson County. Historically, leadership of the 

Lumbee arose out of the Lumbee churches. Most recently, the 

church leaders directed the effort to adopt formal tribal consultation. Following a church-organized constitutional assembly, the 

Lumbees adopted its constitution in a special referendum in 2001. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1218, the Lumbee Recognition Act, was introduced on June 16, 

2011, by Senators Burr and Hagan of North Carolina. The bill was 

referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Since a legislative hearing and mark-up was held on an identical bill, S. 1735, in 

the last Congress, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs proceeded directly to mark-up of S. 1218. On July 28, 2011, S. 1218 

was ordered favorably reported to the full Senate (en bloc with S. 

379 and S. 546) by voice vote. A companion bill, H.R. 27, was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 5, 2011 by Representative McIntyre. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 1218 

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides that the short title of the bill is the 

‘‘Lumbee Recognition Act.’’ 

Section 2. Preamble 

This section provides the findings which include that the Lumbee 

are descendants of coastal North Carolina tribes, the State of 

North Carolina recognized the Lumbee as a tribe since 1885, and 

that Congress acknowledged the Lumbee as a tribe in the Act of 

1956 (70 Stat. 254). 

Section 3. Federal recognition 

This section of the bill extends Federal recognition to the 

Lumbee, making the tribe and its members eligible for all services 

and benefits provided to other Federally-recognized tribes. In addition, it does the following: (1) defines the service area for the 

Lumbee as Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties in 

North Carolina; (2) provides that the Lumbee service population be 

determined by the tribe’s roll in effect on date of enactment of this 

legislation; (3) directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

and the Secretary of the Interior to determine their respective 

agencies’ needs to provide services to Lumbee tribal members, and 

to submit a written statement of these needs to Congress; (4) proVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:57 Aug 08, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR200.XXX SR200

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vides that any other tribal groups in Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina whose members are not enrolled in the 

Lumbee tribe may petition the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of 

Federal Acknowledgement for recognition as an Indian tribe; (5) 

authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for 

the Lumbee tribe, but prohibits gaming activities on such land; (6) 

directs the Secretary of the Interior to treat any application to take 

land located in Robeson County into trust as an on-reservation 

trust acquisition under the Code of Federal Regulations; (7) declares that the State of North Carolina will have jurisdiction over 

all criminal and civil matters arising on the tribe’s lands but allows 

the United States to accept a retrocession of such jurisdiction at 

the election of the State of North Carolina, pursuant to an agreement between the State and the tribe; (8) provides that nothing in 

this section will affect Section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act; 

and (9) authorizes appropriations of such sums as are necessary to 

carry out this Act. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs addressed S. 1218 in a 

business meeting on July 28, 2011. The bill was ordered reported 

favorably without amendment to the full Senate (en bloc with S. 

379 and S. 546) by voice vote. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following cost estimate, as provided by the Congressional 

Budget Office, dated October 12, 2011 was prepared for S. 1218: 

S. 1218—Lumbee Recognition Act 

Summary: S. 1218 would provide federal recognition to the 

Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, thereby making the tribe eligible 

to receive funding from various federal programs. CBO estimates 

that implementing this legislation would cost $846 million over the 

2012–2016 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds. 

Enacting S. 1218 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

S. 1218 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1218 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget functions 450 (community and 

regional development) and 550 (health). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012– 

2016 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Bureau of Indian Affairs: 

Estimated Authorization Level ................................. 33 33 34 35 35 170 

Estimated Outlays ................................................... 25 32 34 34 35 160 

Indian Health Service: 

Estimated Authorization Level ................................. 132 135 139 145 151 702 

Estimated Outlays ................................................... 118 135 139 144 150 686 

Total Changes: 

Estimated Authorization Level ........................ 165 168 173 180 186 872 


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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012– 

2016 

Estimated Outlays .......................................... 143 167 173 178 185 846 

Notes: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 1218 

will be enacted early in fiscal year 2012. The bill would provide federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Such recognition would allow the Lumbee, with membership of about 

54,000 people, to receive benefits from various programs administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Indian Health 

Service (IHS). Based on the average expenditures from those agencies for other Indian tribes, CBO estimates that implementing S. 

1218 would cost $846 million over the 2012–2016 period, assuming 

appropriation of the necessary funds. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

BIA provides funding to federally recognized tribes for various 

purposes, including child welfare services, adult care, community 

development, and general assistance. In total, CBO estimates that 

providing BIA services would cost $160 million over the 2012–2016 

period, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds. This estimate is based on recent per capita expenditures for other federally 

recognized tribes located in the eastern United States. 

Indian Health Service 

S. 1218 also would make members of the Lumbee Tribe eligible 

to receive health benefits from the IHS. Based on information from 

the IHS, CBO estimates that about 55 percent of tribal members— 

or about 30,000 people—would receive benefits each year. CBO assumes that the cost to serve those individuals would be similar to 

funding for current IHS beneficiaries—about $3,500 per individual 

in 2011. Assuming appropriation of the necessary funds and adjusting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that IHS benefits for 

the Lumbee Tribe would cost $686 million over the 2012–2016 period. 

Other Federal Agencies 

In addition to BIA and IHS funding, certain Indian tribes also 

receive support from other federal programs within the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and 

Agriculture. Based on their status as a tribe recognized by North 

Carolina, the Lumbee are already eligible to receive funding from 

those departments. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing S. 

1218 would not increase spending from those programs. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1218 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Martin von Gnechten—Bureau of Indian Affairs, Robert Stewart—Indian Health Service; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 


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REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 

regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in carrying out the bill. The Committee has concluded that the regulatory and paperwork impacts of S. 1218 should be de minimis. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee has received no communications from the Executive Branch regarding S. 1218. 


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1Testimony of R. Lee Fleming, Director, Office of Federal Acknowledgment, U.S. Department 

of the Interior, before the Committee on Indian Affairs, September 25, 2008. 2 Id. 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF VICE CHAIRMAN BARRASSO 

I understand how important Federal recognition is for tribal 

groups and how difficult and challenging the administrative recognition process is for them. Nevertheless, it is my view that legislative recognition—legislation that deems a group or tribe to be 

federally recognized—is not the right way to decide which groups 

should be recognized and which groups should not be recognized. 

That is a function that can be best performed by the Executive 

Branch of the Government following the regulations that have been 

adopted for that purpose. Federal recognition of a group as an Indian tribe may have profound consequences for the group, its members, other Indian tribes, the general public, and the Federal Government. 

Just in terms of impact on the Federal Treasury alone, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing S. 1218 will 

cost $846 million dollars over a 5-year period, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds. Since most of that cost would be in the 

form of programs and services available through the BIA and IHS 

for which the Tribe and its members will become eligible, even if 

that additional money is never appropriated, recognition of the 

tribe will in and of itself place significant additional stress on the 

limited resources of both of these agencies, since they will not turn 

tribal members away from programs and services for which they 

are eligible. So tribal recognition is indeed a weighty decision, with 

real consequences. 

Testifying about several recognition bills at a hearing before this 

Committee during the 110th Congress, the Director of the Office of 

Federal Acknowledgement at the Department of the Interior stated— 

Legislation such as S. 514, S. 724, S. 1058, and H.R. 

1294 would allow these groups to bypass this [the Federal 

acknowledgement] process—allowing them to avoid the 

scrutiny to which other groups have been subjected. The 

Administration supports all groups going through the Federal acknowledgment process under 25 CFR Part 83.1

The Department’s witness went on to point out that, in light of 

the importance and implications of recognition decisions, the Department adopted its Federal acknowledgment regulations at 25 

CFR Part 83 in 1978 in recognition of ‘‘the need to end ad hoc decision making and adopt uniform regulations for Federal acknowledgment.’’ 2

This bill represents a step away from a process that applies uniform, established acknowledgment criteria to the history of the 


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group and in the direction of ‘‘ad hoc’’ recognition decisions. I do 

not think that Congress is in a good position to undertake the detailed historical, cultural, political and ethnographic analysis that 

should go into a recognition decision. 

In the case of the Lumbee Tribe, as the Chairman’s report points 

out, we have heard that the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), has 

been interpreted to mean that the Lumbee Tribe cannot currently 

avail itself of the Federal recognition process. It is my position 

that, if a particular group has some unique historical or other barriers so that it cannot fairly access the administrative process, then 

perhaps it would be appropriate for Congress to consider whether 

those barriers should be removed or modified so that the group can 

have fair access to that process. However, I do not feel it is appropriate for Congress to simply deem a group to be a recognized Indian tribe. 

JOHN BARRASSO. 


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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 1218, as 

reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman). Enactment of S. 1218 would effect no changes in existing law except the 

following amendments to the Act of June 7, 1956: 

AN ACT Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. 

Whereas many Indians now living in Robeson and adjoining 

counties are descendants of that once large and prosperous tribe 

which occupied the lands along the Lumbee River at the time of 

the earliest White settlements in that section; and 

Whereas at the time of their first contacts with the colonists, 

these Indians were a well-established and distinctive people living 

in European-type houses in settled towns and communities, owning 

slaves and livestock, tilling the soil, and practicing many of the 

arts and crafts of European civilization; and 

Whereas by reason of tribal legend, coupled with a distinctive appearance and manner of speech and the frequent recurrence among 

them of family names such as Oxendine, Locklear Chavis, 

Drinkwater, Bullard, Lowery, Sampson, and others, also found on 

the roster of the earliest English settlements, these Indians may, 

with considerable show of reason, trace their origin to an admixture of colonial blood with certain coastal tribes of Indians; and 

Whereas these people are naturally and understandably proud of 

their heritage. and desirous of establishing their social status and 

preserving their racial history: Now, therefore, 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress Assembled, That the Indians 

now residing in Robeson and adjoining counties of North Carolina, 

originally found by the first white settlers on the Lumbee River in 

Robeson County. and claiming joint descent from remnants of early 

American colonists and certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina, shall, from and after 

the ratification of this Act, be known and designated as Lumbee Indians of North Carolina and shall continue to enjoy all rights, 

privileges, and immunities enjoyed by them as citizens of the State 

of North Carolina and of the United States as they enjoyed before 

the enactment of this Act, and shall continue to be subject to all 

the obligations and duties of such citizens under the laws of the 

State of North Carolina and the United States. øNothing in this 

Act shall make such Indians eligible for any services performed by 

the United States for Indians because of their status as Indians, 

and none of the statutes of the United States which affect Indians 

because of their status as Indians shall be applicable to the 

Lumbee Indians. 

Sec. 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are 

hereby repealed.¿ 

Sec. 2. (a) Federal recognition is hereby extended to the Lumbee 

Tribe of North Carolina, as designated as petitioner number 65 by 

the Office of Federal Acknowledgment. All laws and regulations of 

the United States of general application to Indians and Indian 


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tribes shall apply to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its 

members. 

(b) Notwithstanding the first section, any group of Indians in 

Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, whose members 

are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as determined under section 3(c), may petition under part 83 of title 25 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence. 

Sec. 3. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its members 

shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided to Indians because of their status as members of a federally recognized tribe. For 

the purposes of the delivery of such services, those members of the 

Tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland counties in North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing on or near an 

Indian reservation. 

(b) Upon verification by the Secretary of the Interior of a tribal 

roll under subsection (c), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall develop, in consultation 

with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a determination of needs 

to provide the services to which members of the Tribe are eligible. 

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and 

Human Services shall each submit a written statement of such 

needs to Congress after the tribal roll is verified. 

(c) For purposes of the delivery of Federal services, the tribal roll 

in effect on the date of the enactment of this section shall, subject 

to verification by the Secretary of the Interior, define the service population of the Tribe. The Secretary’s verification shall be limited to 

confirming compliance with the membership criteria set out in the 

Tribe’s constitution adopted on November 16, 2001, which 

verification shall be completed within 2 years after the date of the 

enactment of this section. 

Sec. 4. (a) The Secretary may take land into trust for the Lumbee 

Tribe pursuant to this Act. An application to take land located within Robeson County, North Carolina, into trust under this section 

shall be treated by the Secretary as an ‘on reservation’ trust acquisition under part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulation (or a successor regulation). 

(b) The tribe may not conduct gaming activities as a matter of 

claimed inherent authority or under the authority of any Federal 

law, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 

et seq.) or under any regulations thereunder promulgated by the 

Secretary or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

Sec. 5. (a) The State of North Carolina shall exercise jurisdiction 

over— 

(1) all criminal offenses that are committed on; and 

(2) all civil actions that arise on, lands located within the 

State of North Carolina that are owned by, or held in trust by 

the United States for, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or 

any dependent Indian community of the Lumbee Tribe of North 

Carolina. 

(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept on behalf 

of the United States, after consulting with the Attorney General of 

the United States, any transfer by the State of North Carolina to the 

United States of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North 


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Carolina described in subsection (a) pursuant to an agreement between the Lumbee Tribe and the State of North Carolina. Such 

transfer of jurisdiction may not take effect until 2 years after the effective date of the agreement. 

(c) The provisions of this section shall not affect the application 

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

1919). 

Sec. 6. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 

necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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