103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 334

AN ACT

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe

other purposes.of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, and for
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 334

AN ACT

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of

Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, and for other purposes.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lumbee Recognition

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PREAMBLE.

7 The preamble to the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat.

8 254), is amended—

9 (1) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of each of

10 the first three clauses;

11 (2) by striking out ‘‘: Now therefore,’’ at the

12 end of the last clause and inserting in lieu thereof

13 a semicolon; and

14 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following

15 new clauses:

‘‘Whereas the Lumbee Indians of Robeson and adjoining

counties in North Carolina are descendants of coastal

North Carolina Indian tribes, principally Cheraw, and
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have remained a distinct Indian community since the

time of contact with white settlers;

‘‘Whereas the Lumbee Indians have been recognized by the

State of North Carolina as an Indian tribe since 1885;

‘‘Whereas the Lumbee Indians have sought Federal recognition as an Indian tribe since 1888; and

‘‘Whereas the Lumbee Indians are entitled to Federal recognition of their status as an Indian tribe and the benefits, privileges, and immunities that accompany such status: Now, therefore,’’.

1 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

2 The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amend3 ed—

4 (1) by striking out the last sentence of the first

5 section; and

6 (2) by striking out section 2 and inserting in

7 lieu thereof the following:

8 ‘‘FEDERAL RECOGNITION; ACKNOWLEDGMENT

9 ‘‘SEC. 2. (a) Federal recognition is hereby extended

10 to the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina.

11 All laws and regulations of the United States of general

12 application to Indians and Indian tribes shall apply to the

13 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina and

14 its members.

15 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding the first section of this Act,

16 any group of Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties

17 whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe of
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1 Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, as determined under

2 section 4(b), may petition under part 83 of title 25 of the

3 Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal

4 existence.

5 ‘‘SERVICES

6 ‘‘SEC. 3. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians

7 of North Carolina and its members shall be eligible for

8 all services and benefits provided to Indians because of

9 their status as federally recognized Indians, except that

10 members of the tribe shall not be entitled to such services

11 until the appropriation of funds for these purposes. For

12 the purposes of the delivery of such services, those mem13 bers of the tribe residing in Robeson and adjoining coun14 ties, North Carolina, shall be deemed to be resident on

15 or near an Indian reservation.

16 ‘‘(b) Upon verification of a tribal roll under section

17 4 by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the

18 Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services

19 shall develop, in consultation with the Lumbee Tribe of

20 Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, a determination of

21 needs and a budget required to provide services to which

22 the members of the tribe are eligible. The Secretary of

23 the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv24 ices shall each submit a written statement of such needs

25 and budget with the first budget request submitted to the
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1 Congress after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is

2 verified.

3 ‘‘(c)(1) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of

4 North Carolina is authorized to plan, conduct, consolidate,

5 and administer programs, services, and functions author6 ized under the Act of April 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 596; 25

7 U.S.C. 452, et seq.), and the Act of November 2, 1921

8 (42 Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C. 13), popularly known as the Sny9 der Act, pursuant to an annual written funding agreement

10 among the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North

11 Carolina, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary

12 of Health and Human Services, which shall specify—

13 ‘‘(A) the services to be provided, the functions

14 to be performed, and the procedures to be used to

15 reallocate funds or modify budget allocations, within

16 any fiscal year; and

17 ‘‘(B) the responsibility of the Secretary of the

18 Interior for, and the procedure to be used in, audit19 ing the expenditures of the tribe.

20 ‘‘(2) The authority provided under this subsection

21 shall be in lieu of the authority provided under the Indian

22 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25

23 U.S.C. 450, et seq.).

24 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as

25 affecting, modifying, diminishing, or otherwise impairing
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1 the sovereign immunity from lawsuit enjoyed by the

2 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina or au3 thorizing or requiring the termination of any trust respon4 sibility of the United States with respect to the tribe.

5 ‘‘CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERSHIP

6 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians

7 of North Carolina shall organize for its common welfare

8 and adopt a constitution and bylaws. Any constitution, by9 laws, or amendments to the constitution or bylaws that

10 are adopted by the tribe must be consistent with the terms

11 of this Act and shall take effect only after such documents

12 are filed with the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary

13 shall assist the tribe in the drafting of a constitution and

14 bylaws, the conduct of an election with respect to such

15 constitution, and the reorganization of the government of

16 the tribe under any such constitution and bylaws.

17 ‘‘(b)(1) Until the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians

18 of North Carolina adopts a constitution and except as pro19 vided in paragraph (2), the membership of the tribe shall,

20 subject to review by the Secretary, consist of every individ21 ual who is named in the tribal membership roll that is

22 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

23 ‘‘(2)(A) Before adopting a constitution, the roll of the

24 tribe shall be open for a 180-day period to allow the enroll25 ment of any individual previously enrolled in another In-
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1 dian group or tribe in Robeson or adjoining counties,

2 North Carolina, who demonstrates that—

3 ‘‘(i) the individual is eligible for enrollment in

4 the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians; and

5 ‘‘(ii) the individual has abandoned membership

6 in any other Indian group or tribe.

7 ‘‘(B) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North

8 Carolina shall advertise in newspapers of general distribu9 tion in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina,

10 the opening of the tribal roll for the purposes of subpara11 graph (A). The advertisement shall specify the enrollment

12 criteria and the deadline for enrollment.

13 ‘‘(3) The review of the tribal roll of the Lumbee Tribe

14 of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina shall be limited to

15 verification of compliance with the membership criteria of

16 the tribe as stated in the Lumbee Petition for Federal Ac17 knowledgment filed with the Secretary by the tribe on De18 cember 17, 1987. The Secretary shall complete his review

19 and verification of the tribal roll within the 12-month pe20 riod beginning on the date on which the tribal roll is closed

21 under paragraph (2).

22 ‘‘JURISDICTION

23 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a)(1) The State of North Carolina shall ex24 ercise jurisdiction over—

25 ‘‘(A) all criminal offenses that are committed

26 on, and
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1 ‘‘(B) all civil actions that arise on,

2 lands located within the State of North Carolina that are

3 owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, the

4 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, any

5 member of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North

6 Carolina, or any dependent Indian community of the

7 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina.

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to

9 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting

10 with the Attorney General of the United States, any trans11 fer by the State of North Carolina to the United States

12 of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North

13 Carolina described in paragraph (1) pursuant to an agree14 ment between the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians and

15 the State of North Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction

16 may not take effect until two years after the effective date

17 of such agreement.

18 ‘‘(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not affect

19 the application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare

20 Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).

21 ‘‘(b) Section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (Chapter

22 576; 25 U.S.C. 465), and the Act of April 11, 1970 (84

23 Stat. 120; 25 U.S.C. 488 et seq.), shall apply to the

24 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina with
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1 respect to lands within the exterior boundaries of Robeson

2 and adjoining counties, North Carolina.

3 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

4 ‘‘SEC. 6. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated

5 such funds as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

6 ‘‘(b) In the first fiscal year in which funds are appro7 priated under this Act, the tribe’s proposals for expendi8 tures of such funds shall be submitted to the Select Com9 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee

10 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 60

11 calendar days prior to any expenditure of such funds by

12 the tribe.’’.

Attest:

Clerk.