I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 334

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians

of North Carolina, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. ROSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Natural Resources

A BILL

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

2 end of the last clause and inserting in lieu thereof

3 a semicolon; and

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

5 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

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,’’.

6 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

7 The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amend8 ed—

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

10 section; and

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

12 lieu thereof the following:

13 ‘‘FEDERAL RECOGNITION; ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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

15 to the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina.
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1 All laws and regulations of the United States of general

2 application to Indians and Indian tribes shall apply to the

3 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina and

4 its members.

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

6 any group of Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties

7 whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe of

8 Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, as determined under

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

10 Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal

11 existence.

12 ‘‘SERVICES

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

14 of North Carolina and its members shall be eligible for

15 all services and benefits provided to Indians because of

16 their status as federally recognized Indians, except that

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

18 until the appropriation of funds for these purposes. For

19 the purposes of the delivery of such services, those mem20 bers of the tribe residing in Robeson and adjoining coun21 ties, North Carolina, shall be deemed to be resident on

22 or near an Indian reservation.

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

24 4 by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the

25 Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services

26 shall develop, in consultation with the Lumbee Tribe of
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1 Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, a determination of

2 needs and a budget required to provide services to which

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

4 the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv5 ices shall each submit a written statement of such needs

6 and budget with the first budget request submitted to the

7 Congress after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is

8 verified.

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

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

11 and administer programs, services, and functions author12 ized under the Act of April 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 596; 25

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

14 (42 Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C. 13), popularly known as the Sny15 der Act, pursuant to an annual written funding agreement

16 among the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North

17 Carolina, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary

18 of Health and Human Services, which shall specify—

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

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

21 reallocate funds or modify budget allocations, within

22 any fiscal year; and

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

24 Interior for, and the procedure to be used in, audit25 ing the expenditures of the tribe.
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1 ‘‘(2) The authority provided under this subsection

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

3 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25

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

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

6 affecting, modifying, diminishing, or otherwise impairing

7 the sovereign immunity from lawsuit enjoyed by the

8 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina or au9 thorizing or requiring the termination of any trust respon10 sibility of the United States with respect to the tribe.

11 ‘‘CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERSHIP

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

13 of North Carolina shall organize for its common welfare

14 and adopt a constitution and bylaws. Any constitution, by15 laws, or amendments to the constitution or bylaws that

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

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

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

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

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

21 constitution, and the reorganization of the government of

22 the tribe under any such constitution and bylaws.

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

24 of North Carolina adopts a constitution and except as pro25 vided in paragraph (2), the membership of the tribe shall,

26 subject to review by the Secretary, consist of every individ-
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1 ual who is named in the tribal membership roll that is

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

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

4 tribe shall be open for a 180-day period to allow the enroll5 ment of any individual previously enrolled in another In6 dian group or tribe in Robeson or adjoining counties,

7 North Carolina, who demonstrates that—

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

9 the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians; and

10 ‘‘(ii) the individual has abandoned membership

11 in any other Indian group or tribe.

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

13 Carolina shall advertise in newspapers of general distribu14 tion in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina,

15 the opening of the tribal roll for the purposes of subpara16 graph (A). The advertisement shall specify the enrollment

17 criteria and the deadline for enrollment.

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

19 of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina shall be limited to

20 verification of compliance with the membership criteria of

21 the tribe as stated in the Lumbee Petition for Federal Ac22 knowledgment filed with the Secretary by the tribe on De23 cember 17, 1987. The Secretary shall complete his review

24 and verification of the tribal roll within the 12-month pe-
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1 riod beginning on the date on which the tribal roll is closed

2 under paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘JURISDICTION

4 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a)(1) The State of North Carolina shall ex5 ercise jurisdiction over—

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

7 on, and

8 ‘‘(B) all civil actions that arise on,

9 lands located within the State of North Carolina that are

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

11 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, any

12 member of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North

13 Carolina, or any dependent Indian community of the

14 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina.

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

16 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting

17 with the Attorney General of the United States, any trans18 fer by the State of North Carolina to the United States

19 of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North

20 Carolina described in paragraph (1) pursuant to an agree21 ment between the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians and

22 the State of North Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction

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

24 of such agreement.
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1 ‘‘(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not affect

2 the application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare

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

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

5 576; 25 U.S.C. 465), and the Act of April 11, 1970 (84

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

7 Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina with

8 respect to lands within the exterior boundaries of Robeson

9 and adjoining counties, North Carolina.

10 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

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

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

13 ‘‘(b) In the first fiscal year in which funds are appro14 priated under this Act, the tribe’s proposals for expendi15 tures of such funds shall be submitted to the Select Com16 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee

17 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 60

18 calendar days prior to any expenditure of such funds by

19 the tribe.’’.

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