II 

Calendar No. 256 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1735 

[Report No. 111–116] 

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2009 

Mr. BURR (for himself and Mrs. HAGAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

JANUARY 20, 2010 

Reported by Mr. DORGAN, without amendment 

A BILL 

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe 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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PREAMBLE. 

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

3 254), is amended as follows: 

4 (1) By striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of each clause. 

5 (2) By striking ‘‘: Now, therefore,’’ at the end 

6 of the last clause and inserting a semicolon. 

7 (3) By adding at the end the following new 

8 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 since 1885 the State of North Carolina has recognized the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe; 

‘‘Whereas in 1956 the Congress of the United States acknowledged the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe, but 

withheld from the Lumbee Tribe the benefits, privileges 

and immunities to which the Tribe and its members otherwise would have been entitled by virtue of the Tribe’s 

status as a federally recognized tribe; and 

‘‘Whereas the Congress finds that the Lumbee Indians should 

now be entitled to full Federal recognition of their status 

as an Indian tribe and that the benefits, privileges and 

immunities that accompany such status should be accorded to the Lumbee Tribe: Now, therefore,’’. 

9 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

10 The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended 

11 as follows: 


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1 (1) By striking the last sentence of the first 

2 section. 

3 (2) By striking section 2 and inserting the fol4 lowing new sections: 

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

6 to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, as designated as 

7 petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowl8 edgment. All laws and regulations of the United States 

9 of general application to Indians and Indian tribes shall 

10 apply to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its 

11 members. 

12 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding the first section, any group of 

13 Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Caro14 lina, whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe 

15 of North Carolina as determined under section 3(c), may 

16 petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal 

17 Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 3. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina 

19 and its members shall be eligible for all services and bene20 fits provided to Indians because of their status as mem21 bers of a federally recognized tribe. For the purposes of 

22 the delivery of such services, those members of the Tribe 

23 residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland 

24 counties in North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing 

25 on or near an Indian reservation. 


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1 ‘‘(b) Upon verification by the Secretary of the Inte2 rior of a tribal roll under subsection (c), the Secretary of 

3 the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv4 ices shall develop, in consultation with the Lumbee Tribe 

5 of North Carolina, a determination of needs to provide the 

6 services to which members of the Tribe are eligible. The 

7 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services shall each submit a written statement of 

9 such needs to Congress after the tribal roll is verified. 

10 ‘‘(c) For purposes of the delivery of Federal services, 

11 the tribal roll in effect on the date of the enactment of 

12 this section shall, subject to verification by the Secretary 

13 of the Interior, define the service population of the Tribe. 

14 The Secretary’s verification shall be limited to confirming 

15 compliance with the membership criteria set out in the 

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

17 verification shall be completed within 2 years after the 

18 date of the enactment of this section. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary may take land into trust 

20 for the Lumbee Tribe pursuant to this Act. An application 

21 to take land located within Robeson County, North Caro22 lina, into trust under this section shall be treated by the 

23 Secretary as an ‘on reservation’ trust acquisition under 

24 part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulation (or a suc25 cessor regulation). 


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1 ‘‘(b) The tribe may not conduct gaming activities as 

2 a matter of claimed inherent authority or under the au3 thority of any Federal law, including the Indian Gaming 

4 Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under any reg5 ulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary or the 

6 National Indian Gaming Commission. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a) The State of North Carolina shall exer8 cise jurisdiction over— 

9 ‘‘(1) all criminal offenses that are committed 

10 on; and 

11 ‘‘(2) all civil actions that arise on, lands located 

12 within the State of North Carolina that are owned 

13 by, or held in trust by the United States for, the 

14 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or any dependent 

15 Indian community of the Lumbee Tribe of North 

16 Carolina. 

17 ‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

18 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

19 with the Attorney General of the United States, any trans20 fer by the State of North Carolina to the United States 

21 of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North 

22 Carolina described in subsection (a) pursuant to an agree23 ment between the Lumbee Tribe and the State of North 

24 Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction may not take effect 

25 until 2 years after the effective date of the agreement. 


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

2 application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act 

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

4 ‘‘SEC. 6. There are authorized to be appropriated 

5 such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.’’. 


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Calendar No. 256 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1735 

[Report No. 111–116] 

A BILL 

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe 

of North Carolina, and for other purposes. 

JANUARY 20, 2010 

Reported without amendment 


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