111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1385 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

4 Recognition Act of 2009’’. 

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

6 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. 

Sec. 108. Jurisdiction of Commonwealth of Virginia. 

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. 

Sec. 208. Jurisdiction of Commonwealth of Virginia. 

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. 

Sec. 308. Jurisdiction of Commonwealth of Virginia. 

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. 
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Sec. 408. Jurisdiction of Commonwealth of Virginia. 

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. 

Sec. 508. Jurisdiction of Commonwealth of Virginia. 

TITLE VI—NANSEMOND INDIAN TRIBE 

Sec. 601. Findings. 

Sec. 602. Definitions. 

Sec. 603. Federal recognition. 

Sec. 604. Membership; governing documents. 

Sec. 605. Governing body. 

Sec. 606. Reservation of the Tribe. 

Sec. 607. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights. 

Sec. 608. Jurisdiction of Commonwealth of Virginia. 

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 
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1 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 

2 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 

3 tribal governance; 

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

5 the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 

6 around the York Mattaponi River in present-day 

7 King William County, leading to the formation of a 

8 reservation; 

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

10 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 

11 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 

12 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced 

13 from their reservation, which caused the loss of a 

14 land base; 

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

16 in Williamsburg established a grammar school for 

17 Indians called Brafferton College; 

18 (7) a Chickahominy child was 1 of the first In19 dians to attend Brafferton College; 

20 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

21 began to migrate from King William County back to 

22 the area around the Chickahominy River in New 

23 Kent and Charles City Counties; 
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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 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

8 formed Samaria Baptist Church; 

9 (12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men 

10 were assessed a tribal tax so that their children 

11 could receive an education; 

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

13 to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy sup14 plies, and pay a teacher’s salary; 

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

16 Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief 

17 O.W. Adkins that he had instructed the Commis18 sioner of Revenue for Charles City County to record 

19 Chickahominy tribal members on the county tax rolls 

20 as Indian, and not as white or colored; 

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

22 various Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia 

23 wrote letters of introduction for Chickahominy 

24 Chiefs who had official business with Federal agen25 cies in Washington, DC; 
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1 (16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 

2 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af3 fairs, requesting money to acquire land for the 

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

5 medical, and library facilities and to buy tractors, 

6 implements, and seed; 

7 (17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of In8 dian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.O. 

9 Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the 

10 Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In11 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), 

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

13 (18) in 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 

14 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af15 fairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial 

16 designation on Selective Service records for Chicka17 hominy soldiers; 

18 (19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of In19 dian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of 

20 the Richmond News-Leader newspaper of Richmond, 

21 Virginia, to help Virginia Indians obtain proper ra22 cial designation on birth records; 

23 (20) Collier stated that his office could not offi24 cially intervene because it had no responsibility for 

25 the Virginia Indians, ‘‘as a matter largely of histor-
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1 ical accident’’, but was ‘‘interested in them as de2 scendants of the original inhabitants of the region’’; 

3 (21) in 1948, the Veterans’ Education Com4 mittee of the Virginia State Board of Education ap5 proved Samaria Indian School to provide training to 

6 veterans; 

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

8 Chickahominy Indian Tribe; 

9 (23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

10 purchased and donated to the Charles City County 

11 School Board land to be used to build a modern 

12 school for students of the Chickahominy and other 

13 Virginia Indian tribes; 

14 (24) the Samaria Indian School included stu15 dents in grades 1 through 8; 

16 (25) in 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of 

17 the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the 

18 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, requested 

19 Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins to provide assist20 ance in analyzing the status of the constitutional 

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

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

23 board closed Samaria Indian School and converted 

24 the school to a countywide primary school as a step 
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1 toward full school integration of Indian and non-In2 dian students; 

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

4 board began receiving funds under the Indian Self5 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

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

7 students, which funding is provided as of the date 

8 of enactment of this Act under title V of the Indian 

9 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

10 (25 U.S.C. 458aaa et seq.); 

11 (28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

12 bought land and built a tribal center using monthly 

13 pledges from tribal members to finance the trans14 actions; 

15 (29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

16 was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the 

17 Commonwealth of Virginia, along with 5 other In18 dian tribes; and 

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

20 special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day 

21 dinner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 

22 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

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

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 
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1 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem2 ber’’ means— 

3 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem4 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

5 this Act; and 

6 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

7 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

8 with this title. 

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

10 Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 

11 SEC. 103. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

12 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex14 tended to the Tribe. 

15 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ16 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap17 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

19 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon20 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

21 and tribal members. 

22 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en24 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

25 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 
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1 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

2 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

3 reservation for the Tribe. 

4 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de5 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

6 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

7 the area comprised of New Kent County, James City 

8 County, Charles City County, and Henrico County, 

9 Virginia. 

10 SEC. 104. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

11 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

12 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov13 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

15 SEC. 105. GOVERNING BODY. 

16 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

18 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

19 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

20 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

21 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

22 SEC. 106. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

24 Secretary of the Interior— 
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1 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

2 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac3 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

4 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

5 New Kent County, James City County, Charles City 

6 County, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 

7 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

8 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

9 lands are located within the boundaries of New Kent 

10 County, James City County, Charles City County, or 

11 Henrico County, Virginia. 

12 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec13 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

14 than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a 

15 request for land to be taken into trust under subsection 

16 (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination 

17 available to the Tribe. 

18 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

19 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para20 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

21 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

22 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac23 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

24 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

25 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
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1 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

2 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

3 SEC. 107. 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 SEC. 108. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commonwealth of Virginia 

10 shall exercise jurisdiction over— 

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

12 and 

13 (2) all civil actions that arise on, 

14 lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that 

15 are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, 

16 the Tribe. 

17 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF STATE JURISDICTION BY SEC18 RETARY.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

19 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

20 with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any 

21 portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Vir22 ginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the 

23 Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the 

24 capacity to reassume such jurisdiction. 
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1 TITLE II—CHICKAHOMINY IN2 DIAN TRIBE—EASTERN DIVI3 SION 

4 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

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

7 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In8 dian Tribe was 1 of about 30 tribes that received 

9 them; 

10 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en11 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 

12 of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 

13 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 

14 to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send 

15 warriors to protect the English; and 

16 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 

17 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 

18 tribal governance; 

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

20 the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 

21 around the York River in present-day King William 

22 County, leading to the formation of a reservation; 

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

24 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 

25 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 
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1 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced 

2 from their reservation, which caused the loss of a 

3 land base; 

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

5 in Williamsburg established a grammar school for 

6 Indians called Brafferton College; 

7 (7) a Chickahominy child was 1 of the first In8 dians to attend Brafferton College; 

9 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

10 began to migrate from King William County back to 

11 the area around the Chickahominy River in New 

12 Kent and Charles City Counties; 

13 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 

14 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 

15 a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 

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

17 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to 

18 appear in the Charles City County census records; 

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

20 Indians in New Kent County that is believed to be 

21 the beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe— 

22 Eastern Division; 

23 (12) other records were destroyed when the 

24 New Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a 

25 State census as the only record covering that period; 
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1 (13) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

2 formed Samaria Baptist Church; 

3 (14) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men 

4 were assessed a tribal tax so that their children 

5 could receive an education; 

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

7 to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy sup8 plies, and pay a teacher’s salary; 

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

10 1 through 8 was established in New Kent County for 

11 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; 

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

13 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division 

14 began forming a tribal government; 

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

16 was elected to be Chief; 

17 (19) in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church 

18 was organized; 

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

20 issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern 

21 Division; 

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

23 Kent County was closed and students were bused to 

24 Samaria Indian School in Charles City County; 
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1 (22) in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

2 and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Divi3 sion lost their schools as a result of the required in4 tegration of students; 

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

6 Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanc7 tuary to accommodate church growth; 

8 (24) in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe— 

9 Eastern Division was granted State recognition 

10 along with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes; 

11 (25) in 1985— 

12 (A) the Virginia Council on Indians was 

13 organized as a State agency; and 

14 (B) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East15 ern Division was granted a seat on the Council; 

16 (26) in 1988, a nonprofit organization known 

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

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

19 Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs 

20 the organization. 

21 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this title: 

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

24 the Secretary of the Interior. 
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1 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem2 ber’’ means— 

3 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem4 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

5 this Act; and 

6 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

7 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

8 with this title. 

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

10 Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division. 

11 SEC. 203. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

12 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex14 tended to the Tribe. 

15 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ16 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap17 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

19 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon20 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

21 and tribal members. 

22 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en24 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

25 shall be eligible for all future services and benefits 
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1 provided by the Federal Government to federally rec2 ognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence 

3 of a reservation for the Tribe. 

4 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de5 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

6 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

7 the area comprised of New Kent County, James City 

8 County, Charles City County, and Henrico County, 

9 Virginia. 

10 SEC. 204. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

11 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

12 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov13 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

15 SEC. 205. GOVERNING BODY. 

16 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

18 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

19 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

20 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

21 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

22 SEC. 206. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

24 Secretary of the Interior— 
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1 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

2 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac3 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

4 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

5 New Kent County, James City County, Charles City 

6 County, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 

7 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

8 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

9 lands are located within the boundaries of New Kent 

10 County, James City County, Charles City County, or 

11 Henrico County, Virginia. 

12 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec13 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

14 than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a 

15 request for land to be taken into trust under subsection 

16 (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination 

17 available to the Tribe. 

18 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

19 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para20 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

21 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

22 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac23 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

24 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

25 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
20 

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1 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

2 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

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 SEC. 208. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commonwealth of Virginia 

10 shall exercise jurisdiction over— 

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

12 and 

13 (2) all civil actions that arise on, 

14 lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that 

15 are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, 

16 the Tribe. 

17 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF STATE JURISDICTION BY SEC18 RETARY.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

19 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

20 with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any 

21 portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Vir22 ginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the 

23 Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the 

24 capacity to reassume such jurisdiction. 
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1 TITLE III—UPPER MATTAPONI 

2 TRIBE 

3 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

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

6 the Chickahominy Indian Tribes— 

7 (A) lived approximately 20 miles from 

8 Jamestown; and 

9 (B) were significantly involved in English10 Indian affairs; 

11 (2) Mattaponi Indians, who later joined the 

12 Chickahominy Indians, lived a greater distance from 

13 Jamestown; 

14 (3) in 1646, the Chickahominy Indians moved 

15 to Mattaponi River basin, away from the English; 

16 (4) in 1661, the Chickahominy Indians sold 

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

18 Mattaponi River; 

19 (5) in 1669, the Chickahominy Indians— 

20 (A) appeared in the Virginia Colony’s cen21 sus of Indian bowmen; and 

22 (B) lived in ‘‘New Kent’’ County, which in23 cluded the Mattaponi River basin at that time; 

24 (6) in 1677, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 

25 Indians were subjects of the Queen of Pamunkey, 
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1 who was a signatory to the Treaty of 1677 with the 

2 King of England; 

3 (7) in 1683, after a Mattaponi town was at4 tacked by Seneca Indians, the Mattaponi Indians 

5 took refuge with the Chickahominy Indians, and the 

6 history of the 2 groups was intertwined for many 

7 years thereafter; 

8 (8) in 1695, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 

9 Indians— 

10 (A) were assigned a reservation by the Vir11 ginia Colony; and 

12 (B) traded land of the reservation for land 

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

14 the date of enactment of this Act, is the 

15 Mattaponi Indian Reservation), which had been 

16 owned by the Mattaponi Indians before 1661; 

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

18 Indian School at the College of William and Mary; 

19 (10) in 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued 

20 funding of interpreters for the Chickahominy and 

21 Mattaponi Indian Tribes; 

22 (11) James Adams, who served as an inter23 preter to the Indian tribes known as of the date of 

24 enactment of this Act as the ‘‘Upper Mattaponi In-
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1 dian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Chickahominy Indian Tribe’’, 

2 elected to stay with the Upper Mattaponi Indians; 

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

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

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

6 the Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned the 

7 Mattaponi Indians on a reservation in King William 

8 County and said that Chickahominy Indians were 

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

10 Pamunkey Indians; 

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

12 revealed a nucleus of approximately 10 families, all 

13 ancestral to modern Upper Mattaponi Indians, living 

14 in central King William County, Virginia, approxi15 mately 10 miles from the reservation; 

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

17 King William County marriage records listed Upper 

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

19 on the reservation; 

20 (16) during the period of 1884 through the 

21 present, county marriage records usually refer to 

22 Upper Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’; 

23 (17) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist 

24 James Mooney heard about the Upper Mattaponi In25 dians but did not visit them; 
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1 (18) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an2 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod3 ern Virginia Indians with a section on the Upper 

4 Mattaponis; 

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

6 the Upper Mattaponi Indians opposed the use of a 

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

8 census and won a compromise in which the Indian 

9 ancestry of the Upper Mattaponis was recorded but 

10 questioned; 

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

12 (A) the leadership of the Upper Mattaponi 

13 Indians, with the help of Frank Speck and oth14 ers, fought against the induction of young men 

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

16 Forces of the United States; and 

17 (B) a tribal roll for the Upper Mattaponi 

18 Indians was compiled; 

19 (21) from 1945 to 1946, negotiations took 

20 place to admit some of the young people of the 

21 Upper Mattaponi to high schools for Federal Indians 

22 (especially at Cherokee) because no high school 

23 coursework was available for Indians in Virginia 

24 schools; and 
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1 (22) in 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Indians ap2 plied for and won State recognition as an Indian 

3 tribe. 

4 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem9 ber’’ means— 

10 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem11 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

12 this Act; and 

13 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

14 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

15 with this title. 

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

17 Upper Mattaponi Tribe. 

18 SEC. 303. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

19 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex21 tended to the Tribe. 

22 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ23 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap24 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

25 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 
26 

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1 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon2 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

3 and tribal members. 

4 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en6 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

7 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

8 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

9 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

10 reservation for the Tribe. 

11 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de12 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

13 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

14 the area within 25 miles of the Sharon Indian 

15 School at 13383 King William Road, King William 

16 County, Virginia. 

17 SEC. 304. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

18 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

19 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov20 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

22 SEC. 305. GOVERNING BODY. 

23 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

25 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
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1 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

2 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

3 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

4 SEC. 306. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

6 Secretary of the Interior— 

7 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

8 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac9 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

10 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

11 King William County, Caroline County, Hanover 

12 County, King and Queen County, and New Kent 

13 County, Virginia; and 

14 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

15 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

16 lands are located within the boundaries of King Wil17 liam County, Caroline County, Hanover County, 

18 King and Queen County, and New Kent County, 

19 Virginia. 

20 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec21 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

22 than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a 

23 request for land to be taken into trust under subsection 

24 (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination 

25 available to the Tribe. 
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1 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

2 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para3 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

4 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

5 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac6 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

7 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

8 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

9 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

10 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

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

12 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

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

16 SEC. 308. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commonwealth of Virginia 

18 shall exercise jurisdiction over— 

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

20 and 

21 (2) all civil actions that arise on, 

22 lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that 

23 are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, 

24 the Tribe. 
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1 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF STATE JURISDICTION BY SEC2 RETARY.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

3 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

4 with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any 

5 portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Vir6 ginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the 

7 Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the 

8 capacity to reassume such jurisdiction. 

9 TITLE IV—RAPPAHANNOCK 

10 TRIBE, INC. 

11 SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress finds that— 

13 (1) during the initial months after Virginia was 

14 settled, the Rappahannock Indians had 3 encounters 

15 with Captain John Smith; 

16 (2) the first encounter occurred when the Rap17 pahannock weroance (headman)— 

18 (A) traveled to Quiyocohannock (a prin19 cipal town across the James River from James20 town), where he met with Smith to determine 

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

22 had previously sailed into the Rappahannock 

23 River, killed a Rappahannock weroance, and 

24 kidnapped Rappahannock people; and 
30 

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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 Sep10 tember 1608), when, after the Moraughtacund Indi11 ans had stolen 3 women from the Rappahannock 

12 King, Smith was prevailed upon to facilitate a peace13 ful 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 
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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 
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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; 
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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’’; 
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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 Rappahan12 nocks to leave their reservation and unite with the 

13 Nanzatico Indians at Nanzatico Indian Town, which 

14 was located across and up the Rappahannock River 

15 some 30 miles; 

16 (25) between 1687 and 1699, the Rappahan17 nocks migrated out of Nanzatico, returning to the 

18 south side of the Rappahannock River at Portobacco 

19 Indian Town; 

20 (26) in 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieu21 tenant Richard Covington ‘‘escorted’’ the Portobac22 cos and Rappahannocks out of Portobacco Indian 

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

24 Queen County where they settled along the ridgeline 

25 between the Rappahannock and Mattaponi Rivers, 
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1 the site of their ancient hunting village and 1682 

2 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; 
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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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1 (40) during the early 1900s, 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; 
38 

•HR 1385 EH

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; 
39 

•HR 1385 EH

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 Rap-
40 

•HR 1385 EH

1 pahannocks had to fight the draft boards with re2 spect 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 
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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 Department of Health and Human 

21 Services to develop an economic program for the 

22 Tribe; and 

23 (72) in 1983, the Rappahannocks received 

24 State recognition as an Indian tribe. 
42 

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1 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

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

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem6 ber’’ means— 

7 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem8 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

9 this Act; and 

10 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

11 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

12 with this title. 

13 (3) TRIBE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ 

15 means the organization possessing the legal 

16 name Rappahannock Tribe, Inc. 

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

18 not include any other Indian tribe, subtribe, 

19 band, or splinter group the members of which 

20 represent themselves as Rappahannock Indians. 

21 SEC. 403. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

22 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex24 tended to the Tribe. 

25 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ26 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap-
43 

•HR 1385 EH

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 incon4 sistent 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 the existence of a 

12 reservation for the Tribe. 

13 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de14 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

15 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

16 the area comprised of King and Queen County, 

17 Caroline County, Essex County, Spotsylvania Coun18 ty, Stafford County, and Richmond County, Vir19 ginia. 

20 SEC. 404. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

21 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

22 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov23 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

24 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
44 

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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.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

10 Secretary of the Interior— 

11 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

12 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac13 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

14 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

15 King and Queen County, Stafford County, Spotsyl16 vania County, Richmond County, Essex County, and 

17 Caroline County, Virginia; and 

18 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

19 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

20 lands are located within the boundaries of King and 

21 Queen County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania Coun22 ty, Richmond County, Essex County, and Caroline 

23 County, Virginia. 

24 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec25 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

26 than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a 
45 

•HR 1385 EH

1 request for land to be taken into trust under subsection 

2 (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination 

3 available to the Tribe. 

4 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

5 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para6 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

7 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

8 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac9 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

10 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

11 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

12 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

13 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

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

15 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

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

19 SEC. 408. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commonwealth of Virginia 

21 shall exercise jurisdiction over— 

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

23 and 

24 (2) all civil actions that arise on, 
46 

•HR 1385 EH

1 lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that 

2 are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, 

3 the Tribe. 

4 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF STATE JURISDICTION BY SEC5 RETARY.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

6 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

7 with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any 

8 portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Vir9 ginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the 

10 Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the 

11 capacity to reassume such jurisdiction. 

12 TITLE V—MONACAN INDIAN 

13 NATION 

14 SEC. 501. FINDINGS. 

15 Congress finds that— 

16 (1) in 1677, the Monacan Tribe signed the 

17 Treaty of Middle Plantation between Charles II of 

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

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

20 Spotswood negotiated to save the Virginia Indians 

21 from extinction at the hands of the Iroquois; 

22 (3) specifically mentioned in the negotiations 

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

24 Saponi, Ocheneeches (Occaneechi), Stengenocks, and 

25 Meipontskys; 
47 

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

2 Benjamin Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors 

3 of the present Monacan community, listed as 

4 ‘‘white’’ with mulatto children; 

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

6 families; 

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

8 29 families, mostly large, with Monacan surnames, 

9 the members of which are genealogically related to 

10 the present community; 

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

12 Bear Mountain Indian Mission; 

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

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

15 the structure is listed as a landmark on the National 

16 Register of Historic Places; 

17 (9) in 1920, 304 Amherst Indians were identi18 fied in the United States census; 

19 (10) from 1930 through 1931, numerous letters 

20 from Monacans to the Bureau of the Census re21 sulted from the decision of Dr. Walter Plecker, 

22 former head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the 

23 Commonwealth of Virginia, not to allow Indians to 

24 register as Indians for the 1930 census; 
48 

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1 (11) the Monacans eventually succeeded in 

2 being allowed to claim their race, albeit with an as3 terisk attached to a note from Dr. Plecker stating 

4 that there were no Indians in Virginia; 

5 (12) in 1947, D’Arcy McNickle, a Salish In6 dian, saw some of the children at the Amherst Mis7 sion and requested that the Cherokee Agency visit 

8 them because they appeared to be Indian; 

9 (13) that letter was forwarded to the Depart10 ment of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Chi11 cago, Illinois; 

12 (14) Chief Jarrett Blythe of the Eastern Band 

13 of Cherokee did visit the Mission and wrote that he 

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

15 Cherokee school’’; 

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

17 Native Americans established the entity known as 

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

19 Mission; 

20 (16) some important pieces were produced at 

21 Monacan Co-operative Pottery, including a piece 

22 that was sold to the Smithsonian Institution; 

23 (17) the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan Con24 sortium, established in 1981, has since been orga25 nized as a nonprofit corporation that serves as a ve-
49 

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1 hicle to obtain funds for those Indian tribes from the 

2 Department of Labor under Native American pro3 grams; 

4 (18) in 1989, the Monacan Tribe was recog5 nized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which en6 abled the Tribe to apply for grants and participate 

7 in other programs; and 

8 (19) in 1993, the Monacan Tribe received tax9 exempt status as a nonprofit corporation from the 

10 Internal Revenue Service. 

11 SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

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

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem16 ber’’ means— 

17 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem18 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

19 this Act; and 

20 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

21 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

22 with this title. 

23 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Mon24 acan Indian Nation. 
50 

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1 SEC. 503. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

2 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex4 tended to the Tribe. 

5 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ6 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap7 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

9 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon10 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

11 and tribal members. 

12 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en14 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

15 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

16 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

17 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

18 reservation for the Tribe. 

19 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de20 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

21 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

22 the area comprised of all land within 25 miles from 

23 the center of Amherst, Virginia. 

24 SEC. 504. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

25 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

26 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
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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.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

12 Secretary of the Interior— 

13 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

14 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac15 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

16 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

17 Amherst County, Virginia; and 

18 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

19 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

20 lands are located within the boundaries of Amherst 

21 County, Virginia, and those parcels in Rockbridge 

22 County, Virginia (subject to the consent of the local 

23 unit of government), owned by Mr. J. Poole, de24 scribed as East 731 Sandbridge (encompassing ap-
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1 proximately 4.74 acres) and East 731 (encom2 passing approximately 5.12 acres)). 

3 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec4 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

5 than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a 

6 request for land to be taken into trust under subsection 

7 (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination 

8 available to the Tribe. 

9 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

10 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para11 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

12 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

13 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac14 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

15 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

16 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

17 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

18 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

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

20 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

23 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
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1 SEC. 508. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commonwealth of Virginia 

3 shall exercise jurisdiction over— 

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

5 and 

6 (2) all civil actions that arise on, 

7 lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that 

8 are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, 

9 the Tribe. 

10 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF STATE JURISDICTION BY SEC11 RETARY.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

12 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

13 with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any 

14 portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Vir15 ginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the 

16 Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the 

17 capacity to reassume such jurisdiction. 

18 TITLE VI—NANSEMOND INDIAN 

19 TRIBE 

20 SEC. 601. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress finds that— 

22 (1) from 1607 until 1646, Nansemond Indi23 ans— 

24 (A) lived approximately 30 miles from 

25 Jamestown; and 
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1 (B) were significantly involved in English2 Indian affairs; 

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

4 Nansemonds in communication with each other, the 

5 Christianized Nansemonds in Norfolk County, who 

6 lived as citizens, and the traditionalist Nansemonds, 

7 who lived further west; 

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

9 century sermon book still owned by the Chief’s fam10 ily, a Norfolk County Englishman married a Nanse11 mond woman; 

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

13 all of members of the Nansemond Indian tribe alive 

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

15 of the traditionalist Nansemonds; 

16 (5) in 1669, the 2 Nansemond sections ap17 peared in Virginia Colony’s census of Indian bow18 men; 

19 (6) in 1677, Nansemond Indians were signato20 ries to the Treaty of 1677 with the King of Eng21 land; 

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

23 other Virginia Indian tribes were prevented by Vir24 ginia Colony from making a separate peace with the 

25 Iroquois; 
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1 (8) Virginia represented those Indian tribes in 

2 the final Treaty of Albany, 1722; 

3 (9) in 1711, a Nansemond boy attended the In4 dian School at the College of William and Mary; 

5 (10) in 1727, Norfolk County granted William 

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

7 clearing swamp land and bearing arms (which privi8 leges were forbidden to other nonwhites) because of 

9 their Nansemond ancestry, which meant that Bass 

10 and his kinsmen were original inhabitants of that 

11 land; 

12 (11) in 1742, Norfolk County issued a certifi13 cate of Nansemond descent to William Bass; 

14 (12) from the 1740s to the 1790s, the tradi15 tionalist section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles 

16 west of the Christianized Nansemonds, was dealing 

17 with reservation land; 

18 (13) the last surviving members of that section 

19 sold out in 1792 with the permission of the Com20 monwealth of Virginia; 

21 (14) in 1797, Norfolk County issued a certifi22 cate stating that William Bass was of Indian and 

23 English descent, and that his Indian line of ancestry 

24 ran directly back to the early 18th century elder in 
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1 a traditionalist section of Nansemonds on the res2 ervation; 

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

4 people of European and Indian descent to obtain a 

5 special certificate of ancestry; 

6 (16) the law originated from the county in 

7 which Nansemonds lived, and mostly Nansemonds, 

8 with a few people from other counties, took advan9 tage of the new law; 

10 (17) a Methodist mission established around 

11 1850 for Nansemonds is currently a standard Meth12 odist congregation with Nansemond members; 

13 (18) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist 

14 James Mooney— 

15 (A) visited the Nansemonds; and 

16 (B) completed a tribal census that counted 

17 61 households and was later published; 

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

19 Indian school in the segregated school system of 

20 Norfolk County; 

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

22 (21) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an23 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod24 ern Virginia Indians that included a section on the 

25 Nansemonds; and 
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1 (22) the Nansemonds were organized formally, 

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

3 and received State recognition. 

4 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem9 ber’’ means— 

10 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem11 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

12 this Act; and 

13 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

14 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

15 with this title. 

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

17 Nansemond Indian Tribe. 

18 SEC. 603. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

19 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex21 tended to the Tribe. 

22 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ23 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap24 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

25 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 
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1 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon2 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

3 and tribal members. 

4 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en6 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

7 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

8 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

9 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

10 reservation for the Tribe. 

11 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de12 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

13 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

14 the area comprised of the cities of Chesapeake, 

15 Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suf16 folk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

17 SEC. 604. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

18 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

19 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov20 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

22 SEC. 605. GOVERNING BODY. 

23 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

25 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
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1 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

2 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

3 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

4 SEC. 606. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

6 Secretary of the Interior— 

7 (1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 

8 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac9 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

10 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

11 the city of Suffolk, the city of Chesapeake, or Isle 

12 of Wight County, Virginia; and 

13 (2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 

14 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

15 lands are located within the boundaries of the city 

16 of Suffolk, the city of Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight 

17 County, Virginia. 

18 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec19 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

20 than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a 

21 request for land to be taken into trust under subsection 

22 (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination 

23 available to the Tribe. 

24 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

25 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para-
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1 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

2 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

3 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac4 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

5 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

6 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 

7 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

8 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

9 SEC. 607. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

10 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

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

14 SEC. 608. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commonwealth of Virginia 

16 shall exercise jurisdiction over— 

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

18 and 

19 (2) all civil actions that arise on, 

20 lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that 

21 are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, 

22 the Tribe. 

23 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF STATE JURISDICTION BY SEC24 RETARY.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 

25 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 
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1 with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any 

2 portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Vir3 ginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the 

4 Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the 

5 capacity to reassume such jurisdiction. 

6 TITLE VII—EMINENT DOMAIN 

7 SEC. 701. LIMITATION. 

8 Eminent domain may not be used to acquire lands 

9 in fee or in trust for an Indian tribe recognized under this 

10 Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 3, 2009. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1385 

AN ACT 

To extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy 

dian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe. the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan InEastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—