I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3810

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

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 12, 1996

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

on Resources

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’’.

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 North Carolina. All laws and regu-
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1 lations of the United States of general application to Indi2 ans and Indian tribes shall apply to the Lumbee Tribe

3 of North Carolina and its members.

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

5 any group of Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties

6 whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe of

7 North Carolina, as determined under section (4)(b), may

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

9 Regulations for acknowledgement of tribal existence.

10 ‘‘SERVICES

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

12 and its members shall be eligible for all services and bene13 fits provided to Indians because of their status as federally

14 recognized Indians, except that members of the tribe shall

15 not be entitled to such services until the appropriation of

16 funds for these purposes. For the purposes of the delivery

17 of such services, those members of the tribe residing in

18 Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, shall be

19 deemed to be resident on or near an Indian reservation.

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

21 4 by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the

22 Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services

23 shall develop, in consultation with the Lumbee Tribe of

24 North Carolina, a determination of needs and a budget

25 required to provide services to which the members of the

26 tribe are eligible. The Secretary of the Interior and the
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1 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall each sub2 mit a written statement of such needs and budget with

3 the first budget request submitted to the Congress after

4 the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified.

5 ‘‘(c)(1) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is au6 thorized to plan, conduct, consolidate, and administer pro7 grams, services, and functions authorized under the Act

8 of April 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 596; 25 U.S.C. 452 et seq.),

9 and the Act of November 2, 1921 (42 Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C.

10 13), popularly known as the Snyder Act, pursuant to an

11 annual written funding agreement among the Lumbee

12 Tribe of North Carolina, the Secretary of the Interior, and

13 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, which shall

14 specify—

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

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

17 reallocate funds or modify budget allocations, within

18 any fiscal year; and

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

20 Interior for, and the procedure to be used in, audit21 ing the expenditures of the tribe.

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

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

24 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25

25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).
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1 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as

2 affecting, modifying, diminishing, or otherwise impairing

3 the sovereign immunity from lawsuit enjoyed by the

4 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina or authorizing or requir5 ing the termination of any trust responsibility of the Unit6 ed States with respect to the tribe.

7 ‘‘CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERSHIP

8 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a) After the Secretary has completed his

9 review and verification of the tribal roll, but in no case

10 earlier than 24 months after the effective date of this Act,

11 the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shall adopt a con12 stitution and bylaws. Any constitution, bylaws, or amend13 ments to the constitution or bylaws that are adopted by

14 the tribe must be consistent with the terms of this Act

15 and shall take effect only after such documents are filed

16 with the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary shall as17 sist the tribe in the drafting of a constitution and bylaws,

18 the conduct of an election in accordance with the proce19 dures set forth in part 81 of title 25 of the Code of Federal

20 Regulations with respect to such constitution, and the re21 organization of the government of the tribe under any

22 such constitution and bylaws. In addition to the require23 ments of this Act and part 81 of title 25 of the Code of

24 Federal Regulations, only adult enrolled members of the

25 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shall be eligible to vote

26 on the constitution.
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1 ‘‘(b)(1) Until the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

2 adopts a constitution and except as provided in paragraph

3 (2), the membership of the tribe shall, subject to review

4 by the Secretary, consist of every individual who is named

5 in the tribal membership roll that is in effect on the date

6 of enactment of this Act.

7 ‘‘(2)(A) Within 60 days after the effective date of this

8 Act, the roll of the tribe shall be open for a 180-day period

9 to allow the enrollment of any individual previously en10 rolled in another Indian group or tribe in Robeson or ad11 joining counties, North Carolina, who demonstrates

12 that—

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

14 the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina; and

15 ‘‘(ii) the individual has abandoned membership

16 in any other Indian group or tribe.

17 ‘‘(B) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shall ad18 vertise in newspapers of general distribution in Robeson

19 and adjoining counties, North Carolina, the opening of the

20 tribal roll for the purposes of subparagraph (A). The ad21 vertisement shall specify the enrollment criteria and the

22 deadline for enrollment.

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

24 of North Carolina shall be limited to verification of compli25 ance with the membership criteria of the tribe as stated
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1 in the Lumbee Petition for Federal Acknowledgment filed

2 with the Secretary by the tribe on December 17, 1987.

3 The Secretary shall complete his review and verification

4 of the tribal roll within the 12-month period beginning on

5 the date on which the tribal roll is closed under paragraph

6 (2).

7 ‘‘INTERIM GOVERNMENT

8 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a) Until the tribe has adopted a constitu9 tion pursuant to the terms of this Act, the Board of Direc10 tors of the Lumbee Regional Development Association

11 (hereafter in this section referred to as ‘LRDA’) is recog12 nized as the sole provisional and transitional governing

13 body of the tribe. Until an election of tribal officers under

14 the new constitution, the LRDA shall—

15 ‘‘(1) represent the tribe and its members in the

16 implementation of this Act; and

17 ‘‘(2) during such period—

18 ‘‘(A) have full authority to enter into con19 tracts, grant agreements, and other arrange20 ments with any Federal department or agency;

21 and

22 ‘‘(B) have full authority to administer or

23 operate any program under such contracts or

24 agreements.

25 ‘‘(b) Until the initial election of tribal officers under

26 a new constitution and bylaws, the LRDA shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) oversee and implement the drafting and

2 proposal to the tribe of a new constitution and con3 duct such meetings or hearings as it deems nec4 essary;

5 ‘‘(2) oversee the opening of the tribal roll and

6 advertising of the opening as provided for in section

7 4; and

8 ‘‘(3) oversee the election to adopt the constitu9 tion.

10 ‘‘JURISDICTION

11 ‘‘SEC. 6. (a)(1) The State of North Carolina shall ex12 ercise jurisdiction over—

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

14 on, and

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

16 lands located within the State of North Carolina that are

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

18 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, any member of the

19 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or any dependent Indian

20 community of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

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

22 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting

23 with the Attorney General of the United States, any trans24 fer by the State of North Carolina to the United States

25 of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North

26 Carolina described in paragraph (1) pursuant to an agree-
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1 ment between the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and

2 the State of North Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction

3 may not take effect until 2 years after the effective date

4 of such agreement.

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

6 the application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare

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

8 ‘‘(b) Section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (chapter

9 576; 25 U.S.C. 465), and the Act of April 11, 1970 (84

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

11 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina with respect to lands

12 within the exterior boundaries of Robeson and adjoining

13 counties, North Carolina.

14 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

15 ‘‘SEC. 7. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated

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

17 ‘‘(b) In the first fiscal year in which funds are appro18 priated under this Act, the tribe’s proposals for expendi19 tures of such funds shall be submitted to the Committee

20 on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Re21 sources of the House of Representatives 60 calendar days

22 prior to any expenditure of such funds by the tribe.’’.

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