IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 984 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 18, 2017 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

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 2017’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

TITLE V—MONACAN INDIAN NATION 


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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. 

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. 

TITLE VII—EMINENT DOMAIN 

Sec. 701. Limitation. 

1 SEC. 2. INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978. 

2 Nothing in this Act affects the application of section 

3 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

4 1919). 

5 TITLE I—CHICKAHOMINY 

6 INDIAN TRIBE 

7 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 

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

10 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In11 dian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received 

12 them; 

13 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en14 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 

15 of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 


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1 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 

2 to provide two bushels of corn per man and 

3 send warriors to protect the English; and 

4 (B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 

5 allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 

6 tribal governance; 

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

8 the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 

9 around the York Mattaponi River in present-day 

10 King William County, leading to the formation of a 

11 reservation; 

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

13 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 

14 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 

15 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced 

16 from their reservation, which caused the loss of a 

17 land base; 

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

19 in Williamsburg established a grammar school for 

20 Indians called Brafferton College; 

21 (7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first 

22 Indians to attend Brafferton College; 

23 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

24 began to migrate from King William County back to 


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1 the area around the Chickahominy River in New 

2 Kent and Charles City Counties; 

3 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 

4 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 

5 a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 

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

7 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to 

8 appear in the Charles City County census records; 

9 (11) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

10 formed Samaria Baptist Church; 

11 (12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men 

12 were assessed a tribal tax so that their children 

13 could receive an education; 

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

15 to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy sup16 plies, and pay a teacher’s salary; 

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

18 Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief 

19 O.W. Adkins that he had instructed the Commis20 sioner of Revenue for Charles City County to record 

21 Chickahominy tribal members on the county tax rolls 

22 as Indian, and not as White or colored; 

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

24 various Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia 

25 wrote letters of introduction for Chickahominy 


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1 Chiefs who had official business with Federal agen2 cies in Washington, DC; 

3 (16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 

4 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af5 fairs, requesting money to acquire land for the 

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

7 medical, and library facilities and to buy tractors, 

8 implements, and seed; 

9 (17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of In10 dian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.O. 

11 Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the 

12 Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In13 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), 

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

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

16 wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af17 fairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial 

18 designation on Selective Service records for Chicka19 hominy soldiers; 

20 (19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of In21 dian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of 

22 the Richmond News-Leader newspaper of Richmond, 

23 Virginia, to help Virginia Indians obtain proper ra24 cial designation on birth records; 


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1 (20) Collier stated that his office could not offi2 cially intervene because it had no responsibility for 

3 the Virginia Indians, ‘‘as a matter largely of histor4 ical accident’’, but was ‘‘interested in them as de5 scendants of the original inhabitants of the region’’; 

6 (21) in 1948, the Veterans’ Education Com7 mittee of the Virginia State Board of Education ap8 proved Samaria Indian School to provide training to 

9 veterans; 

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

11 Chickahominy Indian Tribe; 

12 (23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

13 purchased and donated to the Charles City County 

14 School Board land to be used to build a modern 

15 school for students of the Chickahominy and other 

16 Virginia Indian tribes; 

17 (24) the Samaria Indian School included stu18 dents in grades 1 through 8; 

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

20 the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, requested 

22 Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins to provide assist23 ance in analyzing the status of the constitutional 

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


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

2 board closed Samaria Indian School and converted 

3 the school to a countywide primary school as a step 

4 toward full school integration of Indian and non-In5 dian students; 

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

7 board began receiving funds under the Indian Self8 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

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

10 students, which funding is provided as of the date 

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

12 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

13 (25 U.S.C. 458aaa et seq.); 

14 (28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

15 bought land and built a tribal center using monthly 

16 pledges from tribal members to finance the trans17 actions; 

18 (29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

19 was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the 

20 Commonwealth of Virginia, along with five other In21 dian tribes; and 

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

23 special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day 

24 dinner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 102. 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.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

14 Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 

15 SEC. 103. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

16 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex18 tended to the Tribe. 

19 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ20 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap21 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

23 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon24 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

25 and tribal members. 

26 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en2 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

3 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

4 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

5 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

6 reservation for the Tribe. 

7 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de8 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

9 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

10 the area comprised of New Kent County, James City 

11 County, Charles City County, and Henrico County, 

12 Virginia. 

13 SEC. 104. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

14 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

15 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov16 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

18 SEC. 105. GOVERNING BODY. 

19 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

21 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

22 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

23 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

24 the governing documents of the Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 106. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

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

3 Secretary of the Interior— 

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

5 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac6 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

7 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

8 New Kent County, James City County, Charles City 

9 County, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 

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

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

12 lands are located within the boundaries of New Kent 

13 County, James City County, Charles City County, or 

14 Henrico County, Virginia. 

15 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec16 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

17 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

18 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

19 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

20 Tribe. 

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

22 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para23 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

24 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

25 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac26 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 


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1 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

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

3 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

4 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

5 SEC. 107. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

6 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

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

10 TITLE II—CHICKAHOMINY IN11 DIAN TRIBE—EASTERN DIVI12 SION 

13 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds that— 

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

16 along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In17 dian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received 

18 them; 

19 (2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en20 tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 

21 of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 

22 (A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 

23 to provide two bushels of corn per man and 

24 send 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 River in present-day King William 

7 County, leading to the formation of a reservation; 

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

9 Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 

10 Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 

11 (5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced 

12 from their reservation, which caused the loss of a 

13 land base; 

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

15 in Williamsburg established a grammar school for 

16 Indians called Brafferton College; 

17 (7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first 

18 Indians to attend Brafferton College; 

19 (8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

20 began to migrate from King William County back to 

21 the area around the Chickahominy River in New 

22 Kent and Charles City Counties; 

23 (9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 

24 Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 

25 a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 


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

2 modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to 

3 appear in the Charles City County census records; 

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

5 Indians in New Kent County that is believed to be 

6 the beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe— 

7 Eastern Division; 

8 (12) other records were destroyed when the 

9 New Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a 

10 State census as the only record covering that period; 

11 (13) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

12 formed Samaria Baptist Church; 

13 (14) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men 

14 were assessed a tribal tax so that their children 

15 could receive an education; 

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

17 to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy sup18 plies, and pay a teacher’s salary; 

19 (16) in 1910, a one-room school covering 

20 grades 1 through 8 was established in New Kent 

21 County for the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East22 ern Division; 

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

24 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division 

25 began forming a tribal government; 


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

2 was elected to be Chief; 

3 (19) in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church 

4 was organized; 

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

6 issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern 

7 Division; 

8 (21) in 1950, the one-room Indian school in 

9 New Kent County was closed and students were 

10 bused to Samaria Indian School in Charles City 

11 County; 

12 (22) in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

13 and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Divi14 sion lost their schools as a result of the required in15 tegration of students; 

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

17 Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanc18 tuary to accommodate church growth; 

19 (24) in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe— 

20 Eastern Division was granted State recognition 

21 along with five other Virginia Indian tribes; 

22 (25) in 1985— 

23 (A) the Virginia Council on Indians was 

24 organized as a State agency; and 


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1 (B) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East2 ern Division was granted a seat on the Council; 

3 (26) in 1988, a nonprofit organization known 

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

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

6 Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs 

7 the organization. 

8 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

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

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem13 ber’’ means— 

14 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem15 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

18 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

19 with this title. 

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

21 Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division. 

22 SEC. 203. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

23 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex25 tended to the Tribe. 


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1 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ2 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap3 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

5 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon6 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

7 and tribal members. 

8 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en10 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

11 shall be eligible for all future services and benefits 

12 provided by the Federal Government to federally rec13 ognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence 

14 of a reservation for the Tribe. 

15 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de16 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

17 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

18 the area comprised of New Kent County, James City 

19 County, Charles City County, and Henrico County, 

20 Virginia. 

21 SEC. 204. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

22 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

23 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov24 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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


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1 SEC. 205. 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. 206. 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 New Kent County, James City County, Charles City 

16 County, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 

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

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

19 lands are located within the boundaries of New Kent 

20 County, James City County, Charles City County, or 

21 Henrico County, Virginia. 

22 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec23 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

24 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

25 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 


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1 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

2 Tribe. 

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

4 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para5 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

6 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

7 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac8 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

9 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

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

11 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

12 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

13 SEC. 207. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

14 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

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

18 TITLE III—UPPER MATTAPONI 

19 TRIBE 

20 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress finds that— 

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

23 the Chickahominy Indian Tribes— 

24 (A) lived approximately 20 miles from 

25 Jamestown; and 


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

3 (2) Mattaponi Indians, who later joined the 

4 Chickahominy Indians, lived a greater distance from 

5 Jamestown; 

6 (3) in 1646, the Chickahominy Indians moved 

7 to Mattaponi River basin, away from the English; 

8 (4) in 1661, the Chickahominy Indians sold 

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

10 Mattaponi River; 

11 (5) in 1669, the Chickahominy Indians— 

12 (A) appeared in the Virginia Colony’s cen13 sus of Indian bowmen; and 

14 (B) lived in ‘‘New Kent’’ County, which in15 cluded the Mattaponi River basin at that time; 

16 (6) in 1677, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 

17 Indians were subjects of the Queen of Pamunkey, 

18 who was a signatory to the Treaty of 1677 with the 

19 King of England; 

20 (7) in 1683, after a Mattaponi town was at21 tacked by Seneca Indians, the Mattaponi Indians 

22 took refuge with the Chickahominy Indians, and the 

23 history of the two groups was intertwined for many 

24 years thereafter; 


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1 (8) in 1695, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 

2 Indians— 

3 (A) were assigned a reservation by the Vir4 ginia Colony; and 

5 (B) traded land of the reservation for land 

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

7 the date of enactment of this Act, is the 

8 Mattaponi Indian Reservation), which had been 

9 owned by the Mattaponi Indians before 1661; 

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

11 Indian School at the College of William and Mary; 

12 (10) in 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued 

13 funding of interpreters for the Chickahominy and 

14 Mattaponi Indian Tribes; 

15 (11) James Adams, who served as an inter16 preter to the Indian tribes known as of the date of 

17 enactment of this Act as the ‘‘Upper Mattaponi In18 dian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Chickahominy Indian Tribe’’, 

19 elected to stay with the Upper Mattaponi Indians; 

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

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

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

23 the Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned the 

24 Mattaponi Indians on a reservation in King William 

25 County and said that Chickahominy Indians were 


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

2 Pamunkey Indians; 

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

4 revealed a nucleus of approximately 10 families, all 

5 ancestral to modern Upper Mattaponi Indians, living 

6 in central King William County, Virginia, approxi7 mately 10 miles from the reservation; 

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

9 King William County marriage records listed Upper 

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

11 on the reservation; 

12 (16) during the period of 1884 through the 

13 present, county marriage records usually refer to 

14 Upper Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’; 

15 (17) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist 

16 James Mooney heard about the Upper Mattaponi In17 dians but did not visit them; 

18 (18) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an19 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod20 ern Virginia Indians with a section on the Upper 

21 Mattaponis; 

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

23 the Upper Mattaponi Indians opposed the use of a 

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

25 census and won a compromise in which the Indian 


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1 ancestry of the Upper Mattaponis was recorded but 

2 questioned; 

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

4 (A) the leadership of the Upper Mattaponi 

5 Indians, with the help of Frank Speck and oth6 ers, fought against the induction of young men 

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

8 Forces of the United States; and 

9 (B) a tribal roll for the Upper Mattaponi 

10 Indians was compiled; 

11 (21) from 1945 to 1946, negotiations took 

12 place to admit some of the young people of the 

13 Upper Mattaponi to high schools for Federal Indians 

14 (especially at Cherokee) because no high school 

15 coursework was available for Indians in Virginia 

16 schools; and 

17 (22) in 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Indians ap18 plied for and won State recognition as an Indian 

19 tribe. 

20 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this title: 

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

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem25 ber’’ means— 


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1 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem2 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

3 this Act; and 

4 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

5 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

6 with this title. 

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

8 Upper Mattaponi Tribe. 

9 SEC. 303. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

10 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex12 tended to the Tribe. 

13 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ14 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap15 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

17 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon18 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

19 and tribal members. 

20 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en22 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

23 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

24 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 


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1 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

2 reservation for the Tribe. 

3 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de4 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

5 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

6 the area within 25 miles of the Sharon Indian 

7 School at 13383 King William Road, King William 

8 County, Virginia. 

9 SEC. 304. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

10 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

11 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov12 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

14 SEC. 305. GOVERNING BODY. 

15 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

17 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

18 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

19 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

20 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

21 SEC. 306. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

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

23 Secretary of the Interior— 

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

25 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was acVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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1 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

2 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

3 King William County, Caroline County, Hanover 

4 County, King and Queen County, and New Kent 

5 County, Virginia; and 

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

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

8 lands are located within the boundaries of King Wil9 liam County, Caroline County, Hanover County, 

10 King and Queen County, and New Kent County, 

11 Virginia. 

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

14 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

15 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

16 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

17 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. 307. 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 TITLE IV—RAPPAHANNOCK 

9 TRIBE, INC. 

10 SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds that— 

12 (1) during the initial months after Virginia was 

13 settled, the Rappahannock Indians had three en14 counters with Captain John Smith; 

15 (2) the first encounter occurred when the Rap16 pahannock weroance (headman)— 

17 (A) traveled to Quiyocohannock (a prin18 cipal town across the James River from James19 town), where he met with Smith to determine 

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

21 had previously sailed into the Rappahannock 

22 River, killed a Rappahannock weroance, and 

23 kidnapped Rappahannock people; and 

24 (B) determined that Smith was too short 

25 to be that ‘‘great man’’; 


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1 (3) on a second meeting, during John Smith’s 

2 captivity (December 16, 1607, to January 8, 1608), 

3 Smith was taken to the Rappahannock principal vil4 lage to show the people that Smith was not the 

5 ‘‘great man’’; 

6 (4) a third meeting took place during Smith’s 

7 exploration of the Chesapeake Bay (July to Sep8 tember 1608), when, after the Moraughtacund Indi9 ans had stolen three women from the Rappahannock 

10 King, Smith was prevailed upon to facilitate a peace11 ful truce between the Rappahannock and the 

12 Moraughtacund Indians; 

13 (5) in the settlement, Smith had the two Indian 

14 tribes meet on the spot of their first fight; 

15 (6) when it was established that both groups 

16 wanted peace, Smith told the Rappahannock King to 

17 select which of the three stolen women he wanted; 

18 (7) the Moraughtacund King was given second 

19 choice among the two remaining women, and Mosco, 

20 a Wighcocomoco (on the Potomac River) guide, was 

21 given the third woman; 

22 (8) in 1645, Captain William Claiborne tried 

23 unsuccessfully to establish treaty relations with the 

24 Rappahannocks, as the Rappahannocks had not par25 ticipated in the Pamunkey-led uprising in 1644, and 


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1 the English wanted to ‘‘treat with the 

2 Rappahannocks or any other Indians not in amity 

3 with Opechancanough, concerning serving the county 

4 against the Pamunkeys’’; 

5 (9) in April 1651, the Rappahannocks conveyed 

6 a tract of land to an English settler, Colonel Morre 

7 Fauntleroy; 

8 (10) the deed for the conveyance was signed by 

9 Accopatough, weroance of the Rappahannock Indi10 ans; 

11 (11) in September 1653, Lancaster County 

12 signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indians, the 

13 terms of which treaty— 

14 (A) gave Rappahannocks the rights of 

15 Englishmen in the county court; and 

16 (B) attempted to make the Rappahannocks 

17 more accountable under English law; 

18 (12) in September 1653, Lancaster County de19 fined and marked the bounds of its Indian settle20 ments; 

21 (13) according to the Lancaster clerk of court, 

22 ‘‘the tribe called the great Rappahannocks lived on 

23 the Rappahannock Creek just across the river above 

24 Tappahannock’’; 


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1 (14) in September 1656, (Old) Rappahannock 

2 County (which, as of the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, is comprised of Richmond and Essex Counties, 

4 Virginia) signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indi5 ans that— 

6 (A) mirrored the Lancaster County treaty 

7 from 1653; and 

8 (B) stated that— 

9 (i) Rappahannocks were to be re10 warded, in Roanoke, for returning English 

11 fugitives; and 

12 (ii) the English encouraged the 

13 Rappahannocks to send their children to 

14 live among the English as servants, who 

15 the English promised would be well-treat16 ed; 

17 (15) in 1658, the Virginia Assembly revised a 

18 1652 Act stating that ‘‘there be no grants of land 

19 to any Englishman whatsoever de futuro until the 

20 Indians be first served with the proportion of 50 

21 acres of land for each bowman’’; 

22 (16) in 1669, the colony conducted a census of 

23 Virginia Indians; 

24 (17) as of the date of that census— 


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1 (A) the majority of the Rappahannocks 

2 were residing at their hunting village on the 

3 north side of the Mattaponi River; and 

4 (B) at the time of the visit, census-takers 

5 were counting only the Indian tribes along the 

6 rivers, which explains why only 30 Rappahan7 nock bowmen were counted on that river; 

8 (18) the Rappahannocks used the hunting vil9 lage on the north side of the Mattaponi River as 

10 their primary residence until the Rappahannocks 

11 were removed in 1684; 

12 (19) in May 1677, the Treaty of Middle Planta13 tion was signed with England; 

14 (20) the Pamunkey Queen Cockacoeske signed 

15 on behalf of the Rappahannocks, ‘‘who were sup16 posed to be her tributaries’’, but before the treaty 

17 could be ratified, the Queen of Pamunkey com18 plained to the Virginia Colonial Council ‘‘that she 

19 was having trouble with Rappahannocks and 

20 Chickahominies, supposedly tributaries of hers’’; 

21 (21) in November 1682, the Virginia Colonial 

22 Council established a reservation for the Rappahan23 nock Indians of 3,474 acres ‘‘about the town where 

24 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, three Rappahannock 

4 girls were raised on Thomas Nelson’s Bleak Hill 

5 Plantation in King William County; 

6 (28) of those girls— 

7 (A) one married a Saunders man; 

8 (B) one married a Johnson man; and 

9 (C) one had two children, Edmund and 

10 Carter Nelson, fathered by Thomas Cary Nel11 son; 

12 (29) in the 19th century, those Saunders, John13 son, and Nelson families are among the core Rappa14 hannock families from which the modern Tribe 

15 traces its descent; 

16 (30) in 1819 and 1820, Edward Bird, John 

17 Bird (and his wife), Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson, 

18 and Carter Spurlock (all Rappahannock ancestors) 

19 were listed on the tax roles of King and Queen 

20 County and taxed at the county poor rate; 

21 (31) Edmund Bird was added to the tax roles 

22 in 1821; 

23 (32) those tax records are significant docu24 mentation because the great majority of pre-1864 


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1 records for King and Queen County were destroyed 

2 by fire; 

3 (33) beginning in 1819, and continuing through 

4 the 1880s, there was a solid Rappahannock presence 

5 in the membership at Upper Essex Baptist Church; 

6 (34) that was the first instance of conversion to 

7 Christianity by at least some Rappahannock Indians; 

8 (35) while 26 identifiable and traceable Rappa9 hannock surnames appear on the pre-1863 member10 ship list, and 28 were listed on the 1863 member11 ship roster, the number of surnames listed had de12 clined to 12 in 1878 and had risen only slightly to 

13 14 by 1888; 

14 (36) a reason for the decline is that in 1870, 

15 a Methodist circuit rider, Joseph Mastin, secured 

16 funds to purchase land and construct St. Stephens 

17 Baptist Church for the Rappahannocks living nearby 

18 in Caroline County; 

19 (37) Mastin referred to the Rappahannocks 

20 during the period of 1850 to 1870 as ‘‘Indians, hav21 ing a great need for moral and Christian guidance’’; 

22 (38) St. Stephens was the dominant tribal 

23 church until the Rappahannock Indian Baptist 

24 Church was established in 1964; 


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1 (39) at both churches, the core Rappahannock 

2 family names of Bird, Clarke, Fortune, Johnson, 

3 Nelson, Parker, and Richardson predominate; 

4 (40) during the early 1900s, James Mooney, 

5 noted anthropologist, maintained correspondence 

6 with the Rappahannocks, surveying them and in7 structing them on how to formalize their tribal gov8 ernment; 

9 (41) in November 1920, Speck visited the 

10 Rappahannocks and assisted them in organizing the 

11 fight for their sovereign rights; 

12 (42) in 1921, the Rappahannocks were granted 

13 a charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia for14 malizing their tribal government; 

15 (43) Speck began a professional relationship 

16 with the Tribe that would last more than 30 years 

17 and document Rappahannock history and traditions 

18 as never before; 

19 (44) in April 1921, Rappahannock Chief 

20 George Nelson asked the Governor of Virginia, 

21 Westmoreland Davis, to forward a proclamation to 

22 the President of the United States, along with an 

23 appended list of tribal members and a handwritten 

24 copy of the proclamation itself; 


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1 (45) the letter concerned Indian freedom of 

2 speech and assembly nationwide; 

3 (46) in 1922, the Rappahannocks established a 

4 formal school at Lloyds, Essex County, Virginia; 

5 (47) prior to establishment of the school, Rap6 pahannock children were taught by a tribal member 

7 in Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia; 

8 (48) in December 1923, Rappahannock Chief 

9 George Nelson testified before Congress appealing 

10 for a $50,000 appropriation to establish an Indian 

11 school in Virginia; 

12 (49) in 1930, the Rappahannocks were engaged 

13 in an ongoing dispute with the Commonwealth of 

14 Virginia and the United States Census Bureau 

15 about their classification in the 1930 Federal cen16 sus; 

17 (50) in January 1930, Rappahannock Chief 

18 Otho S. Nelson wrote to Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat19 istician of the United States Census Bureau, asking 

20 that the 218 enrolled Rappahannocks be listed as 

21 Indians; 

22 (51) in February 1930, Truesdell replied to 

23 Nelson saying that ‘‘special instructions’’ were being 

24 given about classifying Indians; 


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1 (52) in April 1930, Nelson wrote to William M. 

2 Steuart at the Census Bureau asking about the enu3 merators’ failure to classify his people as Indians, 

4 saying that enumerators had not asked the question 

5 about race when they interviewed his people; 

6 (53) in a followup letter to Truesdell, Nelson 

7 reported that the enumerators were ‘‘flatly denying’’ 

8 his people’s request to be listed as Indians and that 

9 the race question was completely avoided during 

10 interviews; 

11 (54) the Rappahannocks had spoken with Caro12 line and Essex County enumerators, and with John 

13 M.W. Green at that point, without success; 

14 (55) Nelson asked Truesdell to list people as 

15 Indians if he sent a list of members; 

16 (56) the matter was settled by William Steuart, 

17 who concluded that the Bureau’s rule was that peo18 ple of Indian descent could be classified as ‘‘Indian’’ 

19 only if Indian ‘‘blood’’ predominated and ‘‘Indian’’ 

20 identity was accepted in the local community; 

21 (57) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau 

22 classed all nonreservation Indians as ‘‘Negro’’, and 

23 it failed to see why ‘‘an exception should be made’’ 

24 for the Rappahannocks; 


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1 (58) therefore, in 1925, the Indian Rights As2 sociation took on the Rappahannock case to assist 

3 the Rappahannocks in fighting for their recognition 

4 and rights as an Indian tribe; 

5 (59) during the Second World War, the 

6 Pamunkeys, Mattaponis, Chickahominies, and Rap7 pahannocks had to fight the draft boards with re8 spect to their racial identities; 

9 (60) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau in10 sisted that certain Indian draftees be inducted into 

11 Negro units; 

12 (61) finally, three Rappahannocks were con13 victed of violating the Federal draft laws and, after 

14 spending time in a Federal prison, were granted 

15 conscientious objector status and served out the re16 mainder of the war working in military hospitals; 

17 (62) in 1943, Frank Speck noted that there 

18 were approximately 25 communities of Indians left 

19 in the Eastern United States that were entitled to 

20 Indian classification, including the Rappahannocks; 

21 (63) in the 1940s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat22 istician, of the United States Census Bureau, listed 

23 118 members in the Rappahannock Tribe in the In24 dian population of Virginia; 


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1 (64) on April 25, 1940, the Office of Indian Af2 fairs of the Department of the Interior included the 

3 Rappahannocks on a list of Indian tribes classified 

4 by State and by agency; 

5 (65) in 1948, the Smithsonian Institution An6 nual Report included an article by William Harlen 

7 Gilbert entitled, ‘‘Surviving Indian Groups of the 

8 Eastern United States’’, which included and de9 scribed the Rappahannock Tribe; 

10 (66) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the 

11 Rappahannocks operated a school at Indian Neck; 

12 (67) the State agreed to pay a tribal teacher to 

13 teach 10 students bused by King and Queen County 

14 to Sharon Indian School in King William County, 

15 Virginia; 

16 (68) in 1965, Rappahannock students entered 

17 Marriott High School (a White public school) by Ex18 ecutive order of the Governor of Virginia; 

19 (69) in 1972, the Rappahannocks worked with 

20 the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans to fight 

21 for Federal recognition; 

22 (70) in 1979, the Coalition established a pot23 tery and artisans company, operating with other Vir24 ginia tribes; 


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1 (71) in 1980, the Rappahannocks received 

2 funding through the Administration for Native 

3 Americans of the Department of Health and Human 

4 Services to develop an economic program for the 

5 Tribe; and 

6 (72) in 1983, the Rappahannocks received 

7 State recognition as an Indian tribe. 

8 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

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

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem13 ber’’ means— 

14 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem15 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

18 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

19 with this title. 

20 (3) TRIBE.— 

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

22 means the organization possessing the legal 

23 name Rappahannock Tribe, Inc. 

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

25 not include any other Indian tribe, subtribe, 


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1 band, or splinter group the members of which 

2 represent themselves as Rappahannock Indians. 

3 SEC. 403. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

4 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex6 tended to the Tribe. 

7 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ8 ing regulations) of the United States of general ap9 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or 

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

11 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not incon12 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

13 and tribal members. 

14 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en16 actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 

17 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

18 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

19 Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a 

20 reservation for the Tribe. 

21 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de22 livery of Federal services to tribal members, the 

23 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

24 the area comprised of King and Queen County, 


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1 Caroline County, Essex County, and King William 

2 County, Virginia. 

3 SEC. 404. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

4 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

5 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov6 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

8 SEC. 405. GOVERNING BODY. 

9 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 

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

11 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

12 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

13 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

14 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

15 SEC. 406. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

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

17 Secretary of the Interior— 

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

19 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac20 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

21 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

22 King and Queen County, Stafford County, Spotsyl23 vania County, Richmond County, Essex County, and 

24 Caroline County, Virginia; and 


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

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

3 lands are located within the boundaries of King and 

4 Queen County, Richmond County, Lancaster Coun5 ty, King George County, Essex County, Caroline 

6 County, New Kent County, King William County, 

7 and James City County, Virginia. 

8 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec9 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

10 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

11 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

12 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

13 Tribe. 

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

15 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para16 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

17 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

18 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac19 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

20 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

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

22 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

23 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 


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

2 WATER RIGHTS. 

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

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

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

6 TITLE V—MONACAN INDIAN 

7 NATION 

8 SEC. 501. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds that— 

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

11 Treaty of Middle Plantation between Charles II of 

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

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

14 Spotswood negotiated to save the Virginia Indians 

15 from extinction at the hands of the Iroquois; 

16 (3) specifically mentioned in the negotiations 

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

18 Saponi, Ocheneeches (Occaneechi), Stengenocks, and 

19 Meipontskys; 

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

21 Benjamin Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors 

22 of the present Monacan community, listed as 

23 ‘‘white’’ with mulatto children; 

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

25 families; 


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

2 29 families, mostly large, with Monacan surnames, 

3 the members of which are genealogically related to 

4 the present community; 

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

6 Bear Mountain Indian Mission; 

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

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

9 the structure is listed as a landmark on the National 

10 Register of Historic Places; 

11 (9) in 1920, 304 Amherst Indians were identi12 fied in the United States census; 

13 (10) from 1930 through 1931, numerous letters 

14 from Monacans to the Bureau of the Census re15 sulted from the decision of Dr. Walter Plecker, 

16 former head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the 

17 Commonwealth of Virginia, not to allow Indians to 

18 register as Indians for the 1930 census; 

19 (11) the Monacans eventually succeeded in 

20 being allowed to claim their race, albeit with an as21 terisk attached to a note from Dr. Plecker stating 

22 that there were no Indians in Virginia; 

23 (12) in 1947, D’Arcy McNickle, a Salish In24 dian, saw some of the children at the Amherst MisVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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1 sion and requested that the Cherokee Agency visit 

2 them because they appeared to be Indian; 

3 (13) that letter was forwarded to the Depart4 ment of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Chi5 cago, Illinois; 

6 (14) Chief Jarrett Blythe of the Eastern Band 

7 of Cherokee did visit the Mission and wrote that he 

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

9 Cherokee school’’; 

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

11 Native Americans established the entity known as 

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

13 Mission; 

14 (16) some important pieces were produced at 

15 Monacan Co-operative Pottery, including a piece 

16 that was sold to the Smithsonian Institution; 

17 (17) the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan Con18 sortium, established in 1981, has since been orga19 nized as a nonprofit corporation that serves as a ve20 hicle to obtain funds for those Indian tribes from the 

21 Department of Labor under Native American pro22 grams; 

23 (18) in 1989, the Monacan Tribe was recog24 nized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which enVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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1 abled the Tribe to apply for grants and participate 

2 in other programs; and 

3 (19) in 1993, the Monacan Tribe received tax4 exempt status as a nonprofit corporation from the 

5 Internal Revenue Service. 

6 SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem11 ber’’ means— 

12 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem13 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

14 this Act; and 

15 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

16 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

17 with this title. 

18 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Mon19 acan Indian Nation. 

20 SEC. 503. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

21 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex23 tended to the Tribe. 

24 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ25 ing regulations) of the United States of general apVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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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 all land within 25 miles from 

17 the center of Amherst, Virginia. 

18 SEC. 504. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

19 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

20 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov21 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

23 SEC. 505. GOVERNING BODY. 

24 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 


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

2 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

3 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

4 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

5 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

6 SEC. 506. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

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

8 Secretary of the Interior— 

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

10 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac11 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

12 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

13 Amherst 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 Amherst 

17 County, Virginia, and those parcels in Rockbridge 

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

19 unit of government), owned by Mr. J. Poole, de20 scribed as East 731 Sandbridge (encompassing ap21 proximately 4.74 acres) and East 731 (encom22 passing approximately 5.12 acres). 

23 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec24 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

25 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 


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1 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

2 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

3 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. 507. 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 TITLE VI—NANSEMOND INDIAN 

20 TRIBE 

21 SEC. 601. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress finds that— 

23 (1) from 1607 until 1646, Nansemond Indi24 ans— 


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1 (A) lived approximately 30 miles from 

2 Jamestown; and 

3 (B) were significantly involved in English4 Indian affairs; 

5 (2) after 1646, there were two sections of 

6 Nansemonds in communication with each other, the 

7 Christianized Nansemonds in Norfolk County, who 

8 lived as citizens, and the traditionalist Nansemonds, 

9 who lived further west; 

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

11 century sermon book still owned by the Chief’s fam12 ily, a Norfolk County Englishman married a Nanse13 mond woman; 

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

15 all of members of the Nansemond Indian tribe alive 

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

17 of the traditionalist Nansemonds; 

18 (5) in 1669, the two Nansemond sections ap19 peared in Virginia Colony’s census of Indian bow20 men; 

21 (6) in 1677, Nansemond Indians were signato22 ries to the Treaty of 1677 with the King of Eng23 land; 

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

25 other Virginia Indian tribes were prevented by VirVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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1 ginia Colony from making a separate peace with the 

2 Iroquois; 

3 (8) Virginia represented those Indian tribes in 

4 the final Treaty of Albany, 1722; 

5 (9) in 1711, a Nansemond boy attended the In6 dian School at the College of William and Mary; 

7 (10) in 1727, Norfolk County granted William 

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

9 clearing swamp land and bearing arms (which privi10 leges were forbidden to other non-Whites) because of 

11 their Nansemond ancestry, which meant that Bass 

12 and his kinsmen were original inhabitants of that 

13 land; 

14 (11) in 1742, Norfolk County issued a certifi15 cate of Nansemond descent to William Bass; 

16 (12) from the 1740s to the 1790s, the tradi17 tionalist section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles 

18 west of the Christianized Nansemonds, was dealing 

19 with reservation land; 

20 (13) the last surviving members of that section 

21 sold out in 1792 with the permission of the Com22 monwealth of Virginia; 

23 (14) in 1797, Norfolk County issued a certifi24 cate stating that William Bass was of Indian and 

25 English descent, and that his Indian line of ancestry 


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1 ran directly back to the early 18th century elder in 

2 a traditionalist section of Nansemonds on the res3 ervation; 

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

5 people of European and Indian descent to obtain a 

6 special certificate of ancestry; 

7 (16) the law originated from the county in 

8 which Nansemonds lived, and mostly Nansemonds, 

9 with a few people from other counties, took advan10 tage of the new law; 

11 (17) a Methodist mission established around 

12 1850 for Nansemonds is currently a standard Meth13 odist congregation with Nansemond members; 

14 (18) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist 

15 James Mooney— 

16 (A) visited the Nansemonds; and 

17 (B) completed a tribal census that counted 

18 61 households and was later published; 

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

20 Indian school in the segregated school system of 

21 Norfolk County; 

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

23 (21) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an24 thropologist Frank Speck published a book on modVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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1 ern Virginia Indians that included a section on the 

2 Nansemonds; and 

3 (22) the Nansemonds were organized formally, 

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

5 and received State recognition. 

6 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem11 ber’’ means— 

12 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem13 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

14 this Act; and 

15 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

16 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

17 with this title. 

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

19 Nansemond Indian Tribe. 

20 SEC. 603. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

21 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex23 tended to the Tribe. 

24 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ25 ing regulations) of the United States of general apVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 May 18, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H984.RFS H984

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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 the cities of Chesapeake, 

17 Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suf18 folk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

19 SEC. 604. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

20 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

21 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov22 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

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

24 SEC. 605. GOVERNING BODY. 

25 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 


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

2 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

3 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

4 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

5 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

6 SEC. 606. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

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

8 Secretary of the Interior— 

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

10 Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac11 quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, 

12 if such lands are located within the boundaries of 

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

14 of Wight County, Virginia; and 

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

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

17 lands are located within the boundaries of the city 

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

19 County, Virginia. 

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

22 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

23 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 

24 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

25 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. 607. 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 TITLE VII—EMINENT DOMAIN 

17 SEC. 701. LIMITATION. 

18 Eminent domain may not be used to acquire lands 

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

20 Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 17, 2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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