111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 31 

AN ACT 

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, 
2 

•HR 31 EH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lumbee Recognition 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PREAMBLE. 

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

6 254), is amended as follows: 

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

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

9 of the last clause and inserting a semicolon. 

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

11 clauses: 

‘‘Whereas the Lumbee Indians of Robeson and adjoining 

counties in North Carolina are descendants of coastal 

North Carolina Indian tribes, principally Cheraw, and 

have remained a distinct Indian community since the 

time of contact with white settlers; 

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

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

withheld from the Lumbee Tribe the benefits, privileges 

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

status as a federally recognized tribe; and 

‘‘Whereas the Congress finds that the Lumbee Indians should 

now be entitled to full Federal recognition of their status 

as an Indian tribe and that the benefits, privileges and 

immunities that accompany such status should be accorded to the Lumbee Tribe: Now, therefore,’’. 
3 

•HR 31 EH

1 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

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

3 as follows: 

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

5 section. 

6 (2) By striking section 2 and inserting the fol7 lowing new sections: 

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

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

10 petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowl11 edgement. All laws and regulations of the United States 

12 of general application to Indians and Indian tribes shall 

13 apply to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its 

14 members. 

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

16 Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Caro17 lina, whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe 

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

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

20 Regulations for acknowledgement of tribal existence. 

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

22 and its members shall be eligible for all services and bene23 fits provided to Indians because of their status as mem24 bers of a federally recognized tribe. For the purposes of 

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

26 residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland 
4 

•HR 31 EH

1 counties in North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing 

2 on or near an Indian reservation. 

3 ‘‘(b) Upon verification by the Secretary of the Inte4 rior of a tribal roll under subsection (c), the Secretary of 

5 the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv6 ices shall develop, in consultation with the Lumbee Tribe 

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

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

9 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services shall each submit a written statement of 

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

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

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

14 this section shall, subject to verification by the Secretary 

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

16 The Secretary’s verification shall be limited to confirming 

17 compliance with the membership criteria set out in the 

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

19 verification shall be completed within 2 years after the 

20 date of the enactment of this section. 

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

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

23 to take land located within Robeson County, North Caro24 lina, into trust under this section shall be treated by the 

25 Secretary as an ‘on reservation’ trust acquisition under 
5 

•HR 31 EH

1 part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulation (or a suc2 cessor regulation). 

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

4 a matter of claimed inherent authority or under the au5 thority of any Federal law, including the Indian Gaming 

6 Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under any reg7 ulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary or the 

8 National Indian Gaming Commission. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a) The State of North Carolina shall exer10 cise jurisdiction over— 

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

12 on; and 

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

14 within the State of North Carolina that are owned 

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

16 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or any dependent 

17 Indian community of the Lumbee Tribe of North 

18 Carolina. 

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

20 accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 

21 with the Attorney General of the United States, any trans22 fer by the State of North Carolina to the United States 

23 of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North 

24 Carolina described in subsection (a) pursuant to an agree25 ment between the Lumbee Tribe and the State of North 
6 

•HR 31 EH

1 Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction may not take effect 

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

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

4 application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act 

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

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

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

Passed the House of Representatives June 3, 2009. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 31 

AN ACT 

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe 

of North Carolina, and for other purposes.