IB 
Union Calendar No. 663 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3764 
[Report No. 114–847] 
To provide that an Indian group may receive Federal acknowledgment as 
an Indian tribe only by an Act of Congress, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 20, 2015 
Mr. BISHOP of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
DECEMBER 7, 2016 
Additional sponsors: Mr. GOSAR and Mr. GOODLATTE 
DECEMBER 7, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 20, 2015] 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
TITLE 
I—FEDERAL 
RECOGNI-
TION OF INDIAN TRIBES, GEN-
ERALLY 
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal Recognition Act 
of 2016’’. 
SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitu-
tion (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Commerce 
Clause’’) gives Congress authority over Indian affairs. 
(2) Such authority is plenary and exclusive. 
(3) Such authority may not be exercised by the 
executive branch, except as expressly delegated by an 
Act of Congress (or by a treaty ratified by the Senate 
before March 1871). 
SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this title: 
(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of In-
dian Affairs, or that officer’s authorized representa-
tive. 
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(2) AUTONOMOUS.—The term ‘‘autonomous’’ 
means the exercise of political influence or authority 
independent of the control of any other Indian gov-
erning entity. Autonomous must be understood in the 
context of the history, geography, culture and social 
organization of the petitioning group. 
(3) 
COMMUNITY.—The 
term 
‘‘Community’’ 
means any group of people which can demonstrate 
that consistent interactions and significant social re-
lationships exist within its membership and that its 
members are differentiated from and identified as dis-
tinct from nonmembers. Community must be under-
stood in the context of the history, geography, culture 
and social organization of the group. 
(4) CONTINENTAL
UNITED
STATES.—The term 
‘‘continental United States’’ means the contiguous 48 
States and Alaska. 
(5) CONTINUOUSLY OR CONTINUOUS.—The term 
‘‘continuously or continuous’’ means extending from 
first sustained contact with non-Indians throughout 
the group’s history to the present substantially with-
out interruption. 
(6) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu-
mented petition’’ means the detailed arguments made 
by a petitioner to substantiate its claim to continuous 
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existence as an Indian tribe, together with the factual 
exposition and all documentary evidence necessary to 
demonstrate that these arguments address the manda-
tory criteria. 
(7) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL OR HISTORY.— 
The term ‘‘historically, historical or history’’ means 
dating from first sustained contact with non-Indians. 
(8) INDIAN GROUP OR GROUP.—The term ‘‘In-
dian group or group’’ means any Indian or Alaska 
Native aggregation within the continental United 
States that the Secretary of the Interior does not ac-
knowledge to be an Indian tribe. Indian tribe, also re-
ferred to herein as tribe, means any Indian or Alaska 
Native tribe, band, pueblo, village, or community 
within the continental United States that the Sec-
retary of the Interior has lawfully acknowledged as 
an Indian tribe. 
(9) INDIGENOUS.—The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means 
native to the continental United States in that at 
least part of the petitioner’s territory at the time of 
sustained contact extended into what is now the conti-
nental United States. 
(10) INFORMED
PARTY.—The term ‘‘informed 
party’’ means any person or organization, other than 
an interested party, who requests an opportunity to 
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submit comments or evidence or to be kept informed 
of general actions regarding a specific petitioner. 
(11) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘‘interested 
party’’ means any person, organization or other enti-
ty who can establish a legal, factual or property in-
terest in an acknowledgment determination and who 
requests an opportunity to submit comments or evi-
dence or to be kept informed of general actions re-
garding a specific petitioner. ‘‘Interested party’’ in-
cludes the governor and attorney general of the State 
in which a petitioner is located, and may include, but 
is not limited to, local governmental units, and any 
recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized Indian 
groups that might be affected by an acknowledgment 
determination. 
(12) LETTER OF INTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of 
intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution 
by which an Indian group requests Federal acknowl-
edgment as an Indian tribe and expresses its intent 
to submit a documented petition. 
(13) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means 
any entity that has submitted a letter of intent to the 
Secretary requesting acknowledgment that it is an In-
dian tribe. 
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(14) POLITICAL
INFLUENCE
OR
AUTHORITY.— 
The term ‘‘political influence or authority’’ means a 
tribal council, leadership, internal process or other 
mechanism which the group has used as a means of 
influencing or controlling the behavior of its members 
in significant respects, and/or making decisions for 
the group which substantially affect its members, and/ 
or representing the group in dealing with outsiders in 
matters of consequence. This process is to be under-
stood in the context of the history, culture and social 
organization of the group. 
(15) PREVIOUS FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT.— 
The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledgment’’ means 
action by the Federal Government clearly premised on 
identification of a tribal political entity and indi-
cating clearly the recognition of a relationship be-
tween that entity and the United States. 
(16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior or that officer’s author-
ized representative. 
(17) SUSTAINED CONTACT.—The term ‘‘sustained 
contact’’ means the period of earliest sustained non- 
Indian settlement and/or governmental presence in 
the local area in which the historical tribe or tribes 
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from which the petitioner descends was located his-
torically. 
SEC. 104. GROUPS ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT PETITIONS. 
(a) ELIGIBLE GROUPS.—Indian groups indigenous to 
the continental United States that are not federally recog-
nized Indian tribes on the date of the enactment of this Act 
may submit a petition under this title. 
(b) INELIGIBLE GROUPS.—The following may not sub-
mit a petition under this title: 
(1) Splinter groups, political factions, commu-
nities or groups of any character that separate from 
the main body of a federally recognized Indian tribe, 
unless they can establish clearly that they have func-
tioned throughout history until the present as an au-
tonomous tribal entity, even if they have been re-
garded by some as part of or have been associated in 
some manner with a federally recognized Indian 
tribe. 
(2) Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos, Alas-
ka native villages, or communities that have been 
lawfully acknowledged to be federally recognized In-
dian tribes and are receiving services from the Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs. 
(3) Groups that petitioned and were denied Fed-
eral acknowledgment under part 83 of title 25, Code 
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of Federal Regulations, including reorganized or re-
constituted petitioners previously denied, or splinter 
groups, spin-offs, or component groups of any type 
that were once part of petitioners previously denied. 
(4) Groups for which a documented petition has 
not been filed pursuant to section 109 by the date that 
is five years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(c) GROUPS WITH PETITIONS IN PROGRESS.—This 
title, including the criteria in section 107, shall apply to 
any Indian group whose documented petition was sub-
mitted and not denied on the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 105. FILING A LETTER OF INTENT. 
Any Indian group in the continental United States 
that believes it should be acknowledged as an Indian tribe 
and that it can satisfy the criteria in this title may submit 
a letter of intent requesting acknowledgment that an Indian 
group exists as an Indian tribe. The letter of intent sub-
mitted under this section— 
(1) shall be filed with the Assistant Secretary— 
Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; 
(2) may be filed in advance of, or at the same 
time as, a group’s documented petition; and 
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(3) shall be produced, dated and signed by the 
governing body of an Indian group. 
SEC. 106. DUTIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 
(a) GUIDELINES.—The Assistant Secretary shall make 
available guidelines for the preparation of documented peti-
tions. These guidelines shall— 
(1) include an explanation of the criteria, a dis-
cussion of the types of evidence which may be used to 
demonstrate particular criteria, and general sugges-
tions and guidelines on how and where to conduct re-
search; 
(2) include an example of a documented petition 
format which shall provide guidance, but not preclude 
the use of any other format; and 
(3) may be supplemented or updated as nec-
essary. 
(b) RESEARCH AND PREPARATION OF PETITION.—The 
Assistant Secretary— 
(1) shall provide petitioners with suggestions and 
advice regarding preparation of the documented peti-
tion; and 
(2) shall not be responsible for the actual re-
search on behalf of the petitioner. 
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SEC. 107. CRITERIA FOR FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 
The criteria for consideration for Federal acknowledg-
ment is, at a minimum, the following: 
(1) The petitioner has been identified as an 
American Indian entity on a substantially contin-
uous basis since 1900. Evidence that the group’s char-
acter as an Indian entity has from time to time been 
denied shall not be considered to be conclusive evi-
dence that this criterion has not been met. Evidence 
to be relied upon in determining a group’s Indian 
identity may include one or a combination of the fol-
lowing, as well as other evidence of identification by 
other than the petitioner itself or its members: 
(A) Identification as an Indian entity by 
Federal authorities. 
(B) Relationships with State governments 
based on identification of the group as Indian. 
(C) Dealings with a county, parish, or other 
local government in a relationship based on the 
group’s Indian identity. 
(D) Identification as an Indian entity by 
anthropologists, historians, and/or other scholars. 
(E) Identification as an Indian entity in 
newspapers and books. 
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(F) Identification as an Indian entity in 
relationships with Indian tribes or with na-
tional, regional, or State Indian organizations. 
(2) A predominant portion of the petitioning 
group comprises a distinct community and has ex-
isted as a community from historical times until the 
present. 
(A) This criterion may be demonstrated by 
some combination of the following evidence and/ 
or other evidence that the petitioner meets the 
definition of community: 
(i) Significant rates of marriage with-
in the group, and/or, as may be culturally 
required, 
patterned 
out-marriages 
with 
other Indian populations. 
(ii) Significant social relationships 
connecting individual members. 
(iii) Significant rates of informal so-
cial interaction which exist broadly among 
the members of a group. 
(iv) A significant degree of shared or 
cooperative labor or other economic activity 
among the membership. 
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(v) Evidence of strong patterns of dis-
crimination or other social distinctions by 
nonmembers. 
(vi) Shared sacred or secular ritual ac-
tivity encompassing most of the group. 
(vii) Cultural patterns shared among a 
significant portion of the group that are 
different from those of the non-Indian popu-
lations with whom it interacts. These pat-
terns must function as more than a sym-
bolic identification of the group as Indian. 
They may include, but are not limited to, 
language, kinship organization, or religious 
beliefs and practices. 
(viii) The persistence of a named, col-
lective Indian identity continuously over a 
period of more than 50 years, notwith-
standing changes in name. 
(ix) A demonstration of historical po-
litical influence under the criterion in para-
graph (3) shall be evidence for dem-
onstrating historical community. 
(B) A petitioner shall be considered to have 
provided sufficient evidence of community at a 
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given point in time if evidence is provided to 
demonstrate any one of the following: 
(i) More than 50 percent of the mem-
bers reside in a geographical area exclu-
sively or almost exclusively composed of 
members of the group, and the balance of 
the group maintains consistent interaction 
with some members of the community. 
(ii) At least 50 percent of the mar-
riages in the group are between members of 
the group. 
(iii) At least 50 percent of the group 
members maintain distinct cultural pat-
terns such as, but not limited to, language, 
kinship organization, or religious beliefs 
and practices. 
(iv) There are distinct community so-
cial institutions encompassing most of the 
members, such as kinship organizations, 
formal or informal economic cooperation, or 
religious organizations. 
(v) The group has met the criterion in 
paragraph (3) using evidence described in 
paragraph (3)(B). 
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(3) The petitioner has maintained political in-
fluence or authority over its members as an autono-
mous entity from historical times until the present. 
(A) This criterion may be demonstrated by 
some combination of the evidence listed below 
and/or by other evidence that the petitioner 
meets the definition of political influence or au-
thority: 
(i) The group is able to mobilize sig-
nificant numbers of members and signifi-
cant resources from its members for group 
purposes. 
(ii) Most of the membership considers 
issues acted upon or actions taken by group 
leaders or governing bodies to be of impor-
tance. 
(iii) There is widespread knowledge, 
communication and involvement in polit-
ical processes by most of the group’s mem-
bers. 
(iv) The group meets the criterion in 
paragraph (2) at more than a minimal 
level. 
(v) There are internal conflicts which 
show controversy over valued group goals, 
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properties, policies, processes and/or deci-
sions. 
(B) A petitioning group shall be considered 
to have provided sufficient evidence to dem-
onstrate the exercise of political influence or au-
thority at a given point in time by dem-
onstrating that group leaders and/or other mech-
anisms exist or existed which— 
(i) allocate group resources such as 
land, residence rights and the like on a con-
sistent basis; 
(ii) settle disputes between members or 
subgroups by mediation or other means on 
a regular basis; 
(iii) exert strong influence on the be-
havior of individual members, such as the 
establishment or maintenance of norms and 
the enforcement of sanctions to direct or 
control behavior; and 
(iv) organize or influence economic 
subsistence activities among the members, 
including shared or cooperative labor. 
(C) A group that has met the requirements 
in paragraph (2)(B) at a given point in time 
shall be considered to have provided sufficient 
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evidence to meet this criterion at that point in 
time. 
(4) A copy of the group’s present governing docu-
ment including its membership criteria. In the ab-
sence of a written document, the petitioner must pro-
vide a statement describing in full its membership 
criteria and current governing procedures. 
(5) The petitioner’s membership consists of indi-
viduals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or 
from historical Indian tribes which combined and 
functioned as a single autonomous political entity. 
(A) Some types of evidence that can be used 
for this purpose include the following: 
(i) Rolls prepared by the Secretary on 
a descendancy basis for purposes of distrib-
uting claims money, providing allotments, 
or other purposes. 
(ii) State, Federal, or other official 
records or evidence identifying present 
members or ancestors of present members as 
being descendants of a historical tribe or 
tribes that combined and functioned as a 
single autonomous political entity. 
(iii) Church, school, and other similar 
enrollment records identifying present mem-
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bers or ancestors of present members as 
being descendants of a historical tribe or 
tribes that combined and functioned as a 
single autonomous political entity. 
(iv) Affidavits of recognition by tribal 
elders, leaders, or the tribal governing body 
identifying present members or ancestors of 
present members as being descendants of a 
historical tribe or tribes that combined and 
functioned as a single autonomous political 
entity. 
(v) Other records or evidence identi-
fying present members or ancestors of 
present members as being descendants of a 
historical tribe or tribes that combined and 
functioned as a single autonomous political 
entity. 
(B) The petitioner must provide an official 
membership list, separately certified by the 
group’s governing body, of all known current 
members of the group. This list must include 
each member’s full name (including maiden 
name), date of birth, and current residential ad-
dress. The petitioner must also provide a copy of 
each available former list of members based on 
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the group’s own defined criteria, as well as a 
statement describing the circumstances sur-
rounding the preparation of the current list and, 
insofar as possible, the circumstances sur-
rounding the preparation of former lists. 
(6) The membership of the petitioning group is 
composed principally of persons who are not members 
of any acknowledged North American Indian tribe. 
However, under certain conditions a petitioning 
group may be acknowledged even if its membership is 
composed principally of persons whose names have 
appeared on rolls of, or who have been otherwise asso-
ciated with, an acknowledged Indian tribe. The condi-
tions are that the group must establish that it has 
functioned throughout history until the present as a 
separate and autonomous Indian tribal entity, that 
its members do not maintain a bilateral political re-
lationship with the acknowledged tribe, and that its 
members have provided written confirmation of their 
membership in the petitioning group. 
(7) Neither the petitioner nor its members are 
the subject of congressional legislation that has ex-
pressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relation-
ship. 
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SEC. 108. PREVIOUS FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Unambiguous previous Federal ac-
knowledgment shall be acceptable evidence of the tribal 
character of a petitioner to the date of the last such previous 
acknowledgment. If a petitioner provides substantial evi-
dence of unambiguous Federal acknowledgment, the peti-
tioner shall only be required to demonstrate that it meets 
the requirements of section 107 to the extent required by 
this section. A determination of the adequacy of the evidence 
of previous Federal action acknowledging tribal status shall 
be made during the technical assistance review of the docu-
mented petition conducted pursuant to section 110(b). 
(b) EVIDENCE.—Evidence to demonstrate previous 
Federal acknowledgment includes evidence that the group— 
(1) has had treaty relations with the United 
States; 
(2) has been denominated a tribe by an Act of 
Congress or Executive order; and 
(3) has been treated by the Federal Government 
as having collective rights in tribal lands or funds. 
SEC. 109. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF A PETITION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after receiv-
ing a letter of intent, or a documented petition if a letter 
of intent has not previously been received and noticed, the 
Assistant Secretary shall acknowledge to the sender such re-
ceipt in writing. Notice under this subsection shall— 
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(1) include the name, location, and mailing ad-
dress of the petitioner and such other information to 
identify the entity submitting the letter of intent or 
documented petition and the date it was received; 
(2) serve to announce the opportunity for inter-
ested parties and informed parties to submit factual 
or legal arguments in support of or in opposition to 
the petitioner’s request for acknowledgment or to re-
quest to be kept informed of all general actions affect-
ing the petition; and 
(3) indicate where a copy of the letter of intent 
and the documented petition may be examined. 
(b) NOTICE TO STATE GOVERNMENTS.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall notify, in writing— 
(1) the Governor and Attorney General of the 
State or States in which a petitioner is located; and 
(2) any recognized tribe and any other petitioner 
that— 
(A) appears to have a historical or present 
relationship with the petitioner; or 
(B) may otherwise be considered to have a 
potential interest in the acknowledgment deter-
mination. 
(c) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 60 days after receiv-
ing a letter of intent, or a documented petition if a letter 
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of intent has not previously been received and noticed, the 
Assistant Secretary shall have the notice required under this 
section published— 
(1) in the Federal Register; and 
(2) in a major newspaper or newspapers of gen-
eral circulation in the town or city nearest to the pe-
titioner. 
SEC. 110. PROCESSING OF THE DOCUMENTED PETITION. 
(a) REVIEW.—Upon receipt of a documented petition, 
the Assistant Secretary— 
(1) shall cause a review to be conducted to deter-
mine the extent to which the petitioner has met the 
criteria set forth in section 107; 
(2) shall include consideration of the documented 
petition and the factual statements contained therein; 
(3) may initiate other research for any purpose 
relative to analyzing the documented petition and ob-
taining additional information about the petitioner’s 
status; and 
(4) may consider any evidence which may be 
submitted by interested parties or informed parties. 
(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) Prior to review of the documented petition 
under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall 
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conduct a preliminary review of the petition in order 
to provide technical assistance to the petitioner. 
(2) The review under paragraph (1) shall be a 
preliminary review for the purpose of providing the 
petitioner an opportunity to supplement or revise the 
documented petition prior to the review under para-
graph (1). Insofar as possible, technical assistance re-
views under this paragraph will be conducted in the 
order of receipt of documented petitions. However, 
technical assistance reviews will not have priority 
over active consideration of documented petitions. 
(3) After the technical assistance review, the As-
sistant Secretary shall notify the petitioner by letter 
of any obvious deficiencies or significant omissions 
apparent in the documented petition and provide the 
petitioner with an opportunity to withdraw the docu-
mented petition for further work or to submit addi-
tional information. 
(4) If a petitioner’s documented petition claims 
previous Federal acknowledgment or includes evidence 
of previous Federal acknowledgment, the technical as-
sistance review shall also include a review to deter-
mine whether that evidence is sufficient to meet the 
requirements of previous Federal acknowledgment. 
(c) RESPONSE TO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW.— 
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(1) Petitioners may respond in part or in full to 
the technical assistance review letter or request, in 
writing, that the Assistant Secretary proceed with the 
active consideration of the documented petition using 
the materials already submitted. 
(2) If the petitioner requests that the materials 
submitted in response to the technical assistance re-
view letter be again reviewed for adequacy, the Assist-
ant Secretary shall provide the additional review. 
(3) If the assertion of previous Federal acknowl-
edgment under section 108 cannot be substantiated 
during the technical assistance review, the petitioner 
may respond by providing additional evidence. A pe-
titioner that claims previous Federal acknowledgment 
and fails to respond to a technical assistance review 
letter under this subsection, or whose response fails to 
establish the claim, shall have its documented petition 
considered on the same basis as documented petitions 
submitted by groups not claiming previous Federal 
acknowledgment. Petitioners that fail to demonstrate 
previous Federal acknowledgment after a review of 
materials submitted in response to the technical as-
sistance review shall be so notified. Such petitioners 
may submit additional materials concerning previous 
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acknowledgment during the course of active consider-
ation. 
(d) CONSIDERATION OF DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.— 
The Assistant Secretary shall— 
(1) review documented petitions in the order that 
they are determined ready for review; 
(2) establish and maintain a numbered register 
of documented petitions which have been determined 
ready for active consideration; 
(3) maintain a numbered register of letters of in-
tent or incomplete petitions based on the original date 
received by the Department of the Interior; and 
(4) use the register of letters of intent or incom-
plete petitions to determine the order of review by the 
Assistant Secretary if two or more documented peti-
tions are determined ready for review on the same 
date. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after notifying the 
petitioner that review of the documented petition has begun, 
the Assistant Secretary shall— 
(1) submit a report including a summary of the 
evidence, findings, petition, and supporting docu-
mentation, to the Committee on Natural Resources of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Indian Affairs of the Senate; 
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(2) notify the petitioner and interested parties 
that the review is complete and the report required 
under paragraph (1) has been submitted; 
(3) provide copies of the report to the petitioner 
and interested parties; and 
(4) provide copies of the report to informed par-
ties and others upon written request. 
SEC. 111. CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION AU-
THORITY. 
(a) ACT OF CONGRESS REQUIRED.—An Indian group 
may receive Federal acknowledgment (or reacknowledg-
ment) as an Indian tribe only by an Act of Congress. The 
Secretary may not grant Federal acknowledgment (or re-
acknowledgment) to any Indian group. 
(b) PREVIOUS ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—This title shall 
not affect the status of any Indian tribe that was federally 
acknowledged before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 112. FORCE AND EFFECT OF REGULATIONS. 
Part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, shall 
have no force or effect. 
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TITLE 
II—FEDERAL 
RECOGNI-
TION 
OF 
VIRGINIA 
INDIAN 
TRIBES 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Thomasina E. Jordan 
Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 
2016’’. 
SEC. 202. INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978. 
Nothing in this title affects the application of section 
109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 
1919). 
Subtitle A—Chickahominy Indian 
Tribe 
SEC. 211. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore 
along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In-
dian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received 
them; 
(2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en-
tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 
of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 
(A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 
to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send 
warriors to protect the English; and 
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(B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 
allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 
tribal governance; 
(3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the 
Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 
around the York Mattaponi River in present-day 
King William County, leading to the formation of a 
reservation; 
(4) in 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the 
Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 
Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 
(5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from 
their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base; 
(6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in 
Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indi-
ans called Brafferton College; 
(7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first In-
dians to attend Brafferton College; 
(8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
began to migrate from King William County back to 
the area around the Chickahominy River in New 
Kent and Charles City Counties; 
(9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 
Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 
a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 
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(10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the 
modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to ap-
pear in the Charles City County census records; 
(11) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
formed Samaria Baptist Church; 
(12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were 
assessed a tribal tax so that their children could re-
ceive an education; 
(13) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to 
build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, 
and pay a teacher’s salary; 
(14) in 1919, C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public 
Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief O.W. 
Adkins that he had instructed the Commissioner of 
Revenue for Charles City County to record Chicka-
hominy tribal members on the county tax rolls as In-
dian, and not as White or colored; 
(15) during the period of 1920 through 1930, 
various Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia 
wrote letters of introduction for Chickahominy Chiefs 
who had official business with Federal agencies in 
Washington, DC; 
(16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 
wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, requesting money to acquire land for the Chick-
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ahominy Indian Tribe’s use, to build school, medical, 
and library facilities and to buy tractors, implements, 
and seed; 
(17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of In-
dian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.O. 
Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the 
Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In-
dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), 
but had not made the appropriation to fund the Act; 
(18) in 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 
wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial des-
ignation on Selective Service records for Chicka-
hominy soldiers; 
(19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of In-
dian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of the 
Richmond News-Leader newspaper of Richmond, Vir-
ginia, to help Virginia Indians obtain proper racial 
designation on birth records; 
(20) Collier stated that his office could not offi-
cially intervene because it had no responsibility for 
the Virginia Indians, ‘‘as a matter largely of histor-
ical accident’’, but was ‘‘interested in them as de-
scendants of the original inhabitants of the region’’; 
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(21) in 1948, the Veterans’ Education Committee 
of the Virginia State Board of Education approved 
Samaria Indian School to provide training to vet-
erans; 
(22) that school was established and run by the 
Chickahominy Indian Tribe; 
(23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
purchased and donated to the Charles City County 
School Board land to be used to build a modern 
school for students of the Chickahominy and other 
Virginia Indian tribes; 
(24) the Samaria Indian School included stu-
dents in grades 1 through 8; 
(25) in 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of 
the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, requested 
Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins to provide assist-
ance in analyzing the status of the constitutional 
rights of Indians ‘‘in your area’’; 
(26) in 1967, the Charles City County school 
board closed Samaria Indian School and converted 
the school to a countywide primary school as a step 
toward full school integration of Indian and non-In-
dian students; 
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(27) in 1972, the Charles City County school 
board began receiving funds under the Indian Self- 
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 458aa et seq.) on behalf of Chickahominy stu-
dents, which funding is provided as of the date of en-
actment of this Act under title V of the Indian Self- 
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 458aaa et seq.); 
(28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
bought land and built a tribal center using monthly 
pledges from tribal members to finance the trans-
actions; 
(29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, along with 5 other In-
dian tribes; and 
(30) in 1985, Governor Gerald Baliles was the 
special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day din-
ner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 
SEC. 212. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem-
ber’’ means— 
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(A) an individual who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 
with this subtitle. 
(3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Chick-
ahominy Indian Tribe. 
SEC. 213. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex-
tended to the Tribe. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ-
ing regulations) of the United States of general appli-
cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 
of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 
this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 
members. 
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 
by the Federal Government to federally recognized In-
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dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res-
ervation for the Tribe. 
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de-
livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv-
ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 
comprised of New Kent County, James City County, 
Charles City County, and Henrico County, Virginia. 
SEC. 214. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 215. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac-
cordance with the election procedures specified in the 
governing documents of the Tribe. 
SEC. 216. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 
Secretary of the Interior— 
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac-
quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 
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such lands are located within the boundaries of New 
Kent County, James City County, Charles City Coun-
ty, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 
are located within the boundaries of New Kent Coun-
ty, James City County, Charles City County, or 
Henrico County, Virginia. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make a final written determination not later than 
three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 
for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 
shall immediately make that determination available to the 
Tribe. 
(c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva-
tion of the Tribe. 
(d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac-
tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 
or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 
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SEC. 217. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 
WATER RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 
any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 
water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
Subtitle B—Chickahominy Indian 
Tribe—Eastern Division 
SEC. 221. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore 
along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In-
dian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received 
them; 
(2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe en-
tered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor 
of the Jamestown Colony, under which— 
(A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed 
to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send 
warriors to protect the English; and 
(B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to 
allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own 
tribal governance; 
(3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the 
Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 
around the York River in present-day King William 
County, leading to the formation of a reservation; 
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(4) in 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the 
Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 
Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; 
(5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from 
their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base; 
(6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in 
Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indi-
ans called Brafferton College; 
(7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first In-
dians to attend Brafferton College; 
(8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
began to migrate from King William County back to 
the area around the Chickahominy River in New 
Kent and Charles City Counties; 
(9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named 
Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 
a Chickahominy woman as his wife; 
(10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the 
modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to ap-
pear in the Charles City County census records; 
(11) in 1870, a census revealed an enclave of In-
dians in New Kent County that is believed to be the 
beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East-
ern Division; 
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(12) other records were destroyed when the New 
Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a State 
census as the only record covering that period; 
(13) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
formed Samaria Baptist Church; 
(14) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were 
assessed a tribal tax so that their children could re-
ceive an education; 
(15) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to 
build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, 
and pay a teacher’s salary; 
(16) in 1910, a 1-room school covering grades 1 
through 8 was established in New Kent County for the 
Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; 
(17) during the period of 1920 through 1921, the 
Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division began 
forming a tribal government; 
(18) E.P. Bradby, the founder of the Tribe, was 
elected to be Chief; 
(19) in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church 
was organized; 
(20) in 1925, a certificate of incorporation was 
issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern 
Division; 
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(21) in 1950, the 1-room Indian school in New 
Kent County was closed and students were bused to 
Samaria Indian School in Charles City County; 
(22) in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Divi-
sion lost their schools as a result of the required inte-
gration of students; 
(23) during the period of 1982 through 1984, 
Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanc-
tuary to accommodate church growth; 
(24) in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe— 
Eastern Division was granted State recognition along 
with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes; 
(25) in 1985— 
(A) the Virginia Council on Indians was 
organized as a State agency; and 
(B) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—East-
ern Division was granted a seat on the Council; 
(26) in 1988, a nonprofit organization known as 
the ‘‘United Indians of Virginia’’ was formed; and 
(27) Chief Marvin ‘‘Strongoak’’ Bradby of the 
Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs 
the organization. 
SEC. 222. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle: 
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(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem-
ber’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 
with this subtitle. 
(3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Chick-
ahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division. 
SEC. 223. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex-
tended to the Tribe. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ-
ing regulations) of the United States of general appli-
cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 
of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 
this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 
members. 
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 
shall be eligible for all future services and benefits 
provided by the Federal Government to federally rec-
ognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence 
of a reservation for the Tribe. 
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de-
livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv-
ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 
comprised of New Kent County, James City County, 
Charles City County, and Henrico County, Virginia. 
SEC. 224. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 225. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac-
cordance with the election procedures specified in the 
governing documents of the Tribe. 
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SEC. 226. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 
Secretary of the Interior— 
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac-
quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 
such lands are located within the boundaries of New 
Kent County, James City County, Charles City Coun-
ty, or Henrico County, Virginia; and 
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 
are located within the boundaries of New Kent Coun-
ty, James City County, Charles City County, or 
Henrico County, Virginia. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make a final written determination not later than 
three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 
for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 
shall immediately make that determination available to the 
Tribe. 
(c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva-
tion of the Tribe. 
(d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac-
tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
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the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 
or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 
SEC. 227. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 
WATER RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 
any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 
water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
Subtitle C—Upper Mattaponi Tribe 
SEC. 231. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) during the period of 1607 through 1646, the 
Chickahominy Indian Tribes— 
(A) lived approximately 20 miles from 
Jamestown; and 
(B) were significantly involved in English- 
Indian affairs; 
(2) Mattaponi Indians, who later joined the 
Chickahominy Indians, lived a greater distance from 
Jamestown; 
(3) in 1646, the Chickahominy Indians moved to 
Mattaponi River basin, away from the English; 
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(4) in 1661, the Chickahominy Indians sold land 
at a place known as ‘‘the cliffs’’ on the Mattaponi 
River; 
(5) in 1669, the Chickahominy Indians— 
(A) appeared in the Virginia Colony’s cen-
sus of Indian bowmen; and 
(B) lived in ‘‘New Kent’’ County, which in-
cluded the Mattaponi River basin at that time; 
(6) in 1677, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 
Indians were subjects of the Queen of Pamunkey, who 
was a signatory to the Treaty of 1677 with the King 
of England; 
(7) in 1683, after a Mattaponi town was at-
tacked by Seneca Indians, the Mattaponi Indians took 
refuge with the Chickahominy Indians, and the his-
tory of the 2 groups was intertwined for many years 
thereafter; 
(8) in 1695, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi 
Indians— 
(A) were assigned a reservation by the Vir-
ginia Colony; and 
(B) traded land of the reservation for land 
at the place known as ‘‘the cliffs’’ (which, as of 
the date of enactment of this Act, is the 
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Mattaponi Indian Reservation), which had been 
owned by the Mattaponi Indians before 1661; 
(9) in 1711, a Chickahominy boy attended the 
Indian School at the College of William and Mary; 
(10) in 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued 
funding of interpreters for the Chickahominy and 
Mattaponi Indian Tribes; 
(11) James Adams, who served as an interpreter 
to the Indian tribes known as of the date of enactment 
of this Act as the ‘‘Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe’’ 
and ‘‘Chickahominy Indian Tribe’’, elected to stay 
with the Upper Mattaponi Indians; 
(12) today, a majority of the Upper Mattaponi 
Indians have ‘‘Adams’’ as their surname; 
(13) in 1787, Thomas Jefferson, in Notes on the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned the Mattaponi 
Indians on a reservation in King William County 
and said that Chickahominy Indians were ‘‘blended’’ 
with the Mattaponi Indians and nearby Pamunkey 
Indians; 
(14) in 1850, the census of the United States re-
vealed a nucleus of approximately 10 families, all an-
cestral to modern Upper Mattaponi Indians, living in 
central King William County, Virginia, approxi-
mately 10 miles from the reservation; 
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(15) during the period of 1853 through 1884, 
King William County marriage records listed Upper 
Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’ in marrying people residing 
on the reservation; 
(16) during the period of 1884 through the 
present, county marriage records usually refer to 
Upper Mattaponis as ‘‘Indians’’; 
(17) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist James 
Mooney heard about the Upper Mattaponi Indians 
but did not visit them; 
(18) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an-
thropologist Frank Speck published a book on modern 
Virginia Indians with a section on the Upper 
Mattaponis; 
(19) from 1929 until 1930, the leadership of the 
Upper Mattaponi Indians opposed the use of a ‘‘col-
ored’’ designation in the 1930 United States census 
and won a compromise in which the Indian ancestry 
of the Upper Mattaponis was recorded but questioned; 
(20) during the period of 1942 through 1945— 
(A) the leadership of the Upper Mattaponi 
Indians, with the help of Frank Speck and oth-
ers, fought against the induction of young men 
of the Tribe into ‘‘colored’’ units in the Armed 
Forces of the United States; and 
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(B) a tribal roll for the Upper Mattaponi 
Indians was compiled; 
(21) from 1945 to 1946, negotiations took place 
to admit some of the young people of the Upper 
Mattaponi to high schools for Federal Indians (espe-
cially at Cherokee) because no high school coursework 
was available for Indians in Virginia schools; and 
(22) in 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Indians ap-
plied for and won State recognition as an Indian 
tribe. 
SEC. 232. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem-
ber’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 
with this subtitle. 
(3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Upper 
Mattaponi Tribe. 
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SEC. 233. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex-
tended to the Tribe. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ-
ing regulations) of the United States of general appli-
cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 
of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 
this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 
members. 
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 
by the Federal Government to federally recognized In-
dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res-
ervation for the Tribe. 
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de-
livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv-
ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 
within 25 miles of the Sharon Indian School at 
13383 King William Road, King William County, 
Virginia. 
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SEC. 234. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 235. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac-
cordance with the election procedures specified in the 
governing documents of the Tribe. 
SEC. 236. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 
Secretary of the Interior— 
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac-
quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 
such lands are located within the boundaries of King 
William County, Caroline County, Hanover County, 
King and Queen County, and New Kent County, Vir-
ginia; and 
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 
are located within the boundaries of King William 
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County, Caroline County, Hanover County, King and 
Queen County, and New Kent County, Virginia. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make a final written determination not later than 
three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 
for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 
shall immediately make that determination available to the 
Tribe. 
(c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva-
tion of the Tribe. 
(d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac-
tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 
or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 
SEC. 237. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 
WATER RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 
any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 
water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
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Subtitle D—Rappahannock Tribe, 
Inc. 
SEC. 241. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) during the initial months after Virginia was 
settled, the Rappahannock Indians had 3 encounters 
with Captain John Smith; 
(2) the first encounter occurred when the Rappa-
hannock weroance (headman)— 
(A) traveled to Quiyocohannock (a prin-
cipal town across the James River from James-
town), where he met with Smith to determine 
whether Smith had been the ‘‘great man’’ who 
had previously sailed into the Rappahannock 
River, killed a Rappahannock weroance, and 
kidnapped Rappahannock people; and 
(B) determined that Smith was too short to 
be that ‘‘great man’’; 
(3) on a second meeting, during John Smith’s 
captivity (December 16, 1607, to January 8, 1608), 
Smith was taken to the Rappahannock principal vil-
lage to show the people that Smith was not the ‘‘great 
man’’; 
(4) a third meeting took place during Smith’s 
exploration of the Chesapeake Bay (July to September 
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1608), when, after the Moraughtacund Indians had 
stolen 3 women from the Rappahannock King, Smith 
was prevailed upon to facilitate a peaceful truce be-
tween the Rappahannock and the Moraughtacund In-
dians; 
(5) in the settlement, Smith had the 2 Indian 
tribes meet on the spot of their first fight; 
(6) when it was established that both groups 
wanted peace, Smith told the Rappahannock King to 
select which of the 3 stolen women he wanted; 
(7) the Moraughtacund King was given second 
choice among the 2 remaining women, and Mosco, a 
Wighcocomoco (on the Potomac River) guide, was 
given the third woman; 
(8) in 1645, Captain William Claiborne tried 
unsuccessfully to establish treaty relations with the 
Rappahannocks, as the Rappahannocks had not par-
ticipated in the Pamunkey-led uprising in 1644, and 
the English wanted to ‘‘treat with the Rappahannocks 
or 
any 
other 
Indians 
not 
in 
amity 
with 
Opechancanough, concerning serving the county 
against the Pamunkeys’’; 
(9) in April 1651, the Rappahannocks conveyed 
a tract of land to an English settler, Colonel Morre 
Fauntleroy; 
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(10) the deed for the conveyance was signed by 
Accopatough, weroance of the Rappahannock Indians; 
(11) in September 1653, Lancaster County 
signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indians, the 
terms of which treaty— 
(A) gave Rappahannocks the rights of Eng-
lishmen in the county court; and 
(B) attempted to make the Rappahannocks 
more accountable under English law; 
(12) in September 1653, Lancaster County de-
fined and marked the bounds of its Indian settle-
ments; 
(13) according to the Lancaster clerk of court, 
‘‘the tribe called the great Rappahannocks lived on 
the Rappahannock Creek just across the river above 
Tappahannock’’; 
(14) in September 1656, (Old) Rappahannock 
County (which, as of the date of enactment of this 
Act, is comprised of Richmond and Essex Counties, 
Virginia) signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indi-
ans that— 
(A) mirrored the Lancaster County treaty 
from 1653; and 
(B) stated that— 
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(i) Rappahannocks were to be re-
warded, in Roanoke, for returning English 
fugitives; and 
(ii) 
the 
English 
encouraged 
the 
Rappahannocks to send their children to 
live among the English as servants, who the 
English promised would be well-treated; 
(15) in 1658, the Virginia Assembly revised a 
1652 Act stating that ‘‘there be no grants of land to 
any Englishman whatsoever de futuro until the Indi-
ans be first served with the proportion of 50 acres of 
land for each bowman’’; 
(16) in 1669, the colony conducted a census of 
Virginia Indians; 
(17) as of the date of that census— 
(A) the majority of the Rappahannocks 
were residing at their hunting village on the 
north side of the Mattaponi River; and 
(B) at the time of the visit, census-takers 
were counting only the Indian tribes along the 
rivers, which explains why only 30 Rappahan-
nock bowmen were counted on that river; 
(18) the Rappahannocks used the hunting village 
on the north side of the Mattaponi River as their pri-
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mary residence until the Rappahannocks were re-
moved in 1684; 
(19) in May 1677, the Treaty of Middle Planta-
tion was signed with England; 
(20) the Pamunkey Queen Cockacoeske signed on 
behalf of the Rappahannocks, ‘‘who were supposed to 
be her tributaries’’, but before the treaty could be rati-
fied, the Queen of Pamunkey complained to the Vir-
ginia Colonial Council ‘‘that she was having trouble 
with Rappahannocks and Chickahominies, supposedly 
tributaries of hers’’; 
(21) in November 1682, the Virginia Colonial 
Council established a reservation for the Rappahan-
nock Indians of 3,474 acres ‘‘about the town where 
they dwelt’’; 
(22) the Rappahannock ‘‘town’’ was the hunting 
village on the north side of the Mattaponi River, 
where the Rappahannocks had lived throughout the 
1670s; 
(23) the acreage allotment of the reservation was 
based on the 1658 Indian land act, which translates 
into a bowman population of 70, or an approximate 
total Rappahannock population of 350; 
(24) in 1683, following raids by Iroquoian war-
riors on both Indian and English settlements, the Vir-
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ginia Colonial Council ordered the Rappahannocks to 
leave their reservation and unite with the Nanzatico 
Indians at Nanzatico Indian Town, which was lo-
cated across and up the Rappahannock River some 30 
miles; 
(25) between 1687 and 1699, the Rappahannocks 
migrated out of Nanzatico, returning to the south side 
of the Rappahannock River at Portobacco Indian 
Town; 
(26) in 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieuten-
ant Richard Covington ‘‘escorted’’ the Portobaccos 
and Rappahannocks out of Portobacco Indian Town, 
out of Essex County, and into King and Queen Coun-
ty where they settled along the ridgeline between the 
Rappahannock and Mattaponi Rivers, the site of 
their ancient hunting village and 1682 reservation; 
(27) during the 1760s, 3 Rappahannock girls 
were raised on Thomas Nelson’s Bleak Hill Planta-
tion in King William County; 
(28) of those girls— 
(A) one married a Saunders man; 
(B) one married a Johnson man; and 
(C) one had 2 children, Edmund and Car-
ter Nelson, fathered by Thomas Cary Nelson; 
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(29) in the 19th century, those Saunders, John-
son, and Nelson families are among the core Rappa-
hannock families from which the modern Tribe traces 
its descent; 
(30) in 1819 and 1820, Edward Bird, John Bird 
(and his wife), Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson, and 
Carter Spurlock (all Rappahannock ancestors) were 
listed on the tax roles of King and Queen County and 
taxed at the county poor rate; 
(31) Edmund Bird was added to the tax roles in 
1821; 
(32) those tax records are significant documenta-
tion because the great majority of pre-1864 records for 
King and Queen County were destroyed by fire; 
(33) beginning in 1819, and continuing through 
the 1880s, there was a solid Rappahannock presence 
in the membership at Upper Essex Baptist Church; 
(34) that was the first instance of conversion to 
Christianity by at least some Rappahannock Indians; 
(35) while twenty-six identifiable and traceable 
Rappahannock surnames appear on the pre-1863 
membership list, and twenty-eight were listed on the 
1863 membership roster, the number of surnames list-
ed had declined to twelve in 1878 and had risen only 
slightly to fourteen by 1888; 
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(36) a reason for the decline is that in 1870, a 
Methodist circuit rider, Joseph Mastin, secured funds 
to purchase land and construct St. Stephens Baptist 
Church for the Rappahannocks living nearby in Caro-
line County; 
(37) Mastin referred to the Rappahannocks dur-
ing the period of 1850 to 1870 as ‘‘Indians, having 
a great need for moral and Christian guidance’’; 
(38) St. Stephens was the dominant tribal 
church until the Rappahannock Indian Baptist 
Church was established in 1964; 
(39) at both churches, the core Rappahannock 
family names of Bird, Clarke, Fortune, Johnson, Nel-
son, Parker, and Richardson predominate; 
(40) during the early 1900s, James Mooney, 
noted anthropologist, maintained correspondence with 
the Rappahannocks, surveying them and instructing 
them on how to formalize their tribal government; 
(41) in November 1920, Speck visited the 
Rappahannocks and assisted them in organizing the 
fight for their sovereign rights; 
(42) in 1921, the Rappahannocks were granted 
a charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia for-
malizing their tribal government; 
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(43) Speck began a professional relationship 
with the Tribe that would last more than 30 years 
and document Rappahannock history and traditions 
as never before; 
(44) in April 1921, Rappahannock Chief George 
Nelson asked the Governor of Virginia, Westmoreland 
Davis, to forward a proclamation to the President of 
the United States, along with an appended list of 
tribal members and a handwritten copy of the procla-
mation itself; 
(45) the letter concerned Indian freedom of 
speech and assembly nationwide; 
(46) in 1922, the Rappahannocks established a 
formal school at Lloyds, Essex County, Virginia; 
(47) prior to establishment of the school, Rappa-
hannock children were taught by a tribal member in 
Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia; 
(48) in December 1923, Rappahannock Chief 
George Nelson testified before Congress appealing for 
a $50,000 appropriation to establish an Indian school 
in Virginia; 
(49) in 1930, the Rappahannocks were engaged 
in an ongoing dispute with the Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia and the United States Census Bureau about 
their classification in the 1930 Federal census; 
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(50) in January 1930, Rappahannock Chief 
Otho S. Nelson wrote to Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat-
istician of the United States Census Bureau, asking 
that the 218 enrolled Rappahannocks be listed as In-
dians; 
(51) in February 1930, Truesdell replied to Nel-
son saying that ‘‘special instructions’’ were being 
given about classifying Indians; 
(52) in April 1930, Nelson wrote to William M. 
Steuart at the Census Bureau asking about the enu-
merators’ failure to classify his people as Indians, 
saying that enumerators had not asked the question 
about race when they interviewed his people; 
(53) in a followup letter to Truesdell, Nelson re-
ported that the enumerators were ‘‘flatly denying’’ his 
people’s request to be listed as Indians and that the 
race question was completely avoided during inter-
views; 
(54) the Rappahannocks had spoken with Caro-
line and Essex County enumerators, and with John 
M.W. Green at that point, without success; 
(55) Nelson asked Truesdell to list people as In-
dians if he sent a list of members; 
(56) the matter was settled by William Steuart, 
who concluded that the Bureau’s rule was that people 
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of Indian descent could be classified as ‘‘Indian’’ only 
if Indian ‘‘blood’’ predominated and ‘‘Indian’’ iden-
tity was accepted in the local community; 
(57) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau classed 
all nonreservation Indians as ‘‘Negro’’, and it failed 
to see why ‘‘an exception should be made’’ for the 
Rappahannocks; 
(58) therefore, in 1925, the Indian Rights Asso-
ciation took on the Rappahannock case to assist the 
Rappahannocks in fighting for their recognition and 
rights as an Indian tribe; 
(59) during the Second World War, the 
Pamunkeys, Mattaponis, Chickahominies, and Rap-
pahannocks had to fight the draft boards with respect 
to their racial identities; 
(60) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau in-
sisted that certain Indian draftees be inducted into 
Negro units; 
(61) finally, 3 Rappahannocks were convicted of 
violating the Federal draft laws and, after spending 
time in a Federal prison, were granted conscientious 
objector status and served out the remainder of the 
war working in military hospitals; 
(62) in 1943, Frank Speck noted that there were 
approximately 25 communities of Indians left in the 
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Eastern United States that were entitled to Indian 
classification, including the Rappahannocks; 
(63) in the 1940s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Statisti-
cian, of the United States Census Bureau, listed 118 
members in the Rappahannock Tribe in the Indian 
population of Virginia; 
(64) on April 25, 1940, the Office of Indian Af-
fairs of the Department of the Interior included the 
Rappahannocks on a list of Indian tribes classified by 
State and by agency; 
(65) in 1948, the Smithsonian Institution An-
nual Report included an article by William Harlen 
Gilbert entitled, ‘‘Surviving Indian Groups of the 
Eastern United States’’, which included and described 
the Rappahannock Tribe; 
(66) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the 
Rappahannocks operated a school at Indian Neck; 
(67) the State agreed to pay a tribal teacher to 
teach 10 students bused by King and Queen County 
to Sharon Indian School in King William County, 
Virginia; 
(68) in 1965, Rappahannock students entered 
Marriott High School (a White public school) by exec-
utive order of the Governor of Virginia; 
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(69) in 1972, the Rappahannocks worked with 
the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans to fight for 
Federal recognition; 
(70) in 1979, the Coalition established a pottery 
and artisans company, operating with other Virginia 
tribes; 
(71) in 1980, the Rappahannocks received fund-
ing through the Administration for Native Americans 
of the Department of Health and Human Services to 
develop an economic program for the Tribe; and 
(72) in 1983, the Rappahannocks received State 
recognition as an Indian tribe. 
SEC. 242. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem-
ber’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 
with this subtitle. 
(3) TRIBE.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means 
the organization possessing the legal name Rap-
pahannock Tribe, Inc. 
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ does 
not include any other Indian tribe, subtribe, 
band, or splinter group the members of which 
represent themselves as Rappahannock Indians. 
SEC. 243. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex-
tended to the Tribe. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ-
ing regulations) of the United States of general appli-
cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 
of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 
this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 
members. 
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 
by the Federal Government to federally recognized In-
dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res-
ervation for the Tribe. 
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(2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de-
livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv-
ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 
comprised of King and Queen County, Caroline 
County, Essex County, and King William County, 
Virginia. 
SEC. 244. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 245. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac-
cordance with the election procedures specified in the 
governing documents of the Tribe. 
SEC. 246. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 
Secretary of the Interior— 
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac-
quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 
such lands are located within the boundaries of King 
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and Queen County, Stafford County, Spotsylvania 
County, Richmond County, Essex County, and Caro-
line County, Virginia; and 
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 
are located within the boundaries of King and Queen 
County, Richmond County, Lancaster County, King 
George County, Essex County, Caroline County, New 
Kent County, King William County, and James City 
County, Virginia. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make a final written determination not later than 
three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 
for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 
shall immediately make that determination available to the 
Tribe. 
(c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva-
tion of the Tribe. 
(d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac-
tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
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any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 
or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 
SEC. 247. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 
WATER RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 
any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 
water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
Subtitle E—Monacan Indian 
Nation 
SEC. 251. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) in 1677, the Monacan Tribe signed the Trea-
ty of Middle Plantation between Charles II of Eng-
land and 12 Indian ‘‘Kings and Chief Men’’; 
(2) in 1722, in the Treaty of Albany, Governor 
Spotswood negotiated to save the Virginia Indians 
from extinction at the hands of the Iroquois; 
(3) specifically mentioned in the negotiations 
were the Monacan tribes of the Totero (Tutelo), 
Saponi, Ocheneeches (Occaneechi), Stengenocks, and 
Meipontskys; 
(4) in 1790, the first national census recorded 
Benjamin Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors of 
the present Monacan community, listed as ‘‘white’’ 
with mulatto children; 
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(5) in 1782, tax records also began for those fam-
ilies; 
(6) in 1850, the United States census recorded 
29 families, mostly large, with Monacan surnames, 
the members of which are genealogically related to the 
present community; 
(7) in 1870, a log structure was built at the 
Bear Mountain Indian Mission; 
(8) in 1908, the structure became an Episcopal 
Mission and, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 
the structure is listed as a landmark on the National 
Register of Historic Places; 
(9) in 1920, 304 Amherst Indians were identi-
fied in the United States census; 
(10) from 1930 through 1931, numerous letters 
from Monacans to the Bureau of the Census resulted 
from the decision of Dr. Walter Plecker, former head 
of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, not to allow Indians to register as Indi-
ans for the 1930 census; 
(11) the Monacans eventually succeeded in being 
allowed to claim their race, albeit with an asterisk at-
tached to a note from Dr. Plecker stating that there 
were no Indians in Virginia; 
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(12) in 1947, D’Arcy McNickle, a Salish Indian, 
saw some of the children at the Amherst Mission and 
requested that the Cherokee Agency visit them because 
they appeared to be Indian; 
(13) that letter was forwarded to the Department 
of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Chicago, Illi-
nois; 
(14) Chief Jarrett Blythe of the Eastern Band of 
Cherokee did visit the Mission and wrote that he 
‘‘would be willing to accept these children in the 
Cherokee school’’; 
(15) in 1979, a Federal Coalition of Eastern Na-
tive Americans established the entity known as ‘‘Mon-
acan Co-operative Pottery’’ at the Amherst Mission; 
(16) some important pieces were produced at 
Monacan Co-operative Pottery, including a piece that 
was sold to the Smithsonian Institution; 
(17) the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan Consor-
tium, established in 1981, has since been organized as 
a nonprofit corporation that serves as a vehicle to ob-
tain funds for those Indian tribes from the Depart-
ment of Labor under Native American programs; 
(18) in 1989, the Monacan Tribe was recognized 
by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which enabled the 
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Tribe to apply for grants and participate in other 
programs; and 
(19) in 1993, the Monacan Tribe received tax-ex-
empt status as a nonprofit corporation from the In-
ternal Revenue Service. 
SEC. 252. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem-
ber’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 
with this subtitle. 
(3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Mona-
can Indian Nation. 
SEC. 253. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex-
tended to the Tribe. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ-
ing regulations) of the United States of general appli-
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cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 
of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 
this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 
members. 
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 
by the Federal Government to federally recognized In-
dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res-
ervation for the Tribe. 
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de-
livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv-
ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 
comprised of all land within 25 miles from the center 
of Amherst, Virginia. 
SEC. 254. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 255. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 
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(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac-
cordance with the election procedures specified in the 
governing documents of the Tribe. 
SEC. 256. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 
Secretary of the Interior— 
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac-
quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 
such lands are located within the boundaries of Am-
herst County, Virginia; and 
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 
are located within the boundaries of Amherst County, 
Virginia, and those parcels in Rockbridge County, 
Virginia (subject to the consent of the local unit of 
government), owned by Mr. J. Poole, described as 
East 731 Sandbridge (encompassing approximately 
4.74 acres) and East 731 (encompassing approxi-
mately 5.12 acres). 
(b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make a final written determination not later than 
three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 
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for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 
shall immediately make that determination available to the 
Tribe. 
(c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva-
tion of the Tribe. 
(d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac-
tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 
or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 
SEC. 257. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 
WATER RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 
any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 
water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
Subtitle F—Nansemond Indian 
Tribe 
SEC. 261. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) from 1607 until 1646, Nansemond Indians— 
(A) lived approximately 30 miles from 
Jamestown; and 
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(B) were significantly involved in English- 
Indian affairs; 
(2) after 1646, there were 2 sections of 
Nansemonds in communication with each other, the 
Christianized Nansemonds in Norfolk County, who 
lived as citizens, and the traditionalist Nansemonds, 
who lived further west; 
(3) in 1638, according to an entry in a 17th cen-
tury sermon book still owned by the Chief’s family, a 
Norfolk County Englishman married a Nansemond 
woman; 
(4) that man and woman are lineal ancestors of 
all of members of the Nansemond Indian tribe alive 
as of the date of enactment of this Act, as are some 
of the traditionalist Nansemonds; 
(5) in 1669, the 2 Nansemond sections appeared 
in Virginia Colony’s census of Indian bowmen; 
(6) in 1677, Nansemond Indians were signato-
ries to the Treaty of 1677 with the King of England; 
(7) in 1700 and 1704, the Nansemonds and other 
Virginia Indian tribes were prevented by Virginia 
Colony from making a separate peace with the Iro-
quois; 
(8) Virginia represented those Indian tribes in 
the final Treaty of Albany, 1722; 
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(9) in 1711, a Nansemond boy attended the In-
dian School at the College of William and Mary; 
(10) in 1727, Norfolk County granted William 
Bass and his kinsmen the ‘‘Indian privileges’’ of 
clearing swamp land and bearing arms (which privi-
leges were forbidden to other non-Whites) because of 
their Nansemond ancestry, which meant that Bass 
and his kinsmen were original inhabitants of that 
land; 
(11) in 1742, Norfolk County issued a certificate 
of Nansemond descent to William Bass; 
(12) from the 1740s to the 1790s, the tradition-
alist section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles west of 
the Christianized Nansemonds, was dealing with res-
ervation land; 
(13) the last surviving members of that section 
sold out in 1792 with the permission of the Common-
wealth of Virginia; 
(14) in 1797, Norfolk County issued a certificate 
stating that William Bass was of Indian and English 
descent, and that his Indian line of ancestry ran di-
rectly back to the early 18th century elder in a tradi-
tionalist section of Nansemonds on the reservation; 
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(15) in 1833, Virginia enacted a law enabling 
people of European and Indian descent to obtain a 
special certificate of ancestry; 
(16) the law originated from the county in which 
Nansemonds lived, and mostly Nansemonds, with a 
few people from other counties, took advantage of the 
new law; 
(17) a Methodist mission established around 
1850 for Nansemonds is currently a standard Meth-
odist congregation with Nansemond members; 
(18) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist James 
Mooney— 
(A) visited the Nansemonds; and 
(B) completed a tribal census that counted 
61 households and was later published; 
(19) in 1922, Nansemonds were given a special 
Indian school in the segregated school system of Nor-
folk County; 
(20) the school survived only a few years; 
(21) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania an-
thropologist Frank Speck published a book on modern 
Virginia Indians that included a section on the 
Nansemonds; and 
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(22) the Nansemonds were organized formally, 
with elected officers, in 1984, and later applied for 
and received State recognition. 
SEC. 262. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘tribal mem-
ber’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 
with this subtitle. 
(3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 
Nansemond Indian Tribe. 
SEC. 263. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex-
tended to the Tribe. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ-
ing regulations) of the United States of general appli-
cability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands 
of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
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U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with 
this subtitle shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal 
members. 
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members 
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 
by the Federal Government to federally recognized In-
dian tribes without regard to the existence of a res-
ervation for the Tribe. 
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de-
livery of Federal services to tribal members, the serv-
ice area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area 
comprised of the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, New-
port News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia 
Beach, Virginia. 
SEC. 264. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 265. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 
of the date of enactment of this Act; or 
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(2) any subsequent governing body elected in ac-
cordance with the election procedures specified in the 
governing documents of the Tribe. 
SEC. 266. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 
Secretary of the Interior— 
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was ac-
quired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if 
such lands are located within the boundaries of the 
city of Suffolk, the city of Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight 
County, Virginia; and 
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands 
are located within the boundaries of the city of Suf-
folk, the city of Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight County, 
Virginia. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make a final written determination not later than 
three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 
for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and 
shall immediately make that determination available to the 
Tribe. 
(c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, 
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upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reserva-
tion of the Tribe. 
(d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac-
tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 
any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 
or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 
SEC. 267. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 
WATER RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this subtitle expands, reduces, or affects in 
any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 
water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 
TITLE III—LITTLE SHELL TRIBE 
OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS 
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Little Shell Tribe of 
Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 302. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians is 
a political successor to signatories of the Pembina 
Treaty of 1863, under which a large area of land in 
the State of North Dakota was ceded to the United 
States; 
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(2) the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of 
North Dakota and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the 
Rocky Boy’s Reservation of Montana, which also are 
political successors to the signatories of the Pembina 
Treaty of 1863, have been recognized by the Federal 
Government as distinct Indian tribes; 
(3) the members of the Little Shell Tribe con-
tinue to live in the State of Montana, as their ances-
tors have for more than 100 years since ceding land 
in the State of North Dakota as described in para-
graph (1); 
(4) in the 1930s and 1940s, the Tribe repeatedly 
petitioned the Federal Government for reorganization 
under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et 
seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganiza-
tion Act’’); 
(5) Federal agents who visited the Tribe and 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier attested 
to the responsibility of the Federal Government for the 
Tribe and members of the Tribe, concluding that 
members of the Tribe are eligible for, and should be 
provided with, trust land, making the Tribe eligible 
for reorganization under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 
Reorganization Act’’); 
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(6) due to a lack of Federal appropriations dur-
ing the Depression, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
lacked adequate financial resources to purchase land 
for the Tribe, and the members of the Tribe were de-
nied the opportunity to reorganize; 
(7) in spite of the failure of the Federal Govern-
ment to appropriate adequate funding to secure land 
for the Tribe as required for reorganization under the 
Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (com-
monly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), 
the Tribe continued to exist as a separate community, 
with leaders exhibiting clear political authority; 
(8) the Tribe, together with the Turtle Mountain 
Band of Chippewa of North Dakota and the Chip-
pewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation of 
Montana, filed 2 lawsuits under the Act of August 13, 
1946 (60 Stat. 1049) (commonly known as the ‘‘In-
dian Claims Commission Act’’), to petition for addi-
tional compensation for land ceded to the United 
States under the Pembina Treaty of 1863 and the 
McCumber Agreement of 1892; 
(9) in 1971 and 1982, pursuant to Acts of Con-
gress, the tribes received awards for the claims de-
scribed in paragraph (8); 
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(10) in 1978, the Tribe submitted to the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs a petition for Federal recognition, 
which is still pending as of the date of enactment of 
this Act; and 
(11) the Federal Government, the State of Mon-
tana, and the other federally recognized Indian tribes 
of the State have had continuous dealings with the 
recognized political leaders of the Tribe since the 
1930s. 
SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) MEMBER.—The term ‘‘member’’ means an 
individual who is enrolled in the Tribe pursuant to 
section 307. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Little 
Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. 
SEC. 304. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is extended to 
the Tribe. 
(b) EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS.—Except as otherwise 
provided in this title, all Federal laws (including regula-
tions) of general application to Indians and Indian tribes, 
including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) 
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(commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), 
shall apply to the Tribe and members. 
SEC. 305. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Tribe and each member shall be eligible for 
all services and benefits provided by the United States to 
Indians and federally recognized Indian tribes, without re-
gard to— 
(1) the existence of a reservation for the Tribe; 
or 
(2) the location of the residence of any member 
on or near an Indian reservation. 
(b) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the delivery of 
services and benefits to members, the service area of the 
Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of Blaine, 
Cascade, Glacier, and Hill Counties in the State of Mon-
tana. 
SEC. 306. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this title diminishes 
any right or privilege of the Tribe or any member that ex-
isted before the date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) CLAIMS OF TRIBE.—Except as otherwise provided 
in this title, nothing in this title alters or affects any legal 
or equitable claim of the Tribe to enforce any right or privi-
lege reserved by, or granted to, the Tribe that was wrong-
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