I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 31 
To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2009 
Mr. MCINTYRE (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. KISSELL, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 
CLYBURN, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. MARIO DIAZ- 
BALART of Florida, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MILLER of 
North Carolina, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. 
RYAN of Ohio, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. RAHALL, Ms. 
LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. 
HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 
PASTOR of Arizona, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. HONDA, Mr. WU, 
and Mr. CUMMINGS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lumbee Recognition 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PREAMBLE. 
The preamble to the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 
254), is amended as follows: 
(1) By striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of each clause. 
(2) By striking ‘‘: Now, therefore,’’ at the end 
of the last clause and inserting a semicolon. 
(3) By adding at the end the following new 
clauses: 
‘‘Whereas the Lumbee Indians of Robeson and adjoining 
counties in North Carolina are descendants of coastal 
North Carolina Indian tribes, principally Cheraw, and 
have remained a distinct Indian community since the 
time of contact with white settlers; 
‘‘Whereas since 1885 the State of North Carolina has recog-
nized the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe; 
‘‘Whereas in 1956 the Congress of the United States ac-
knowledged the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe, but 
withheld from the Lumbee Tribe the benefits, privileges 
and immunities to which the Tribe and its members oth-
erwise would have been entitled by virtue of the Tribe’s 
status as a federally recognized tribe; and 
‘‘Whereas the Congress finds that the Lumbee Indians should 
now be entitled to full Federal recognition of their status 
as an Indian tribe and that the benefits, privileges and 
immunities that accompany such status should be ac-
corded to the Lumbee Tribe: Now, therefore,’’. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 
The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended 
as follows: 
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(1) By striking the last sentence of the first 
section. 
(2) By striking section 2 and inserting the fol-
lowing new sections: 
‘‘SEC. 2. (a) Federal recognition is hereby extended 
to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, as designated as 
petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowl-
edgement. All laws and regulations of the United States 
of general application to Indians and Indian tribes shall 
apply to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its 
members. 
‘‘(b) Notwithstanding the first section, any group of 
Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Caro-
lina, whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe 
of North Carolina as determined under section 3(c), may 
petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations for acknowledgement of tribal existence. 
‘‘SEC. 3. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina 
and its members shall be eligible for all services and bene-
fits provided to Indians because of their status as mem-
bers of a federally recognized tribe. For the purposes of 
the delivery of such services, those members of the Tribe 
residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland 
counties in North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing 
on or near an Indian reservation. 
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‘‘(b) Upon verification by the Secretary of the Inte-
rior of a tribal roll under subsection (c), the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices shall develop, in consultation with the Lumbee Tribe 
of North Carolina, a determination of needs and budget 
to provide the services to which members of the Tribe are 
eligible. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall each submit a written 
statement of such needs and budget to Congress after the 
tribal roll is verified. 
‘‘(c) For purposes of the delivery of Federal services, 
the tribal roll in effect on the date of the enactment of 
this section shall, subject to verification by the Secretary 
of the Interior, define the service population of the Tribe. 
The Secretary’s verification shall be limited to confirming 
compliance with the membership criteria set out in the 
Tribe’s constitution adopted on November 16, 2001, which 
verification shall be completed within 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this section. 
‘‘SEC. 4. (a) Fee lands which the Tribe seeks to con-
vey to the United States to be held in trust shall be treated 
by the Secretary of the Interior as ‘on-reservation’ trust 
acquisitions under part 151 of title 25 of the Code of Fed-
eral Regulations (or a successor regulation) if such lands 
are located within Robeson County, North Carolina. 
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‘‘(b) The tribe may not conduct gaming activities as 
a matter of claimed inherent authority or under the au-
thority of any Federal law, including the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under any reg-
ulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary or the 
National Indian Gaming Commission. 
‘‘SEC. 5. (a) The State of North Carolina shall exer-
cise jurisdiction over— 
‘‘(1) all criminal offenses that are committed 
on; and 
‘‘(2) all civil actions that arise on, lands located 
within the State of North Carolina that are owned 
by, or held in trust by the United States for, the 
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or any dependent 
Indian community of the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina. 
‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to 
accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 
with the Attorney General of the United States any trans-
fer by the State of North Carolina to the United States 
of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North 
Carolina described in paragraph (1) pursuant to an agree-
ment between the Lumbee Tribe and the State of North 
Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction may not take effect 
until 2 years after the effective date of the agreement. 
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‘‘(c) The provisions of this subsection shall not affect 
the application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare 
Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919). 
‘‘SEC. 6. There are authorized to be appropriated 
such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.’’. 
Æ 
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