IIB 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1619 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 2, 2021 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 
AN ACT 
To clarify the status of gaming conducted by the Catawba 
Indian Nation, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Catawba Indian Nation 
Lands Act’’. 
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF CURRENT LAW. 
(a) LANDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA.—Section 14 of the 
Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Claims Settle-
ment Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–116) shall only apply 
to gaming conducted by the Catawba Indian Nation on 
lands located in South Carolina. 
(b) LANDS IN STATES OTHER THAN SOUTH CARO-
LINA.—Gaming conducted by the Catawba Indian Nation 
on lands located in States other than South Carolina shall 
be subject to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and sections 1166 through 1168 of 
title 18, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. REAFFIRMATION OF STATUS AND ACTIONS. 
(a) RATIFICATION OF TRUST STATUS.—The action 
taken by the Secretary on July 10, 2020, to place approxi-
mately 17 acres of land located in Cleveland County, 
North Carolina, into trust for the benefit of the Catawba 
Indian Nation is hereby ratified and confirmed as if that 
action had been taken under a Federal law specifically au-
thorizing or directing that action. 
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The land placed into trust for 
the benefit of the Catawba Indian Nation by the Secretary 
on July 10, 2020, shall— 
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(1) be a part of the Catawba Reservation and 
administered in accordance with the laws and regu-
lations generally applicable to land held in trust by 
the United States for an Indian Tribe; and 
(2) be deemed to have been acquired and taken 
into trust as part of the restoration of lands for an 
Indian tribe that is restored to Federal recognition 
pursuant to section 20(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Indian 
Gaming 
Regulatory 
Act 
(25 
U.S.C. 
2719(b)(1)(B)(iii)). 
(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
shall— 
(1) enlarge, impair, or otherwise affect any 
right or claim of the Catawba Indian Nation to any 
land or interest in land in existence before the date 
of the enactment of this Act; 
(2) affect any water right of the Catawba In-
dian Nation in existence before the date of the en-
actment of this Act; 
(3) terminate or limit any access in any way to 
any right-of-way or right-of-use issued, granted, or 
permitted before the date of the enactment of this 
Act; or 
(4) alter or diminish the right of the Catawba 
Indian Nation to seek to have additional land taken 
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into trust by the United States for the benefit of the 
Catawba Indian Nation. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 1, 
2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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