H. R. 2399
One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three
An Act
To provide for the settlement of land claims of the Catawba Tribe of Indians
in the State of South Carolina and the restoration of the Federal trust relationship
with the Tribe, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Catawba Indian Tribe of South
Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY, CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND
PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress declares and finds that:
(1) It is the policy of the United States to promote tribal
self-determination and economic self-sufficiency and to support
the resolution of disputes over historical claims through settle-
ments mutually agreed to by Indian and non-Indian parties.
(2) There is pending before the United States District Court
for the District of South Carolina a lawsuit disputing ownership
of approximately 140,000 acres of land in the State of South
Carolina and other rights of the Catawba Indian Tribe under
Federal law.
(3) The Catawba Indian Tribe initiated a related lawsuit
against the United States in the United States Court of Federal
Claims seeking monetary damages.
(4) Some of the significant historical events which have
led to the present situation include:
(A) In treaties with the Crown in 1760 and 1763,
the Tribe ceded vast portions of its aboriginal territory
in the present States of North and South Carolina in return
for guarantees of being quietly settled on a 144,000-acre
reservation.
(B) The Tribe’s district court suit contended that in
1840 the Tribe and the State entered into an agreement
without Federal approval or participation whereby the
Tribe ceded its treaty reservation to the State, thereby
giving rise to the Tribe’s claim that it was dispossessed
of its lands in violation of Federal law.
(C) In 1943, the United States entered into an agree-
ment with the Tribe and the State to provide services
to the Tribe and its members. The State purchased 3,434
acres of land and conveyed it to the Secretary in trust
for the Tribe and the Tribe organized under the Indian
Reorganization Act.
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H. R. 2399—2
(D) In 1959, when Congress enacted the Catawba Tribe
of South Carolina Division of Assets Act (25 U.S.C. 931–
938), Federal agents assured the Tribe that if the Tribe
would release the Government from its obligation under
the 1943 agreement and agree to Federal legislation termi-
nating the Federal trust relationship and liquidating the
1943 reservation, the status of the Tribe’s land claim would
not be jeopardized by termination.
(E) In 1980, the Tribe initiated Federal court litigation
to regain possession of its treaty lands and in 1986, the
United States Supreme Court ruled in South Carolina
against Catawba Indian Tribe that the 1959 Act resulted
in the application of State statutes of limitations to the
Tribe’s land claim. Two subsequent decisions of the United
States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit have held
that some portion of the Tribe’s claim is barred by State
statutes of limitations and that some portion is not barred.
(5) The pendency of these lawsuits has led to substantial
economic and social hardship for a large number of landowners,
citizens and communities in the State of South Carolina, includ-
ing the Catawba Indian Tribe. Congress recognizes that if
these claims are not resolved, further litigation against tens
of thousands of landowners would be likely; that any final
resolution of pending disputes through a process of litigation
would take many years and entail great expenses to all parties;
continue economically and socially damaging controversies; pro-
long uncertainty as to the ownership of property; and seriously
impair long-term economic planning and development for all
parties.
(6) The 102d Congress has enacted legislation suspending
until October 1, 1993, the running of any unexpired statute
of limitation applicable to the Tribe’s land claim in order to
provide additional time to negotiate settlement of these claims.
(7) It is recognized that both Indian and non-Indian parties
enter into this settlement to resolve the disputes raised in
these lawsuits and to derive certain benefits. The parties’ Settle-
ment Agreement constitutes a good faith effort to resolve these
lawsuits and other claims and requires implementing legisla-
tion by the Congress of the United States, the General Assembly
of the State of South Carolina, and the governing bodies of
the South Carolina counties of York and Lancaster.
(8) To advance the goals of the Federal policy of Indian
self-determination and restoration of terminated Indian Tribes,
and in recognition of the United States obligation to the Tribe
and the Federal policy of settling historical Indian claims
through comprehensive settlement agreements, it is appropriate
that the United States participate in the funding and
implementation of the Settlement Agreement.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—
(1) to approve, ratify, and confirm the Settlement Agree-
ment entered into by the non-Indian settlement parties and
the Tribe, except as otherwise provided by this Act;
(2) to authorize and direct the Secretary to implement
the terms of such Settlement Agreement;
(3) to authorize the actions and appropriations necessary
to implement the provisions of the Settlement Agreement and
this Act;
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H. R. 2399—3
(4) to remove the cloud on titles in the State of South
Carolina resulting from the Tribe’s land claim; and
(5) to restore the trust relationship between the Tribe
and the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Catawba Indian Tribe
of South Carolina as constituted in aboriginal times, which
was party to the Treaty of Pine Tree Hill in 1760 as confirmed
by the Treaty of Augusta in 1763, which was party also to
the Treaty of Nation Ford in 1840, and which was the subject
of the Termination Act, and all predecessors and successors
in interest, including the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Caro-
lina, Inc.
(2) The term ‘‘claim’’ or ‘‘claims’’ means any claim which
was asserted by the Tribe in either Suit, and any other claim
which could have been asserted by the Tribe or any Catawba
Indian of a right, title or interest in property, to trespass
or property damages, or of hunting, fishing or other rights
to natural resources, if such claim is based upon aboriginal
title, recognized title, or title by grant, patent, or treaty includ-
ing the Treaty of Pine Tree Hill of 1760, the Treaty of Augusta
of 1763, or the Treaty of Nation Ford of 1840.
(3) The term ‘‘Executive Committee’’ means the body of
the Tribe composed of the Tribe’s executive officers as selected
by the Tribe in accordance with its constitution.
(4) The term ‘‘Existing Reservation’’ means that tract of
approximately 630 acres conveyed to the State in trust for
the Tribe by J.M. Doby on December 24, 1842, by deed recorded
in York County Deed Book N, pp. 340–341.
(5) The term ‘‘General Council’’ means the membership
of the Tribe convened as the Tribe’s governing body for the
purpose of conducting tribal business pursuant to the Tribe’s
constitution.
(6) The term ‘‘Member’’ means individuals who are cur-
rently members of the Tribe or who are enrolled in accordance
with this Act.
(7) The term ‘‘Reservation’’ or ‘‘Expanded Reservation’’
means the Existing Reservation and the lands added to the
Existing Reservation in accordance with section 12 of this Act,
which are to be held in trust by the Secretary in accordance
with this Act.
(8) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the
Interior.
(9) The term ‘‘service area’’ means the area composed of
the State of South Carolina and Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston,
Mecklenburg, Rutherford, and Union counties in the State of
North Carolina.
(10) The term ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the document
entitled ‘‘Agreement in Principle’’ between the Tribe and the
State of South Carolina and attached to the copy of the State
Act and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of South
Carolina, as amended to conform to this Act and printed in
the Congressional Record.
(11) The term ‘‘State’’ means, except for section 6 (a)
through (f), the State of South Carolina.
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H. R. 2399—4
(12) The term ‘‘State Act’’ means the Act enacted into
law by the State of South Carolina on June 14, 1993, and
codified as S.C. Code Ann., sections 27–16–10 through 27–
16–140, to implement the Settlement Agreement.
(13) The term ‘‘Suit’’ or ‘‘Suits’’ means Catawba Indian
Tribe of South Carolina v. State of South Carolina, et al.,
docketed as Civil Action No. 80–2050 and filed in the United
States District Court for the District of South Carolina; and
Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina v. The United States
of America, docketed as Civil Action No. 90–553L and filed
in the United States Court of Federal Claims.
(14) The term ‘‘Termination Act’’ means the Act entitled
‘‘An Act to provide for the division of the tribal assets of
the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina among the mem-
bers of the Tribe and for other purposes’’, approved September
21, 1959 (73 Stat. 592; 25 U.S.C. 931–938).
(15) The term ‘‘transfer’’ includes (but is not limited to)
any voluntary or involuntary sale, grant, lease, allotment, parti-
tion, or other conveyance; any transaction the purpose of which
was to effect a sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or convey-
ance; and any act, event or circumstance that resulted in a
change in title to, possession of, dominion over, or control
of land, water, minerals, timber, or other natural resources.
(16) The term ‘‘Trust Funds’’ means the trust funds estab-
lished by section 11 of this Act.
SEC. 4. RESTORATION OF FEDERAL TRUST RELATIONSHIP.
(a) RESTORATION OF THE FEDERAL TRUST RELATIONSHIP AND
APPROVAL, RATIFICATION, AND CONFIRMATION OF THE SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT.—On the effective date of this Act—
(1) the trust relationship between the Tribe and the United
States is restored; and
(2) the Settlement Agreement and the State Act are
approved, ratified, and confirmed by the United States to effec-
tuate the purposes of this Act, and shall be complied with
in the same manner and to the same extent as if they had
been enacted into Federal law.
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL BENEFITS AND SERVICES.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, on the effective date of
this Act, the Tribe and the Members shall be eligible for all benefits
and services furnished to federally recognized Indian tribes and
their members because of their status as Indians. On the effective
date of this Act, the Secretary shall enter the Tribe on the list
of federally recognized bands and tribes maintained by the Depart-
ment of the Interior; and its members shall be eligible to special
services, educational benefits, medical care, and welfare assistance
provided by the United States to Indians because of their status
as Indians, and the Tribe shall be eligible to the special services
performed by the United States for tribes because of their status
as Indian tribes. For the purpose of eligibility for Federal services
made available to members of federally recognized Indian tribes
because of their status as Indian tribal members, Members of
the Tribe in the Tribe’s service area shall be deemed to be residing
on or near a reservation.
(c) REPEAL
OF TERMINATION ACT.—The Termination Act is
repealed.
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