[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 65 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 865
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 65
[Report No. 110-409]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2007
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
July 8, 2008
Reported by Mr. Dorgan, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Lumbee Recognition Act''.
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 recognized the Lumbee
Indians as an Indian tribe;
``Whereas in 1956 the Congress of the United States acknowledged the Lumbee
Indians as an Indian tribe, but withheld from the Lumbee Tribe the
benefits, privileges and immunities to which the Tribe and its members
otherwise would have been entitled by virtue of the Tribe's status as a
federally recognized tribe; and
``Whereas the Congress finds that the Lumbee Indians should now be entitled to
full Federal recognition of their status as an Indian tribe and that the
benefits, privileges and immunities that accompany such status should be
accorded to the Lumbee Tribe: Now, therefore,''.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended as follows:
(1) By striking the last sentence of the first section.
(2) By striking section 2 and inserting the following 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 Acknowledgement. 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 Carolina, 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 benefits provided to Indians
because of their status as members 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.
``(b) Upon verification by the Secretary of the Interior of a
tribal roll under subsection (c), the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services 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 convey 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 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)
if such lands are located within Robeson County, North Carolina.
``(b) The tribe may not conduct gaming activities 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. 5. (a) The State of North Carolina shall exercise
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 transfer 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 agreement 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.
``(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.''.
Passed the House of Representatives June 7, 2007.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.
Calendar No. 865
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 65
[Report No. 110-409]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 8, 2008
Reported without amendment