Lumbee Fairness Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Lumbee Fairness Act because of the three-quarters of a billion dollars that is unpaid for in cost and how it undermines Tribal designation based on merit, a 100-year history where merit drives and not politics.

While I respect the hard work of my colleagues from North Carolina and I have no doubt about their intentions with this legislation, the Lumbee Fairness Act would represent a lack of fairness for all historically recognized Native Americans and a lack of fairness for the merit-based process for Federal Tribal recognition.

I am a card-carrying member of the Choctaw Nation. My family can trace its lineage to the time of the Indian Removal Act and the Choctaw Trail of Tears. Oklahoma is a Choctaw word.

I am one of only four current Native-American Members in the House of Representatives. I harbor no ill will toward any people who seek Federal recognition for themselves and appreciate the hardship of going through the Federal recognition process.

However, we must also acknowledge that Tribal-Federal relations have a near 250-year history, rooted in our Constitution. It is found in Article I and Article VI of the Constitution. There are two centuries of tradition showing how the founding generations and those following after dealt with the issue of Federal treaties with Tribes.

The recognition process is robust. It is designed to ensure only people who can prove themselves as historical Tribes are designated as such.

The Lumbee people have attempted to gain recognition via this process for 130 years, and each time rebuffed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Proponents of this bill argue the Lumbee are not eligible for the merit-based Tribal recognition process.

However, the latest ruling on this from the Department of the Interior 2016 says that the Lumbee are eligible to go through the merit-based recognition process. We should let that merit-based process go forward instead of replacing that time-honored process with a vote on this floor and what is popular.

Congressional passage of this sends a subliminal message to historically recognized Tribes all over the country that politics trumps what we should be looking at within this situation, which is merit.

That is why 141 Tribes alongside the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole Nations, et cetera, have opposed this effort going back many years.

Mr. Speaker, with that in mind, I include in the Record a resolution from the Five Civilized Tribes opposing the goal of this bill and a news article detailing the opposition of 141 recognized Tribes, to the same effect.

The INTER-TRIBAL COUNCIL of the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES

A Resolution Opposing Federal or State Recognition of Groups That Claim

to be Tribal Nations by Circumventing the Office of Federal

Acknowledgement

Resolution No. 22-14

Whereas, the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized

Tribes (ITC) is an organization that unites the tribal

governments of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee

(Creek), and Seminole Nations, representing approximately

815,000 Indian people throughout the United States; and

Whereas, our tribes maintain a historic and continual

government-to-government relationship with the United States

and exercised the sovereign rights of self-government; and

Whereas, our tribes have distinct histories, languages,

cultures and identities that have been fiercely protected

despite government policies intended to eradicate our ways of

life; and

Whereas, fraudulent groups that appropriate our culture and

erroneously claim to be legitimate tribal governments

threaten the foundation of tribal sovereignty; and

Whereas, the federal government is granted authority by the

U.S. Constitution to regulate matters relating to Indian

tribes, which includes the process of obtaining federal

recognition; and

Whereas, these groups often seek state recognition and

other means to bolster their legitimacy and bypass the

Department of the Interior's Office of Federal

Acknowledgement (OFA); and

Whereas, the OFA currently manages a fair and measured

process for attaining federal recognition, which includes a

number of important steps that a petitioner must complete

before being granted this status; and

Whereas, it is irresponsible for any governmental body,

including the United States Congress, to bypass this process

in favor of certain groups claiming to be tribal governments.

Now therefore let it be Resolved that, the Inter-Tribal

Council of the Five Civilized Tribes opposes efforts by any

group attempting to gain federal or state recognition that

circumvents the Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA).

Be it further Resolved, the Inter-Tribal Council opposes

current efforts by the ``Lumbee Tribe'', ``Chickamauga

Tribe'', ``Wolf Creek Cherokee'', and any other groups

illegitimately claiming tribal recognition without following

the outlined process of the OFA

Mr. Speaker, if a Tribe cannot prove the necessary documentation to receive Federal recognition, they should not receive it by Congress' action.

If the Lumbee have a historical record of being a formal Tribe, if they have evidence of lineage to any particular Tribe, if they had a formal claim to the land that they now occupy, why would the BIA repeatedly refuse to formally recognize them as a Tribe?

Whatever Tribe may have occupied the land near the Lumbee River has long since dissipated. In fact, the 1956 bill that acknowledged the Lumbee as a people stated that the Tribe around the Lumbee River had fully assimilated into the surrounding European communities during the colonial era before the Constitution was written.

The Lumbee agreed to the language in that bill in 1956 as a compromise. In return for the Federal Government referring to them as a distinct people, they promised they would not seek formal Federal recognition.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a copy of the 1956 hearing on the Lumbee bill where a representative of the Lumbee stated they would rather leave the county than accept the Federal recognition status. That is a strong statement of promise.

They could look us up and find we are in the law; in the

books at Raleigh, and therefore we are honest in their sight.

That is No. 1.

Mr. Aspinall. Do you or any members of your organization

anticipate that after you might receive this designation you

would come to Congress and ask for any of the benefits that

otherwise go to Indian Tribes?

Reverend Lowery. No, sir. We would leave the county before

we would come under a reservation or anything like wards of

the government. We are citizens and always have been

citizens. We would leave before we would come on this

reservation.

The transcript of the hearing record makes clear that the

Lumbee Indians were not expecting to receive any federal

benefits or privileges as a result of the 1956 law.

Nonetheless, the Department of the Interior objected to the

bill because the United States has no treaty or other

obligation to provide services to these Indians. Because of

this, the Secretary of the Interior stated:

We are therefore unable to recommend that the Congress take

any action which might ultimately result in the imposition of

additional obligations on the Federal Government or in

placing additional persons of Indian blood under the

jurisdiction of this Department.

The persons who constitute this group of Indians have been

recognized and designated as Indians by the State

legislature. If they are not completely satisfied with such

recognition, they, as citizens of the State, may petition the

legislature to amend or otherwise to change that recognition.

Except for the possibility of becoming entitled to Federal

services as Indians, the position of this group of Indians

would not be enhanced by enactment of this bill.

Ultimately, the Congress amended the bill as requested by

the Department of the Interior by including the following

language: ``Nothing in this Act shall make such Indians

eligible for any services performed by the United States for

Indians because of their status as Indians, and none of the

statutes of the United States which affect Indians because of

their status as Indians shall be applicable to the Lumbee

Indians.'' Thus, the Indians of Robeson and adjoining

counties were designated as Lumbee Indians, but not granted

any eligibility for services or benefits.

The Department of the Interior has interpreted the 1956 law

as preventing the Lumbee Indians from utilizing the Federal

Acknowledgment Process to become a federally-recognized

Indian tribe. In 1989, the Solicitor for the Department of

the Interior concluded that the 1956 law forbids a

government-to-government relationship with the Lumbee

Indians.

Mr. Speaker, this bill undermines that verbal promise. Constitutionally sound agreements to the Federal Government must be adhered to. I think we should all agree to that. Nations fall apart when people walk back commitments to one another.

The entire foundation of Tribal-Federal relations today is premised on both sides upholding commitments, agreements, and treaties made two centuries ago by our ancestors and our Founding Fathers.

Why do we uphold agreements?

Why do we uphold treaties? It is about trust.

The cornerstone to Tribal law is the adherence to promises made hundreds of years ago. The Lumbee must be held to that standard, that commitment from 70 years ago. Granting the Lumbee Tribal recognition sets a dangerous precedent. Granting them recognition by going around this 100-year-old process opens the floodgates for anyone who claims themselves a Tribe to receive specific benefits through politics not merit. This will lead to a vast and irresponsible increase in Federal spending.

Mr. Speaker, this will lead to a vast and irresponsible increase in Federal spending. I would like to respectfully refute the claim that this does not increase spending.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO report from the 117th Congress scoring the exact same bill at a cost of $726 million over 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, just because CBO this time around didn't score it, doesn't mean it doesn't have a cost. It just means they didn't score it. The score from it 2 years ago was three-quarters of a billion dollars.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act, to give the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina the full Federal recognition they have been unfairly denied for decades.

The Lumbee Tribe, comprised of 55,000 members, is the largest American Indian Tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the Nation. Throughout recorded history, the Lumbee have called southeastern North Carolina home, spanning Robeson, Scotland, Hoke, and Cumberland Counties.

Despite their long history and cohesive culture, the Lumbee Tribe has never had access to the same resources exercised by every other federally recognized Tribe. During the termination era, when Congress ended the Federal relationship with 60 Tribes, the Lumbee Act of 1956 recognized the Tribe's existence yet denied them the Federal rights and protections afforded to other federally recognized Tribes. This includes access to benefits from the Indian Health Service and support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sometimes, it is quite helpful to go back to see what the statute actually says. Public Law 571 specifically reads: ``Nothing in this act shall make such Indians eligible for any services performed by the United States for Indians because of their status as Indians, and none of the statutes of the United States which affect Indians because of their status as Indians shall be applicable to the Lumbee Indians.'' It is a bit wordy but very clear and very to the point.

Beginning in 1978, the Federal Government began rectifying the damage done during the termination era, establishing processes in which Tribes could regain Federal recognition and privileges.

The Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act established three ways in which an Indian group may become federally recognized: By act of Congress, by the administrative procedures established by the Department of the Interior, and by decision of a United States court.

Since then, Congress has stepped in and recognized 23 Tribes through legislation, reestablishing their relationship with the Federal Government.

Unfortunately, given the language of the Lumbee Act of 1956, only an act of Congress can establish the Federal rights and privileges of the Lumbee Tribe.

Some point to the administrative process as the path forward for the Lumbee Tribe, but the language of the 1956 act, which I just read, has acted as the law of the land, barring the Tribe from gaining their due privileges.

The fundamental point is this: Congress wrote a law that terminated the Federal relationship with the Tribe, and Congress is the only entity that can restore that recognition. The administrative process has quite honestly proved to be a dead-end street simply because of that statute.

The Lumbee's leadership and members work tirelessly every year to mobilize support to move the legislation that is before us today. The bill has been introduced in Congress more than 30 times with broad bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

Through more than a dozen congressional hearings, documentation has consistently affirmed the Lumbee Tribe as a distinct, self-governing Indian community. In each of the last 11 Congresses, legislation has been introduced to grant the Lumbee Tribe the full recognition they deserve.

In the last two Congresses, the House passed this legislation under suspension, and beyond Congress, the Lumbee Fairness Act has the support of 236 Tribes across the country who have repeatedly cited the unfair treatment of the Tribe under the 1956 Lumbee Act.

All of this is to say, Mr. Speaker, this needs to be done. I thank the House leadership, particularly Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, for bringing this bill forward for consideration today.

I thank Chairman Westerman and his committee for their diligent work on all issues, particularly this one. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Today, the House can take a great step forward to right the wrong of the unfair and unjust treatment of the Lumbee Tribe once and for all. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1101) to amend the Lumbee Act of 1956, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1101, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about Tribal recognition bills, it often comes with a lot of passion. There are people who support the bills and people who oppose the bills, and it is hard to get consensus on these Tribal recognition bills.

As we consider this bill today, I just want to lay out the facts of what is at stake here in this particular Tribal recognition bill.

H.R. 1101 would extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and remove a statutory bar that has impacted the Tribe since 1956.

According to the Tribe, this statutory bar has prevented them from being federally recognized through any administrative procedure.

Under the legislation, the Lumbee Tribe would be eligible for services, benefits, and immunities available to other federally recognized Indian Tribes.

In 1956, an act of Congress designated certain Indians as Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. It declared that they shall enjoy all rights as citizens of the State of North Carolina and the United States, but in 1989, the Department of the Interior solicitor issued an opinion stating that the 1956 act effectively denied the Lumbee Tribe eligibility to petition for recognition under the Federal acknowledgment process at the Department.

In 2016, the Department of the Interior solicitor withdrew the 1989 opinion and replaced it with a new opinion, stating that the Lumbee Tribe may pursue Federal recognition under the current administrative procedures for federally recognizing a Tribe.

This complex history has created legal confusion, and the Lumbee Tribe has chosen to seek Federal recognition through Congress rather than apply through the Federal acknowledgment process.

H.R. 1101 would use Congress' plenary power over Indian affairs to federally recognize the Lumbee Tribe.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor of this legislation, Representative Rouzer, for his work on this bill. I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer), the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Brecheen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1101 would extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, ensuring its members are eligible for the services and benefits provided to members of all federally recognized Tribes.

Again, I thank the sponsor for his work on this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, this is my final week in Congress. Many come to the floor and ruminate over their service. As for me, I can't think of a better way to spend my final words on the floor than in support of recognition for the Lumbee Tribe.

The Lumbee have been pursuing justice since the mid-1800s. I have previously stated on the floor some of the specifics of the Lumbee's Native American heritage, their struggle as a people against racial discrimination, and their deep and abiding community orientation around the life-changing power of education, especially represented by UNC Pembroke.

I have talked about their rich Tribal culture, the Tribal Council, the Warriors Ball, Lumbee homecoming, the Powwow. I count among my greatest privileges in Congress having been designated an honorary Lumbee warrior.

I have explained the abomination of the recognition legislation of 1956, which acknowledged the Lumbee's nationhood while explicitly denying them the incidents and benefits of the status extended to other American Indian Tribes, the epitome of arbitrary and capricious governmental action.

Although Robeson County, the historic homeplace for the Lumbee, passed into Mr. Rouzer's district in 2022, Lumbee recognition remains the unfinished business that is closest to my heart.

I have been pleased to introduce President Trump to the Lumbee and am proud to count him a vocal supporter of this legislation. I am certain that progress toward righting this historic injustice has occurred over my 5 years in the House, and I am pleased to say that victory is in sight.

Let my final words here be to thank the Lumbee for the honor of representing them here and for their friendship.

Mr. Speaker, let's pass the Lumbee Fairness Act now and vote for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1101, the so- called Lumbee Fairness Act.

I am proud to represent North Carolina's 11th District, which is the home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a Tribal Nation rich in culture, language, and sovereignty that is a true treasure to the State of North Carolina and to the United States.

In stark contrast, it must be noted that the Lumbee community has no standing treaties with the Federal Government, no reservation land, and no common language. The Office of Federal Acknowledgment under the U.S. Department of the Interior, or OFA, was established to provide a vigorous process that groups seeking Federal recognition must go through, including genealogical and historical research.

This legislation wholly bypasses the OFA process, and I believe that if the Lumbee community truly had a legitimate claim for Federal recognition, they would go through that process like other prospective Tribes have done.

Let us not circumvent our rules to bring this bill to the House floor with the purpose of circumventing the rules for an alleged Tribal Nation.

In my view, this legislation should have gone through the committee markup process before being put on the floor as a suspension bill, as has been done for numerous other bills this Congress, before being given consideration by the full House.

If the administration or Congress allows the Lumbee to bypass the OFA, it sends a clear message that other groups with dubious claims for Tribal recognition can also avoid the deliberation and scrutiny that the OFA petition process is designed to provide.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this legislation.