[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 334 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 334

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of 
                North Carolina, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________





103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 334

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians 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--
            (1) by striking out ``and'' at the end of each of the first 
        three clauses;
            (2) by striking out ``: Now therefore,'' at the end of the 
        last clause and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end thereof 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 the Lumbee Indians have been recognized by the State of North Carolina 
        as an Indian tribe since 1885;
``Whereas the Lumbee Indians have sought Federal recognition as an Indian tribe 
        since 1888; and
``Whereas the Lumbee Indians are entitled to Federal recognition of their status 
        as an Indian tribe and the benefits, privileges, and immunities that 
        accompany such status: Now, therefore,''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

    The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended--
            (1) by striking out the last sentence of the first section; 
        and
            (2) by striking out section 2 and inserting in lieu thereof 
        the following:

                 ``federal recognition; acknowledgment

    ``Sec. 2. (a) Federal recognition is hereby extended to the Lumbee 
Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina. All laws and regulations of 
the United States of general application to Indians and Indian tribes 
shall apply to the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina and 
its members.
    ``(b) Notwithstanding the first section of this Act, any group of 
Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties whose members are not enrolled 
in the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, as determined 
under section 4(b), may petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence.

                               ``services

    ``Sec. 3. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina 
and its members shall be eligible for all services and benefits 
provided to Indians because of their status as federally recognized 
Indians, except that members of the tribe shall not be entitled to such 
services until the appropriation of funds for these purposes. For the 
purposes of the delivery of such services, those members of the tribe 
residing in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, shall be 
deemed to be resident on or near an Indian reservation.
    ``(b) Upon verification of a tribal roll under section 4 by the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall develop, in consultation 
with the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina, a 
determination of needs and a budget required to provide services to 
which the 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 with the first 
budget request submitted to the Congress after the fiscal year in which 
the tribal roll is verified.
    ``(c)(1) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina is 
authorized to plan, conduct, consolidate, and administer programs, 
services, and functions authorized under the Act of April 16, 1934 (48 
Stat. 596; 25 U.S.C. 452, et seq.), and the Act of November 2, 1921 (42 
Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C. 13), popularly known as the Snyder Act, pursuant 
to an annual written funding agreement among the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw 
Indians of North Carolina, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, which shall specify--
            ``(A) the services to be provided, the functions to be 
        performed, and the procedures to be used to reallocate funds or 
        modify budget allocations, within any fiscal year; and
            ``(B) the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior 
        for, and the procedure to be used in, auditing the expenditures 
        of the tribe.
    ``(2) The authority provided under this subsection shall be in lieu 
of the authority provided under the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450, et seq.).
    ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting, 
modifying, diminishing, or otherwise impairing the sovereign immunity 
from lawsuit enjoyed by the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North 
Carolina or authorizing or requiring the termination of any trust 
responsibility of the United States with respect to the tribe.

                     ``constitution and membership

    ``Sec. 4. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina 
shall organize for its common welfare and adopt a constitution and 
bylaws. Any constitution, bylaws, or amendments to the constitution or 
bylaws that are adopted by the tribe must be consistent with the terms 
of this Act and shall take effect only after such documents are filed 
with the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary shall assist the 
tribe in the drafting of a constitution and bylaws, the conduct of an 
election with respect to such constitution, and the reorganization of 
the government of the tribe under any such constitution and bylaws.
    ``(b)(1) Until the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina 
adopts a constitution and except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
membership of the tribe shall, subject to review by the Secretary, 
consist of every individual who is named in the tribal membership roll 
that is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
    ``(2)(A) Before adopting a constitution, the roll of the tribe 
shall be open for a 180-day period to allow the enrollment of any 
individual previously enrolled in another Indian group or tribe in 
Robeson or adjoining counties, North Carolina, who demonstrates that--
            ``(i) the individual is eligible for enrollment in the 
        Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians; and
            ``(ii) the individual has abandoned membership in any other 
        Indian group or tribe.
    ``(B) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina shall 
advertise in newspapers of general distribution in Robeson and 
adjoining counties, North Carolina, the opening of the tribal roll for 
the purposes of subparagraph (A). The advertisement shall specify the 
enrollment criteria and the deadline for enrollment.
    ``(3) The review of the tribal roll of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw 
Indians of North Carolina shall be limited to verification of 
compliance with the membership criteria of the tribe as stated in the 
Lumbee Petition for Federal Acknowledgment filed with the Secretary by 
the tribe on December 17, 1987. The Secretary shall complete his review 
and verification of the tribal roll within the 12-month period 
beginning on the date on which the tribal roll is closed under 
paragraph (2).

                             ``jurisdiction

    ``Sec. 5. (a)(1) The State of North Carolina shall exercise 
jurisdiction over--
            ``(A) all criminal offenses that are committed on, and
            ``(B) 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 Cheraw 
Indians of North Carolina, any member of the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw 
Indians of North Carolina, or any dependent Indian community of the 
Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina.
    ``(2) 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 of Cheraw Indians and the State of North 
Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction may not take effect until two 
years after the effective date of such agreement.
    ``(3) 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).
    ``(b) Section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (Chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 
465), and the Act of April 11, 1970 (84 Stat. 120; 25 U.S.C. 488 et 
seq.), shall apply to the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North 
Carolina with respect to lands within the exterior boundaries of 
Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina.

                   ``authorization of appropriations

    ``Sec. 6. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated such funds as 
may be necessary to carry out this Act.
    ``(b) In the first fiscal year in which funds are appropriated 
under this Act, the tribe's proposals for expenditures of such funds 
shall be submitted to the Select Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives 60 calendar days prior to any expenditure of such funds 
by the tribe.''.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.