[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 420 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 420

    To provide for the acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North 
                   Carolina, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 14, 2003

   Mrs. Dole introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for the acknowledgment 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 Acknowledgment Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. LUMBEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

    The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254, chapter 375), is amended to 
read as follows:

``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This Act may be cited as the `Lumbee Acknowledgment Act'.

``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress finds that--
            ``(1) many Indians living in Robeson County, North 
        Carolina, and adjoining counties in the State are descendants 
        of a once large and prosperous tribe that occupied the land 
        along the Lumbee River at the time when the earliest European 
        settlements were established in the area;
            ``(2) when the members of that tribe first made contact 
        with the settlers, the members were a well-established and 
        distinctive people living in European-style houses, tilling the 
        soil, owning slaves and livestock, and practicing many of the 
        arts and crafts of European civilization;
            ``(3) tribal legend, a distinctive appearance and manner of 
        speech, and the frequent recurrence among tribal members of 
        family names (such as Bullard, Chavis, Drinkwater, Locklear, 
        Lowery, Oxendine, and Sampson) that were found on the roster of 
        the earliest English settlements, provide evidence that the 
        Indians now living in the area may trace their ancestry back to 
        both--
                    ``(A) European settlers; and
                    ``(B) certain coastal tribes of Indians in the 
                State, principally the Cheraw Tribe;
            ``(4) the Lumbee Tribe has remained a distinct Indian 
        community since European settlers first made contact with the 
        community;
            ``(5) the members of the Tribe--
                    ``(A) are naturally and understandably proud of 
                their heritage; and
                    ``(B) seek to establish their social status and 
                preserve their ancestry;
            ``(6) the State has acknowledged the Lumbee Indians as an 
        Indian tribe since 1885;
            ``(7) in 1956, Congress acknowledged the Lumbee Indians as 
        an Indian tribe but withheld from the Tribe the benefits, 
        privileges, and immunities to which the Tribe and members of 
        the Tribe would have been entitled by virtue of status as an 
        acknowledged Indian tribe; and
            ``(8)(A) the Tribe is entitled to full Federal 
        acknowledgment; and
            ``(B) the programs, services, and benefits that accompany 
        that status should be extended to the Tribe and members of the 
        Tribe.

``SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this Act:
            ``(1) Acknowledgment.--The term `acknowledgment' means 
        acknowledgment by the United States that--
                    ``(A) an Indian group is an Indian tribe; and
                    ``(B) the members of the Indian group are eligible 
                for the programs, services, and benefits (including 
                privileges and immunities) provided by the United 
                States to members of Indian tribes because of the 
                status of those members as Indians.
            ``(2) Indian.--The term `Indian' means a member of an 
        Indian tribe or Indian group.
            ``(3) Indian group.--The term `Indian group' means any 
        Indian band, pueblo, village, or community that is not 
        acknowledged.
            ``(4) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            ``(6) Service population.--The term `service population' 
        means the population of the Tribe eligible to receive the 
        programs, services, and benefits described in section 5(a), as 
determined by the Secretary under section 5(c).
            ``(7) State.--The term `State' means the State of North 
        Carolina.
            ``(8) Tribal roll.--The term `tribal roll' means a list of 
        individuals who have been determined by the Tribe to meet the 
        membership requirements of the Tribe established in the 
        constitution of the Tribe adopted November 11, 2000.
            ``(9) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Lumbee Tribe of 
        North Carolina, located in Robeson County, North Carolina, and 
        adjoining counties in the State.

``SEC. 4. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LUMBEE TRIBE.

    ``(a) Acknowledgment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Tribe is acknowledged.
            ``(2) Applicable law.--All laws (including regulations) of 
        the United States of general applicability to Indians and 
        Indian tribes shall apply to the Tribe and members of the 
        Tribe.
    ``(b) Petition.--Any Indian group located in Robeson County, North 
Carolina (or any adjoining county), the members of which are not 
members of the Tribe as determined by the Secretary under section 5(c), 
may submit to the Secretary a petition in accordance with part 83 of 
title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), for 
acknowledgement.

``SEC. 5. SERVICES.

    ``(a) In General.--Beginning on the date of enactment of this 
section, the Tribe and members of the Tribe are eligible for all 
programs, services, and benefits (including privileges and immunities) 
provided by the Federal Government to Indian tribes and members of 
Indian tribes.
    ``(b) Reservation.--
            ``(1) Programs, services, and benefits.--For the purpose of 
        providing any program, service, or benefit described in 
        subsection (a) to the Tribe or a member of the Tribe, the 
        Tribe, and any member of the Tribe residing in the county of 
        Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, or Scotland in the State, shall be 
        considered to be residing on or near an Indian reservation.
            ``(2) Federal law.--Beginning on the date of enactment of 
        this section, Robeson County, North Carolina, shall be 
        considered to be the reservation of the Tribe for the purpose 
        of any Federal law applicable to the Tribe.
            ``(3) No effect on fee ownership.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects the ownership status of any fee land within 
        the State, or the status of any right or easement in the State, 
        in existence as of the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(c) Determination of Service Population.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) using the tribal roll in existence as of the 
                date of enactment of this section, verify the 
                population of the Tribe; and
                    ``(B) determine the population of the Tribe 
                eligible to receive the programs, services, and 
                benefits described in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Verification.--The Secretary shall base a 
        verification under paragraph (1)(A) only on a confirmation of 
        compliance of members of the Tribe with membership criteria 
        established in the constitution of the Tribe adopted November 
        11, 2000.
    ``(d) Needs of Tribe.--
            ``(1) In general.--On determination of the service 
        population, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services shall develop, in consultation with the Tribe--
                    ``(A) a determination of the needs of the Tribe; 
                and
                    ``(B) a recommended budget required to serve the 
                Tribe.
            ``(2) Submission of budget request.--For each fiscal year 
        after determination of the service population, the Secretary or 
        the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, 
        shall submit to the President a recommended budget for 
        programs, services, and benefits provided by the United States 
        to members of the Tribe because of the status of those members 
        as Indians (including funding recommendations for the Tribe 
        that are based on the determination and budget described in 
        paragraph (1)) for inclusion in the annual budget submitted by 
        the President to Congress in accordance with section 1108 of 
        title 31, United States Code.

``SEC. 6. JURISDICTION.

    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the State 
shall exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses that are 
committed on, and all civil actions that arise on, land located in the 
State that is owned by, or held in trust by the United States for the 
benefit of, the Tribe or any member of the Tribe.
    ``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--
            ``(1) In general.--After consultation with the Attorney 
        General, the Secretary may accept, on behalf of the United 
        States, any transfer by the State to the United States of all 
        or any portion of the jurisdiction of the State described in 
        subsection (a).
            ``(2) Agreement.--A transfer of jurisdiction under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall be subject to an agreement entered into 
                by the Tribe and the State relating to the transfer; 
                and
                    ``(B) shall not take effect until at least 2 years 
                after the date on which the agreement is entered into.
    ``(c) No Effect on Indian Child Welfare Act Agreements.--Nothing in 
this section affects the application of section 109 of the Indian Child 
Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).

``SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this Act.''.
                                 <all>