[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 420 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 419
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 420
[Report No. 108-213]
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 (for herself, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bennett, Mr.
Campbell, Mr. Craig, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Inouye, Mr. McCain, Mr.
McConnell, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Smith, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. Lott)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Indian Affairs
November 25, 2003
Reported by Mr. Campbell, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
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,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Lumbee Acknowledgment Act
of 2003''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. LUMBEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254, chapter 375), is
amended to read as follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``This Act may be cited as the `Lumbee Acknowledgment
Act'.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``Congress finds that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) European settlers; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) certain coastal tribes of Indians in
the State, principally the Cheraw Tribe;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) the Lumbee Tribe has remained a distinct
Indian community since European settlers first made contact
with the community;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) the members of the Tribe--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) are naturally and understandably
proud of their heritage; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) seek to establish their social
status and preserve their ancestry;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(6) the State has acknowledged the Lumbee
Indians as an Indian tribe since 1885;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(8)(A) the Tribe is entitled to full Federal
acknowledgment; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) the programs, services, and benefits that
accompany that status should be extended to the Tribe and
members of the Tribe.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``In this Act:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Acknowledgment.--The term `acknowledgment'
means acknowledgment by the United States that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) an Indian group is an Indian tribe;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Indian.--The term `Indian' means a member of
an Indian tribe or Indian group.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Indian group.--The term `Indian group' means
any Indian band, pueblo, village, or community that is not
acknowledged.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the
Secretary of the Interior.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(7) State.--The term `State' means the State of
North Carolina.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(9) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Lumbee
Tribe of North Carolina, located in Robeson County, North
Carolina, and adjoining counties in the State.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 4. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LUMBEE TRIBE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(a) Acknowledgment.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--The Tribe is
acknowledged.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 5. SERVICES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(b) Reservation.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(c) Determination of Service Population.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) using the tribal roll in existence
as of the date of enactment of this section, verify the
population of the Tribe; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) determine the population of the
Tribe eligible to receive the programs, services, and
benefits described in subsection (a).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(d) Needs of Tribe.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) a determination of the needs of the
Tribe; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) a recommended budget required to
serve the Tribe.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 6. JURISDICTION.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Agreement.--A transfer of jurisdiction under
paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) shall be subject to an agreement
entered into by the Tribe and the State relating to the
transfer; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) shall not take effect until at least
2 years after the date on which the agreement is
entered into.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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).</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out this Act.''.</DELETED>
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 ``and'' at the end of each clause;
(2) by striking ``: Now, therefore,'' at the end of the
last clause and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``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 Indian 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--
(1) by striking the last sentence of the first section; and
(2) by striking section 2 and inserting the following:
``SEC. 2. RECOGNITION.
``(a) In General.--Federal recognition is extended to the Lumbee
Tribe 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 North Carolina and its members.
``(b) Petition.--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,
Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation) for
acknowledgment of tribal existence.
``SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Services and benefits.--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 Indian tribe.
``(2) Residence on or near reservation.--For the purposes
of the delivery of such services, 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) Determination of Needs and Budget.--
``(1) In general.--On 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.
``(2) Inclusion in budget request.--The Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
each submit a written statement of those needs and a budget
with the first budget request submitted to Congress after the
fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified.
``(c) Tribal Roll.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of the delivery of Federal
services, the tribal roll in effect on the date of enactment of
this section shall, subject to verification by the Secretary of
the Interior, define the service population of the Tribe.
``(2) Verification.--The Secretary's verification shall be
limited to confirming compliance with the membership criteria
set out in the Tribe's constitution adopted on November 11,
2000, which verification shall be completed not less than 1
year after the date of enactment of this section.
``SEC. 4. FEE LAND.
``Fee land that 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 Code of
Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation) if the land is
located within Robeson County, North Carolina.
``SEC. 5. STATE JURISDICTION.
``(a) In General.--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;
land located within the state of North Carolina that is 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) Transfer.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may 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) under an agreement between the Lumbee Tribe and
the State of North Carolina.
``(2) Effective date.--A transfer of jurisdiction under
paragraph (1) shall not take effect until 2 years after the
effective date of the agreement.
``(c) Effect of Section.--This section shall not affect the
application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25
U.S.C. 1919).
``SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out this Act.''.
Calendar No. 419
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 420
[Report No. 108-213]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North
Carolina, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 25, 2003
Reported with an amendment