Congressional Record, Volume 163 Issue 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)

[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4251-H4259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

THOMASINA E. JORDAN INDIAN TRIBES OF VIRGINIA FEDERAL RECOGNITION ACT
OF 2017

Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 984) to extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy
Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division, the
Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian
Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 984

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Thomasina
E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act
of 2017''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act
is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.

TITLE I--CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE

Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Definitions.
Sec. 103. Federal recognition.
Sec. 104. Membership; governing documents.
Sec. 105. Governing body.
Sec. 106. Reservation of the Tribe.
Sec. 107. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE II--CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE--EASTERN DIVISION

Sec. 201. Findings.
Sec. 202. Definitions.
Sec. 203. Federal recognition.
Sec. 204. Membership; governing documents.
Sec. 205. Governing body.
Sec. 206. Reservation of the Tribe.
Sec. 207. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE III--UPPER MATTAPONI TRIBE

Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Definitions.
Sec. 303. Federal recognition.
Sec. 304. Membership; governing documents.
Sec. 305. Governing body.
Sec. 306. Reservation of the Tribe.
Sec. 307. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE IV--RAPPAHANNOCK TRIBE, INC.

Sec. 401. Findings.
Sec. 402. Definitions.
Sec. 403. Federal recognition.
Sec. 404. Membership; governing documents.
Sec. 405. Governing body.
Sec. 406. Reservation of the Tribe.
Sec. 407. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE V--MONACAN INDIAN NATION

Sec. 501. Findings.
Sec. 502. Definitions.
Sec. 503. Federal recognition.
Sec. 504. Membership; governing documents.
Sec. 505. Governing body.
Sec. 506. Reservation of the Tribe.
Sec. 507. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE VI--NANSEMOND INDIAN TRIBE

Sec. 601. Findings.
Sec. 602. Definitions.
Sec. 603. Federal recognition.
Sec. 604. Membership; governing documents.
Sec. 605. Governing body.
Sec. 606. Reservation of the Tribe.
Sec. 607. Hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights.

TITLE VII--EMINENT DOMAIN

Sec. 701. Limitation.

SEC. 2. INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978.

Nothing in this Act affects the application of section 109
of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).

TITLE I--CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore along the
Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was one of
about 30 tribes that received them;
(2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe entered into a
treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of the Jamestown
Colony, under which--
(A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed to provide 2
bushels of corn per man and send warriors to protect the
English; and
(B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to allow the Tribe to
continue to practice its own tribal governance;
(3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the
Chickahominy from their homeland to the area around the York
Mattaponi River in present-day King William County, leading
to the formation of a reservation;
(4) in 1677, following Bacon's Rebellion, the Queen of
Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation on behalf of
the Chickahominy;
(5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from their
reservation, which caused the loss of a land base;
(6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in
Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indians called
Brafferton College;
(7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first Indians to
attend Brafferton College;
(8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to migrate
from King William County back to the area around the
Chickahominy River in New Kent and Charles City Counties;
(9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named Bradby took refuge
with the Chickahominy and took a Chickahominy woman as his
wife;
(10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the modern-day
Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to appear in the Charles City
County census records;
(11) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe formed Samaria
Baptist Church;
(12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were assessed a
tribal tax so that their children could receive an education;
(13) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to build the
first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, and pay a
teacher's salary;
(14) in 1919, C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public Accounts for
Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief O.W. Adkins that he had
instructed the Commissioner of Revenue for Charles City
County to record Chickahominy tribal members on the county
tax rolls as Indian, and not as White or colored;
(15) during the period of 1920 through 1930, various
Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia wrote letters of
introduction for Chickahominy Chiefs who had official
business with Federal agencies in Washington, DC;
(16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins wrote to John
Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, requesting money to
acquire land for the Chickahominy Indian Tribe's use, to
build school, medical, and library facilities and to buy
tractors, implements, and seed;
(17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins, informing him that
Congress had passed the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known
as the ``Indian Reorganization Act'') (25 U.S.C. 461 et
seq.), but had not made the appropriation to fund the Act;
(18) in 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins wrote to John
Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, asking for help in
getting the proper racial designation on Selective Service
records for Chickahominy soldiers;
(19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of the Richmond News-Leader
newspaper of Richmond, Virginia, to help Virginia Indians
obtain proper racial designation on birth records;
(20) Collier stated that his office could not officially
intervene because it had no responsibility for the Virginia
Indians, ``as a matter largely of historical accident'', but
was ``interested in them as descendants of the original
inhabitants of the region'';
(21) in 1948, the Veterans' Education Committee of the
Virginia State Board of Education approved Samaria Indian
School to provide training to veterans;
(22) that school was established and run by the
Chickahominy Indian Tribe;
(23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe purchased and
donated to the Charles City County School Board land to be
used to build a modern school for students of the
Chickahominy and other Virginia Indian tribes;
(24) the Samaria Indian School included students in grades
1 through 8;
(25) in 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate, requested Chickahominy Chief O.O.
Adkins to provide assistance in analyzing the status of the
constitutional rights of Indians ``in your area'';
(26) in 1967, the Charles City County school board closed
Samaria Indian School and converted the school to a
countywide primary school as a step toward full school
integration of Indian and non-Indian students;
(27) in 1972, the Charles City County school board began
receiving funds under the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 458aa et seq.) on behalf
of

[[Page H4252]]

Chickahominy students, which funding is provided as of the
date of enactment of this Act under title V of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
458aaa et seq.);
(28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe bought land and
built a tribal center using monthly pledges from tribal
members to finance the transactions;
(29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was granted
recognition as an Indian tribe by the Commonwealth of
Virginia, along with 5 other Indian tribes; and
(30) in 1985, Governor Gerald Baliles was the special guest
at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day dinner hosted by the
Chickahominy Indian Tribe.

SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 103. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

(a) Federal Recognition.--
(1) In general.--Federal recognition is extended to the
Tribe.
(2) Applicability of laws.--All laws (including
regulations) of the United States of general applicability to
Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians
(including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.))
that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable
to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all
services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to
federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the
existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) Service area.--For the purpose of the delivery of
Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the
Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of New
Kent County, James City County, Charles City County, and
Henrico County, Virginia.

SEC. 104. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

The membership roll and governing documents of the Tribe
shall be the most recent membership roll and governing
documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to the
Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 105. GOVERNING BODY.

The governing body of the Tribe shall be--
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as of the date
of enactment of this Act; or
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in accordance
with the election procedures specified in the governing
documents of the Tribe.

SEC. 106. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

(a) In General.--Upon the request of the Tribe, the
Secretary of the Interior--
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe that was acquired by the Tribe
on or before January 1, 2007, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of New Kent County, James City County,
Charles City County, or Henrico County, Virginia; and
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of New Kent County, James City County,
Charles City County, or Henrico County, Virginia.
(b) Deadline for Determination.--The Secretary shall make a
final written determination not later than three years of the
date which the Tribe submits a request for land to be taken
into trust under subsection (a)(2) and shall immediately make
that determination available to the Tribe.
(c) Reservation Status.--Any land taken into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, upon
request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reservation
of the Tribe.
(d) Gaming.--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. 107. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER
RIGHTS.

Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any
manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water
rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe.

TITLE II--CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE--EASTERN DIVISION

SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore along the
Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was one of
about 30 tribes that received them;
(2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe entered into a
treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of the Jamestown
Colony, under which--
(A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed to provide 2
bushels of corn per man and send warriors to protect the
English; and
(B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to allow the Tribe to
continue to practice its own tribal governance;
(3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the
Chickahominy from their homeland to the area around the York
River in present-day King William County, leading to the
formation of a reservation;
(4) in 1677, following Bacon's Rebellion, the Queen of
Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation on behalf of
the Chickahominy;
(5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from their
reservation, which caused the loss of a land base;
(6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in
Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indians called
Brafferton College;
(7) a Chickahominy child was one of the first Indians to
attend Brafferton College;
(8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to migrate
from King William County back to the area around the
Chickahominy River in New Kent and Charles City Counties;
(9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named Bradby took refuge
with the Chickahominy and took a Chickahominy woman as his
wife;
(10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the modern-day
Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to appear in the Charles City
County census records;
(11) in 1870, a census revealed an enclave of Indians in
New Kent County that is believed to be the beginning of the
Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division;
(12) other records were destroyed when the New Kent County
courthouse was burned, leaving a State census as the only
record covering that period;
(13) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe formed Samaria
Baptist Church;
(14) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were assessed a
tribal tax so that their children could receive an education;
(15) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to build the
first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, and pay a
teacher's salary;
(16) in 1910, a 1-room school covering grades 1 through 8
was established in New Kent County for the Chickahominy
Indian Tribe--Eastern Division;
(17) during the period of 1920 through 1921, the
Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division began forming a
tribal government;
(18) E.P. Bradby, the founder of the Tribe, was elected to
be Chief;
(19) in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church was organized;
(20) in 1925, a certificate of incorporation was issued to
the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division;
(21) in 1950, the 1-room Indian school in New Kent County
was closed and students were bused to Samaria Indian School
in Charles City County;
(22) in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe and the
Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division lost their
schools as a result of the required integration of students;
(23) during the period of 1982 through 1984, Tsena Commocko
Baptist Church built a new sanctuary to accommodate church
growth;
(24) in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern
Division was granted State recognition along with 5 other
Virginia Indian tribes;
(25) in 1985--
(A) the Virginia Council on Indians was organized as a
State agency; and
(B) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division was
granted a seat on the Council;
(26) in 1988, a nonprofit organization known as the
``United Indians of Virginia'' was formed; and
(27) Chief Marvin ``Strongoak'' Bradby of the Eastern Band
of the Chickahominy presently chairs the organization.

SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 203. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

(a) Federal Recognition.--
(1) In general.--Federal recognition is extended to the
Tribe.
(2) Applicability of laws.--All laws (including
regulations) of the United States of general applicability to
Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians
(including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.))
that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable
to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all
future services and benefits provided by the Federal
Government to federally recognized Indian tribes without
regard to the existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) Service area.--For the purpose of the delivery of
Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the
Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of New
Kent County, James City County, Charles City County, and
Henrico County, Virginia.

[[Page H4253]]

SEC. 204. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

SEC. 205. GOVERNING BODY.

SEC. 206. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

SEC. 207. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER
RIGHTS.

Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any
manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water
rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe.

TITLE III--UPPER MATTAPONI TRIBE

SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) during the period of 1607 through 1646, the
Chickahominy Indian Tribes--
(A) lived approximately 20 miles from Jamestown; and
(B) were significantly involved in English-Indian affairs;
(2) Mattaponi Indians, who later joined the Chickahominy
Indians, lived a greater distance from Jamestown;
(3) in 1646, the Chickahominy Indians moved to Mattaponi
River basin, away from the English;
(4) in 1661, the Chickahominy Indians sold land at a place
known as ``the cliffs'' on the Mattaponi River;
(5) in 1669, the Chickahominy Indians--
(A) appeared in the Virginia Colony's census of Indian
bowmen; and
(B) lived in ``New Kent'' County, which included the
Mattaponi River basin at that time;
(6) in 1677, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi Indians were
subjects of the Queen of Pamunkey, who was a signatory to the
Treaty of 1677 with the King of England;
(7) in 1683, after a Mattaponi town was attacked by Seneca
Indians, the Mattaponi Indians took refuge with the
Chickahominy Indians, and the history of the 2 groups was
intertwined for many years thereafter;
(8) in 1695, the Chickahominy and Mattaponi Indians--
(A) were assigned a reservation by the Virginia Colony; and
(B) traded land of the reservation for land at the place
known as ``the cliffs'' (which, as of the date of enactment
of this Act, is the Mattaponi Indian Reservation), which had
been owned by the Mattaponi Indians before 1661;
(9) in 1711, a Chickahominy boy attended the Indian School
at the College of William and Mary;
(10) in 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued funding of
interpreters for the Chickahominy and Mattaponi Indian
Tribes;
(11) James Adams, who served as an interpreter to the
Indian tribes known as of the date of enactment of this Act
as the ``Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe'' and ``Chickahominy
Indian Tribe'', elected to stay with the Upper Mattaponi
Indians;
(12) today, a majority of the Upper Mattaponi Indians have
``Adams'' as their surname;
(13) in 1787, Thomas Jefferson, in Notes on the
Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned the Mattaponi Indians on
a reservation in King William County and said that
Chickahominy Indians were ``blended'' with the Mattaponi
Indians and nearby Pamunkey Indians;
(14) in 1850, the census of the United States revealed a
nucleus of approximately 10 families, all ancestral to modern
Upper Mattaponi Indians, living in central King William
County, Virginia, approximately 10 miles from the
reservation;
(15) during the period of 1853 through 1884, King William
County marriage records listed Upper Mattaponis as
``Indians'' in marrying people residing on the reservation;
(16) during the period of 1884 through the present, county
marriage records usually refer to Upper Mattaponis as
``Indians'';
(17) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist James Mooney heard
about the Upper Mattaponi Indians but did not visit them;
(18) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania anthropologist
Frank Speck published a book on modern Virginia Indians with
a section on the Upper Mattaponis;
(19) from 1929 until 1930, the leadership of the Upper
Mattaponi Indians opposed the use of a ``colored''
designation in the 1930 United States census and won a
compromise in which the Indian ancestry of the Upper
Mattaponis was recorded but questioned;
(20) during the period of 1942 through 1945--
(A) the leadership of the Upper Mattaponi Indians, with the
help of Frank Speck and others, fought against the induction
of young men of the Tribe into ``colored'' units in the Armed
Forces of the United States; and
(B) a tribal roll for the Upper Mattaponi Indians was
compiled;
(21) from 1945 to 1946, negotiations took place to admit
some of the young people of the Upper Mattaponi to high
schools for Federal Indians (especially at Cherokee) because
no high school coursework was available for Indians in
Virginia schools; and
(22) in 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Indians applied for and
won State recognition as an Indian tribe.

SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 303. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

(a) Federal Recognition.--
(1) In general.--Federal recognition is extended to the
Tribe.
(2) Applicability of laws.--All laws (including
regulations) of the United States of general applicability to
Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians
(including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.))
that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable
to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all
services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to
federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the
existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) Service area.--For the purpose of the delivery of
Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the
Tribe shall be considered to be the area within 25 miles of
the Sharon Indian School at 13383 King William Road, King
William County, Virginia.

SEC. 304. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

SEC. 305. GOVERNING BODY.

SEC. 306. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

(a) In General.--Upon the request of the Tribe, the
Secretary of the Interior--
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe that was acquired by the Tribe
on or before January 1, 2007, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of King William County, Caroline
County, Hanover County, King and Queen County, and New Kent
County, Virginia; and
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of King William County, Caroline
County, Hanover County, King and Queen County, and New Kent
County, Virginia.
(b) Deadline for Determination.--The Secretary shall make a
final written determination not later than three years of the
date which the Tribe submits a request for land to be taken
into trust under subsection (a)(2) and shall immediately make
that determination available to the Tribe.
(c) Reservation Status.--Any land taken into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, upon
request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reservation
of the Tribe.
(d) Gaming.--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. 307. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER
RIGHTS.

Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any
manner any hunting, fishing,

[[Page H4254]]

trapping, gathering, or water rights of the Tribe and members
of the Tribe.

TITLE IV--RAPPAHANNOCK TRIBE, INC.

SEC. 401. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) during the initial months after Virginia was settled,
the Rappahannock Indians had 3 encounters with Captain John
Smith;
(2) the first encounter occurred when the Rappahannock
weroance (headman)--
(A) traveled to Quiyocohannock (a principal town across the
James River from Jamestown), where he met with Smith to
determine whether Smith had been the ``great man'' who had
previously sailed into the Rappahannock River, killed a
Rappahannock weroance, and kidnapped Rappahannock people; and
(B) determined that Smith was too short to be that ``great
man'';
(3) on a second meeting, during John Smith's captivity
(December 16, 1607, to January 8, 1608), Smith was taken to
the Rappahannock principal village to show the people that
Smith was not the ``great man'';
(4) a third meeting took place during Smith's exploration
of the Chesapeake Bay (July to September 1608), when, after
the Moraughtacund Indians had stolen 3 women from the
Rappahannock King, Smith was prevailed upon to facilitate a
peaceful truce between the Rappahannock and the Moraughtacund
Indians;
(5) in the settlement, Smith had the 2 Indian tribes meet
on the spot of their first fight;
(6) when it was established that both groups wanted peace,
Smith told the Rappahannock King to select which of the 3
stolen women he wanted;
(7) the Moraughtacund King was given second choice among
the 2 remaining women, and Mosco, a Wighcocomoco (on the
Potomac River) guide, was given the third woman;
(8) in 1645, Captain William Claiborne tried unsuccessfully
to establish treaty relations with the Rappahannocks, as the
Rappahannocks had not participated in the Pamunkey-led
uprising in 1644, and the English wanted to ``treat with the
Rappahannocks or any other Indians not in amity with
Opechancanough, concerning serving the county against the
Pamunkeys'';
(9) in April 1651, the Rappahannocks conveyed a tract of
land to an English settler, Colonel Morre Fauntleroy;
(10) the deed for the conveyance was signed by Accopatough,
weroance of the Rappahannock Indians;
(11) in September 1653, Lancaster County signed a treaty
with Rappahannock Indians, the terms of which treaty--
(A) gave Rappahannocks the rights of Englishmen in the
county court; and
(B) attempted to make the Rappahannocks more accountable
under English law;
(12) in September 1653, Lancaster County defined and marked
the bounds of its Indian settlements;
(13) according to the Lancaster clerk of court, ``the tribe
called the great Rappahannocks lived on the Rappahannock
Creek just across the river above Tappahannock'';
(14) in September 1656, (Old) Rappahannock County (which,
as of the date of enactment of this Act, is comprised of
Richmond and Essex Counties, Virginia) signed a treaty with
Rappahannock Indians that--
(A) mirrored the Lancaster County treaty from 1653; and
(B) stated that--
(i) Rappahannocks were to be rewarded, in Roanoke, for
returning English fugitives; and
(ii) the English encouraged the Rappahannocks to send their
children to live among the English as servants, who the
English promised would be well-treated;
(15) in 1658, the Virginia Assembly revised a 1652 Act
stating that ``there be no grants of land to any Englishman
whatsoever de futuro until the Indians be first served with
the proportion of 50 acres of land for each bowman'';
(16) in 1669, the colony conducted a census of Virginia
Indians;
(17) as of the date of that census--
(A) the majority of the Rappahannocks were residing at
their hunting village on the north side of the Mattaponi
River; and
(B) at the time of the visit, census-takers were counting
only the Indian tribes along the rivers, which explains why
only 30 Rappahannock bowmen were counted on that river;
(18) the Rappahannocks used the hunting village on the
north side of the Mattaponi River as their primary residence
until the Rappahannocks were removed in 1684;
(19) in May 1677, the Treaty of Middle Plantation was
signed with England;
(20) the Pamunkey Queen Cockacoeske signed on behalf of the
Rappahannocks, ``who were supposed to be her tributaries'',
but before the treaty could be ratified, the Queen of
Pamunkey complained to the Virginia Colonial Council ``that
she was having trouble with Rappahannocks and Chickahominies,
supposedly tributaries of hers'';
(21) in November 1682, the Virginia Colonial Council
established a reservation for the Rappahannock Indians of
3,474 acres ``about the town where they dwelt'';
(22) the Rappahannock ``town'' was the hunting village on
the north side of the Mattaponi River, where the
Rappahannocks had lived throughout the 1670s;
(23) the acreage allotment of the reservation was based on
the 1658 Indian land act, which translates into a bowman
population of 70, or an approximate total Rappahannock
population of 350;
(24) in 1683, following raids by Iroquoian warriors on both
Indian and English settlements, the Virginia Colonial Council
ordered the Rappahannocks to leave their reservation and
unite with the Nanzatico Indians at Nanzatico Indian Town,
which was located across and up the Rappahannock River some
30 miles;
(25) between 1687 and 1699, the Rappahannocks migrated out
of Nanzatico, returning to the south side of the Rappahannock
River at Portobacco Indian Town;
(26) in 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieutenant Richard
Covington ``escorted'' the Portobaccos and Rappahannocks out
of Portobacco Indian Town, out of Essex County, and into King
and Queen County where they settled along the ridgeline
between the Rappahannock and Mattaponi Rivers, the site of
their ancient hunting village and 1682 reservation;
(27) during the 1760s, 3 Rappahannock girls were raised on
Thomas Nelson's Bleak Hill Plantation in King William County;
(28) of those girls--
(A) one married a Saunders man;
(B) one married a Johnson man; and
(C) one had 2 children, Edmund and Carter Nelson, fathered
by Thomas Cary Nelson;
(29) in the 19th century, those Saunders, Johnson, and
Nelson families are among the core Rappahannock families from
which the modern Tribe traces its descent;
(30) in 1819 and 1820, Edward Bird, John Bird (and his
wife), Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson, and Carter Spurlock (all
Rappahannock ancestors) were listed on the tax roles of King
and Queen County and taxed at the county poor rate;
(31) Edmund Bird was added to the tax roles in 1821;
(32) those tax records are significant documentation
because the great majority of pre-1864 records for King and
Queen County were destroyed by fire;
(33) beginning in 1819, and continuing through the 1880s,
there was a solid Rappahannock presence in the membership at
Upper Essex Baptist Church;
(34) that was the first instance of conversion to
Christianity by at least some Rappahannock Indians;
(35) while twenty-six identifiable and traceable
Rappahannock surnames appear on the pre-1863 membership list,
and twenty-eight were listed on the 1863 membership roster,
the number of surnames listed had declined to twelve in 1878
and had risen only slightly to fourteen by 1888;
(36) a reason for the decline is that in 1870, a Methodist
circuit rider, Joseph Mastin, secured funds to purchase land
and construct St. Stephens Baptist Church for the
Rappahannocks living nearby in Caroline County;
(37) Mastin referred to the Rappahannocks during the period
of 1850 to 1870 as ``Indians, having a great need for moral
and Christian guidance'';
(38) St. Stephens was the dominant tribal church until the
Rappahannock Indian Baptist Church was established in 1964;
(39) at both churches, the core Rappahannock family names
of Bird, Clarke, Fortune, Johnson, Nelson, Parker, and
Richardson predominate;
(40) during the early 1900s, James Mooney, noted
anthropologist, maintained correspondence with the
Rappahannocks, surveying them and instructing them on how to
formalize their tribal government;
(41) in November 1920, Speck visited the Rappahannocks and
assisted them in organizing the fight for their sovereign
rights;
(42) in 1921, the Rappahannocks were granted a charter from
the Commonwealth of Virginia formalizing their tribal
government;
(43) Speck began a professional relationship with the Tribe
that would last more than 30 years and document Rappahannock
history and traditions as never before;
(44) in April 1921, Rappahannock Chief George Nelson asked
the Governor of Virginia, Westmoreland Davis, to forward a
proclamation to the President of the United States, along
with an appended list of tribal members and a handwritten
copy of the proclamation itself;
(45) the letter concerned Indian freedom of speech and
assembly nationwide;
(46) in 1922, the Rappahannocks established a formal school
at Lloyds, Essex County, Virginia;
(47) prior to establishment of the school, Rappahannock
children were taught by a tribal member in Central Point,
Caroline County, Virginia;
(48) in December 1923, Rappahannock Chief George Nelson
testified before Congress appealing for a $50,000
appropriation to establish an Indian school in Virginia;
(49) in 1930, the Rappahannocks were engaged in an ongoing
dispute with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United
States Census Bureau about their classification in the 1930
Federal census;
(50) in January 1930, Rappahannock Chief Otho S. Nelson
wrote to Leon Truesdell, Chief Statistician of the United
States Census Bureau, asking that the 218 enrolled
Rappahannocks be listed as Indians;
(51) in February 1930, Truesdell replied to Nelson saying
that ``special instructions'' were being given about
classifying Indians;
(52) in April 1930, Nelson wrote to William M. Steuart at
the Census Bureau asking about the enumerators' failure to
classify his

[[Page H4255]]

people as Indians, saying that enumerators had not asked the
question about race when they interviewed his people;
(53) in a followup letter to Truesdell, Nelson reported
that the enumerators were ``flatly denying'' his people's
request to be listed as Indians and that the race question
was completely avoided during interviews;
(54) the Rappahannocks had spoken with Caroline and Essex
County enumerators, and with John M.W. Green at that point,
without success;
(55) Nelson asked Truesdell to list people as Indians if he
sent a list of members;
(56) the matter was settled by William Steuart, who
concluded that the Bureau's rule was that people of Indian
descent could be classified as ``Indian'' only if Indian
``blood'' predominated and ``Indian'' identity was accepted
in the local community;
(57) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau classed all
nonreservation Indians as ``Negro'', and it failed to see why
``an exception should be made'' for the Rappahannocks;
(58) therefore, in 1925, the Indian Rights Association took
on the Rappahannock case to assist the Rappahannocks in
fighting for their recognition and rights as an Indian tribe;
(59) during the Second World War, the Pamunkeys,
Mattaponis, Chickahominies, and Rappahannocks had to fight
the draft boards with respect to their racial identities;
(60) the Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau insisted that
certain Indian draftees be inducted into Negro units;
(61) finally, 3 Rappahannocks were convicted of violating
the Federal draft laws and, after spending time in a Federal
prison, were granted conscientious objector status and served
out the remainder of the war working in military hospitals;
(62) in 1943, Frank Speck noted that there were
approximately 25 communities of Indians left in the Eastern
United States that were entitled to Indian classification,
including the Rappahannocks;
(63) in the 1940s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Statistician, of
the United States Census Bureau, listed 118 members in the
Rappahannock Tribe in the Indian population of Virginia;
(64) on April 25, 1940, the Office of Indian Affairs of the
Department of the Interior included the Rappahannocks on a
list of Indian tribes classified by State and by agency;
(65) in 1948, the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report
included an article by William Harlen Gilbert entitled,
``Surviving Indian Groups of the Eastern United States'',
which included and described the Rappahannock Tribe;
(66) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Rappahannocks
operated a school at Indian Neck;
(67) the State agreed to pay a tribal teacher to teach 10
students bused by King and Queen County to Sharon Indian
School in King William County, Virginia;
(68) in 1965, Rappahannock students entered Marriott High
School (a White public school) by Executive order of the
Governor of Virginia;
(69) in 1972, the Rappahannocks worked with the Coalition
of Eastern Native Americans to fight for Federal recognition;
(70) in 1979, the Coalition established a pottery and
artisans company, operating with other Virginia tribes;
(71) in 1980, the Rappahannocks received funding through
the Administration for Native Americans of the Department of
Health and Human Services to develop an economic program for
the Tribe; and
(72) in 1983, the Rappahannocks received State recognition
as an Indian tribe.

SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) Tribal member.--The term ``tribal member'' means--
(A) an individual who is an enrolled member of the Tribe as
of the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) an individual who has been placed on the membership
rolls of the Tribe in accordance with this title.
(3) Tribe.--
(A) In general.--The term ``Tribe'' means the organization
possessing the legal name Rappahannock Tribe, Inc.
(B) Exclusions.--The term ``Tribe'' does not include any
other Indian tribe, subtribe, band, or splinter group the
members of which represent themselves as Rappahannock
Indians.

SEC. 403. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

(a) Federal Recognition.--
(1) In general.--Federal recognition is extended to the
Tribe.
(2) Applicability of laws.--All laws (including
regulations) of the United States of general applicability to
Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians
(including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.))
that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable
to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all
services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to
federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the
existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) Service area.--For the purpose of the delivery of
Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the
Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of King
and Queen County, Caroline County, Essex County, and King
William County, Virginia.

SEC. 404. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

SEC. 405. GOVERNING BODY.

SEC. 406. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

(a) In General.--Upon the request of the Tribe, the
Secretary of the Interior--
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe that was acquired by the Tribe
on or before January 1, 2007, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of King and Queen County, Stafford
County, Spotsylvania County, Richmond County, Essex County,
and Caroline County, Virginia; and
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of King and Queen County, Richmond
County, Lancaster County, King George County, Essex County,
Caroline County, New Kent County, King William County, and
James City County, Virginia.
(b) Deadline for Determination.--The Secretary shall make a
final written determination not later than three years of the
date which the Tribe submits a request for land to be taken
into trust under subsection (a)(2) and shall immediately make
that determination available to the Tribe.
(c) Reservation Status.--Any land taken into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, upon
request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reservation
of the Tribe.
(d) Gaming.--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. 407. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER
RIGHTS.

Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any
manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water
rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe.

TITLE V--MONACAN INDIAN NATION

SEC. 501. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) in 1677, the Monacan Tribe signed the Treaty of Middle
Plantation between Charles II of England and 12 Indian
``Kings and Chief Men'';
(2) in 1722, in the Treaty of Albany, Governor Spotswood
negotiated to save the Virginia Indians from extinction at
the hands of the Iroquois;
(3) specifically mentioned in the negotiations were the
Monacan tribes of the Totero (Tutelo), Saponi, Ocheneeches
(Occaneechi), Stengenocks, and Meipontskys;
(4) in 1790, the first national census recorded Benjamin
Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors of the present Monacan
community, listed as ``white'' with mulatto children;
(5) in 1782, tax records also began for those families;
(6) in 1850, the United States census recorded 29 families,
mostly large, with Monacan surnames, the members of which are
genealogically related to the present community;
(7) in 1870, a log structure was built at the Bear Mountain
Indian Mission;
(8) in 1908, the structure became an Episcopal Mission and,
as of the date of enactment of this Act, the structure is
listed as a landmark on the National Register of Historic
Places;
(9) in 1920, 304 Amherst Indians were identified in the
United States census;
(10) from 1930 through 1931, numerous letters from Monacans
to the Bureau of the Census resulted from the decision of Dr.
Walter Plecker, former head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics
of the Commonwealth of Virginia, not to allow Indians to
register as Indians for the 1930 census;
(11) the Monacans eventually succeeded in being allowed to
claim their race, albeit with an asterisk attached to a note
from Dr. Plecker stating that there were no Indians in
Virginia;
(12) in 1947, D'Arcy McNickle, a Salish Indian, saw some of
the children at the Amherst Mission and requested that the
Cherokee Agency visit them because they appeared to be
Indian;
(13) that letter was forwarded to the Department of the
Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Chicago, Illinois;
(14) Chief Jarrett Blythe of the Eastern Band of Cherokee
did visit the Mission and wrote that he ``would be willing to
accept these children in the Cherokee school'';
(15) in 1979, a Federal Coalition of Eastern Native
Americans established the entity known as ``Monacan Co-
operative Pottery'' at the Amherst Mission;
(16) some important pieces were produced at Monacan Co-
operative Pottery, including

[[Page H4256]]

a piece that was sold to the Smithsonian Institution;
(17) the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan Consortium, established
in 1981, has since been organized as a nonprofit corporation
that serves as a vehicle to obtain funds for those Indian
tribes from the Department of Labor under Native American
programs;
(18) in 1989, the Monacan Tribe was recognized by the
Commonwealth of Virginia, which enabled the Tribe to apply
for grants and participate in other programs; and
(19) in 1993, the Monacan Tribe received tax-exempt status
as a nonprofit corporation from the Internal Revenue Service.

SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 503. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

(a) Federal Recognition.--
(1) In general.--Federal recognition is extended to the
Tribe.
(2) Applicability of laws.--All laws (including
regulations) of the United States of general applicability to
Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians
(including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.))
that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable
to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all
services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to
federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the
existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) Service area.--For the purpose of the delivery of
Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the
Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of all
land within 25 miles from the center of Amherst, Virginia.

SEC. 504. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

SEC. 505. GOVERNING BODY.

SEC. 506. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

(a) In General.--Upon the request of the Tribe, the
Secretary of the Interior--
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe that was acquired by the Tribe
on or before January 1, 2007, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of Amherst County, Virginia; and
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of Amherst County, Virginia, and those
parcels in Rockbridge County, Virginia (subject to the
consent of the local unit of government), owned by Mr. J.
Poole, described as East 731 Sandbridge (encompassing
approximately 4.74 acres) and East 731 (encompassing
approximately 5.12 acres).
(b) Deadline for Determination.--The Secretary shall make a
final written determination not later than three years of the
date which the Tribe submits a request for land to be taken
into trust under subsection (a)(2) and shall immediately make
that determination available to the Tribe.
(c) Reservation Status.--Any land taken into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, upon
request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reservation
of the Tribe.
(d) Gaming.--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. 507. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER
RIGHTS.

Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any
manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water
rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe.

TITLE VI--NANSEMOND INDIAN TRIBE

SEC. 601. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) from 1607 until 1646, Nansemond Indians--
(A) lived approximately 30 miles from Jamestown; and
(B) were significantly involved in English-Indian affairs;
(2) after 1646, there were 2 sections of Nansemonds in
communication with each other, the Christianized Nansemonds
in Norfolk County, who lived as citizens, and the
traditionalist Nansemonds, who lived further west;
(3) in 1638, according to an entry in a 17th century sermon
book still owned by the Chief's family, a Norfolk County
Englishman married a Nansemond woman;
(4) that man and woman are lineal ancestors of all of
members of the Nansemond Indian tribe alive as of the date of
enactment of this Act, as are some of the traditionalist
Nansemonds;
(5) in 1669, the 2 Nansemond sections appeared in Virginia
Colony's census of Indian bowmen;
(6) in 1677, Nansemond Indians were signatories to the
Treaty of 1677 with the King of England;
(7) in 1700 and 1704, the Nansemonds and other Virginia
Indian tribes were prevented by Virginia Colony from making a
separate peace with the Iroquois;
(8) Virginia represented those Indian tribes in the final
Treaty of Albany, 1722;
(9) in 1711, a Nansemond boy attended the Indian School at
the College of William and Mary;
(10) in 1727, Norfolk County granted William Bass and his
kinsmen the ``Indian privileges'' of clearing swamp land and
bearing arms (which privileges were forbidden to other non-
Whites) because of their Nansemond ancestry, which meant that
Bass and his kinsmen were original inhabitants of that land;
(11) in 1742, Norfolk County issued a certificate of
Nansemond descent to William Bass;
(12) from the 1740s to the 1790s, the traditionalist
section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles west of the
Christianized Nansemonds, was dealing with reservation land;
(13) the last surviving members of that section sold out in
1792 with the permission of the Commonwealth of Virginia;
(14) in 1797, Norfolk County issued a certificate stating
that William Bass was of Indian and English descent, and that
his Indian line of ancestry ran directly back to the early
18th century elder in a traditionalist section of Nansemonds
on the reservation;
(15) in 1833, Virginia enacted a law enabling people of
European and Indian descent to obtain a special certificate
of ancestry;
(16) the law originated from the county in which Nansemonds
lived, and mostly Nansemonds, with a few people from other
counties, took advantage of the new law;
(17) a Methodist mission established around 1850 for
Nansemonds is currently a standard Methodist congregation
with Nansemond members;
(18) in 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist James Mooney--
(A) visited the Nansemonds; and
(B) completed a tribal census that counted 61 households
and was later published;
(19) in 1922, Nansemonds were given a special Indian school
in the segregated school system of Norfolk County;
(20) the school survived only a few years;
(21) in 1928, University of Pennsylvania anthropologist
Frank Speck published a book on modern Virginia Indians that
included a section on the Nansemonds; and
(22) the Nansemonds were organized formally, with elected
officers, in 1984, and later applied for and received State
recognition.

SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 603. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

(a) Federal Recognition.--
(1) In general.--Federal recognition is extended to the
Tribe.
(2) Applicability of laws.--All laws (including
regulations) of the United States of general applicability to
Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians
(including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.))
that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable
to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--On and after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all
services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to
federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the
existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) Service area.--For the purpose of the delivery of
Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the
Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of the
cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk,
Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

SEC. 604. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.

SEC. 605. GOVERNING BODY.

[[Page H4257]]

SEC. 606. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

(a) In General.--Upon the request of the Tribe, the
Secretary of the Interior--
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe that was acquired by the Tribe
on or before January 1, 2007, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of the city of Suffolk, the city of
Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight County, Virginia; and
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any
land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands are located
within the boundaries of the city of Suffolk, the city of
Chesapeake, or Isle of Wight County, Virginia.
(b) Deadline for Determination.--The Secretary shall make a
final written determination not later than three years of the
date which the Tribe submits a request for land to be taken
into trust under subsection (a)(2) and shall immediately make
that determination available to the Tribe.
(c) Reservation Status.--Any land taken into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, upon
request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reservation
of the Tribe.
(d) Gaming.--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. 607. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER
RIGHTS.

Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any
manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water
rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe.

TITLE VII--EMINENT DOMAIN

SEC. 701. LIMITATION.

Eminent domain may not be used to acquire lands in fee or
in trust for an Indian tribe recognized under this Act.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Wittman) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.

General Leave

Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 984, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal
Recognition Act of 2017 will extend Federal recognition to the
Chickahominy Tribe, the Eastern Chickahominy Tribe, the Upper Mattaponi
Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, the Monacan Indian Nation, and the
Nansemond Indian Tribe.
My district, the First Congressional District of Virginia, includes
the historical tribal areas of several of these tribes. The six tribes
are culturally and historically significant to the Commonwealth of
Virginia and to the story of America itself. Ancestors from these
tribes populated coastal Virginia when Captain John Smith settled at
Jamestown in 1607. They were also the first of the American Indian
tribes that entered into peace agreements, actually entered into peace
agreements with the Crown of England because United States, at that
time, was not formally a nation yet. So they were peace-loving even
before the United States came of age.
Also, the connections that these tribes have with the Nation and the
settlement of the Nation are extraordinarily important. If you go back
in time, you know that six of these tribes were part of the Powhatan
Nation. We know famously that Pocahontas was a member of the Powhatan
Nation, and also there in Werowocomoco, there on the shores of the York
River, saved the life of Captain John Smith; so we can see the
significant impact that these tribes have had on the Nation's history
and where we are today.
They are called first-contact tribes because they were the first
tribes to contact the settlers as they came here to America to settle
our land. In Jamestown there, the first connection they had was with
these Virginia tribes. These first-contact tribes, as I have said, are
intertwined with the birth of our Nation over 400 years ago, and they
continue today to preserve a culture and heritage integral to Virginia
and to the Nation. They are very proud of their history, and the tribal
members today do much for our State in many different ways, as well as
for our Nation, and are passionate about making sure that they are
recognized, as other tribes are, in their critical nature to the
government and Nation that we have today.
It is notable that many tribal members have also served our country
bravely as part of the United States military. It is unacceptable that
these tribal members, who selflessly and proudly served under the
American flag during our Nation's conflicts, from the Revolutionary War
to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have not been officially
recognized by the Federal Government.
Congressional recognition is also necessary because the record
requirements by the Bureau of Indian Affairs administration process
unfairly penalizes these Virginia tribes. Tribal records of these
tribes were destroyed during the Civil War when many eastern Virginia
courthouses were destroyed. Additionally, early 20th century Virginia
racial purity laws barred Native Americans from identifying as Indian
on State-issued birth certificates.
It is for these reasons that I am proud to have worked along with
several of my Virginia colleagues in the House and the Senate to
introduce this legislation that has received wide bipartisan support,
including from former and current Virginia Governors who strongly
supported this effort to recognize these tribes.
During the 114th Congress, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and
Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing on Virginia tribal recognition.
Most recently, the committee marked up and reported the Virginia tribal
recognition as part of Chairman Bishop's Tribal Recognition Act in
December. During the legislative hearing, the previous administration's
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs testified that they did not
object to action by Congress to enact the bill, given Congress'
authority under the Constitution to recognize tribes. At the hearing,
members of the committee also expressed bipartisan support for
recognizing these six first-contact Virginia tribes.
Additionally, this legislation previously passed the House in both
the 110th and the 111th Congress. It is clear that there is wide
bipartisan support for this issue across the Commonwealth, across our
Nation, and here in Congress.
Federal recognition would acknowledge and protect historical and
cultural identities of these tribes for the benefit of all Americans.
It would affirm the government-to-government relationship between the
United States and these first-contact Virginia tribes as a matter of
respect out of what they did in working to make this Nation what it is
today and also in helping create opportunities to enhance and protect
the well-being of tribal members.
This legislation will also provide certainty and finality on the
gaming issue for the six Virginia tribes. H.R. 984 clearly prohibits
the tribes from conducting gaming activities under the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act. The Federal Government's failure to recognize the
Virginia tribes is a serious injustice, but it is one that we here
today can correct.
Congress retains the authority to recognize Indian tribes, and I
believe that it is right and just for us to continue to exercise that
authority under the Constitution and recognize these six first-contact
Virginia tribes. These first-contact tribes deserve equity and parity
under the law. It is absolutely long overdue.
I urge your support for H.R. 984.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
We are here today, more than 400 years after the first English
settlers landed in what became Jamestown, Virginia, to finally
establish a government-to-government relationship with the Indian
tribes who greeted those settlers.
The Virginia tribes that are recognized in this bill have treaties
with the King of England that date back to the early 1600s. Their
ancestors were there at Jamestown and facilitated the very founding and
early development of our Nation.
These tribes have been unable to claim their rightful Indian identity
in relation to the Federal Government, due in great part to the
machinations

[[Page H4258]]

of one man, Walter Ashby Plecker, the State registrar for the
Commonwealth in the early 20th century. Plecker, an avowed White
supremacist, ran Virginia's Bureau of Vital Statistics for over 34
years. From 1912 to 1947, Plecker set out to rid the Commonwealth of
any documents that recorded the existence of Indians or Indian tribes
living therein.
He was instrumental in ensuring passage of the Racial Integrity Act
in 1924, making it illegal for individuals to classify themselves or
their newborn children as Indian. But he went even further and spent
decades removing the category of Indian from birth and marriage
records. Although this paper genocide, as it has been termed, attempted
to erase the Virginia Indians from history, the tribal members held
firm to their culture and to their identity.
In 1997, State legislation was passed to help correct the records of
the Virginia Indians. Soon after, the Virginia Indians began their
quest for Federal recognition. Passage of this legislation will finally
put to end their 20-year struggle.
I commend and thank our colleague from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) for
bringing forth this bill. I also want to give special thanks to former
Congressman Jim Moran, who spent several years in this body championing
this legislation and tirelessly working toward its goals.
Mr. Speaker, it is time to finally put this issue to rest and correct
a historical injustice by extending Federal recognition to these six
Virginia tribes. I urge all of my colleagues to join me and support
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McEachin).
Mr. McEACHIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Soto for yielding. I
also want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), my friend
and colleague, for bringing this legislation forward.
I rise, 410 years after the first English settlers landed in what
became Jamestown, Virginia, to finally grant Federal recognition to
some of the Native American tribes who met those early settlers. Today,
with the passage of H.R. 984, we are recognizing the rightful status of
Virginia tribes in our national history.
It is largely a historical accident that the tribes of Virginia are
not recognized. The six tribes have treaties that predate the United
States, but because of the systematic destruction of their records,
they have been denied Federal recognition for the services that come
along with it. We are fixing this injustice today by passing H.R. 984.
Federal recognition will provide what the government has long denied:
legal protections and financial obligations. Federal recognition will
provide financial assistance for the tribes' social services, their
healthcare, their housing needs, educational opportunities, and
repatriation of the remains of their ancestors in a respectful manner.
These opportunities will allow Virginia's tribes to flourish
culturally and economically. These opportunities will lead to a better,
brighter future for the next generation. Federal recognition is an
issue I have cared deeply about since my time in the Virginia General
Assembly. I am proud and humbled to cosponsor this legislation.
We have waited too long, Mr. Speaker, to recognize Virginia tribes. I
urge my colleagues to support passage.
Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Virginia for his
leadership on this very important piece of legislation, important not
only for the Commonwealth of Virginia but for the rights of all
Americans, beginning with the original Americans.
When we talk about the Americas, we sometimes talk as if the Americas
began in the early 17th century, with Jamestown, with Plymouth, and
with the subsequent colonization of the East Coast. But, in fact, there
were millions of Native Americans here long before European
colonization. They had rich culture. They had incredible artistic
expression. They had a way of life. It was disrupted by European
colonization.
As if some genocidal policies of the 18th and 19th century weren't
bad enough in terms of their terrible impact on this population, the
racism my friend from Florida described that went on shamefully in the
Commonwealth of Virginia in the early 20th century deeply compounded
the problem by denying the identity of individuals and communities as
Native American so that the battle for them to have their rights
restored that my good friend, Mr. Wittman, is trying to right today was
made so much more difficult and complex.

{time} 1445

If I destroy your identity papers, I destroy your ability to prove
who you are. That is the dilemma and that is the catch-22 in which we
find ourselves today.
This is a matter of simple justice. This is a matter of Congress
righting a wrong. It is a proud moment to stand shoulder to shoulder,
Republican and Democrat from Virginia, to want to right this wrong. And
I know we are joined by all of our colleagues and former colleagues,
including our friend Jim Moran for his great leadership in this matter.
So I am proud to support the efforts of my colleague. I urge all
Members of the House to support this legislation, and let's turn a page
in history the right way.
Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, it is time to right this wrong injustice and
bring truth back into our history.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to also recognize the leaders of our Virginia tribes
today. Several of those members are with us here in the gallery today
to witness a long overdue action by Congress to formally recognize
those Virginia tribes. Those Virginia tribal leaders have been
tremendous in their resolve and in their support to make sure that we
right this injustice.
I want to thank them for what they have done. They have been tireless
in their support for the things that they have done to make sure that
we all appreciate and understand the great history with these Virginia
tribes.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that those members of the
tribes today, a number are getting smaller and smaller. And this is
really only about making sure we are doing what is right for those
tribes and making sure that they get that formal recognition because of
many injustices that have happened in the past.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 984. And I believe
with the passage out of the House--and I urge my colleagues in the
Senate to do likewise--today will be a very proud day for our Nation in
coming about and recognizing these Virginia first-contact tribes that
has been long overdue.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 984,
the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition
Act and I want to thank my fellow Virginian, Congressman Rob Wittman
for introducing this bill, and the gentleman from Utah, Chairman Bishop
and the gentleman from Arizona, Ranking Member Grijalva, for their
leadership and cooperation in bringing the bill to the floor.
Four hundred ten years ago, the first English settlers founded
Jamestown, Virginia. The founding of Jamestown represented a first step
in the creation of our great Republic, and the success of this colony
is owed to the help of the indigenous people of Virginia.
With this assistance, the Jamestown colony weathered a difficult
first few years in the New World before expanding, with English
colonists pushing further inland. The same Native Americans who had
helped those first settlers were pushed from their land without
compensation. Treaties, many of which precede our own constitution,
were made in an effort to compensate Virginia's Native Americans.
Unfortunately, as history has repeatedly shown, these treaties were not
often honored.
Like many other Native Americans, and many other groups who were not
white, and despite their contributions to the founding of our nation,
Virginia's Indian Tribes were pushed to the fringes of society. They
were deprived of their land, prevented from getting an education, and
denied a role in our society. Virginia's Native Americans were denied
their

[[Page H4259]]

very fundamental human rights and the very freedoms and liberties
enshrined in our Constitution.
This bill will finally grant federal recognition to the Chickahominy
Tribe, the Eastern Chickahominy Tribe, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the
Rappahannock Tribe, the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Tribe.
Federal recognition of Virginia's Indian Tribes will promote tribal
economic development and allow Virginia's tribes to flourish
culturally. Federal recognition, a process that has been ongoing for
these tribes for over 30 years, will lead to a bright future for a
whole new generation of tribe members.
Mr. Speaker, I was a member of the Virginia General Assembly in 1983
when many of these tribes first gained formal recognition from the
Commonwealth of Virginia, and I am proud to be here today supporting
federal recognition for these tribes.
The time has come for this Congress to act, and I therefore urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. McEACHIN. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I spoke during debate on
H.R. 984, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal
Recognition Act of 2017.
I rise, 410 years after the first English settlers landed in what
became Jamestown, Virginia, to finally grant federal recognition to
some of the Native American tribes who met those early settlers.
Today, with passage of H.R. 984, we are recognizing the rightful
status of Virginia's tribes in our national history.
These six tribes have treaties that predate the United States but
because of the systemic destruction of their records, they have been
denied federal recognition and the services that come along with it.
We are fixing this injustice by passing H.R. 984.
Federal recognition will provide what the government has long
denied--legal protections and financial obligations.
Federal recognition will provide financial assistance for the tribes'
social services, health care and housing needs, educational
opportunities, and repatriation of the remains of their ancestors in a
respectful manner. These opportunities will allow Virginia's tribes to
flourish culturally and economically. These opportunities will lead to
a better, brighter future for the next generation.
Federal recognition is an issue I have cared about deeply since my
time in the Virginia General Assembly and I am a proud cosponsor this
legislation.
We have waited too long to recognize Virginia's tribes. I urge my
colleagues to support passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 984.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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