[Senate Report 110-409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-409
======================================================================
 
 PROVIDING FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE LUMBEE TRIBE OF NORTH CAROLINA, 
                         AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

                  July 8, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Dorgan, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                         [To accompany H.R. 65]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (H.R. 65) to provide for the recognition of the Lumbee 
Tribe of North Carolina, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of H.R. 65 is to provide for the federal 
recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (as 
designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal 
Acknowledgment at the Department of the Interior), make 
applicable to the group and its members all laws that are 
generally applicable to American Indians and federally-
recognized Indian tribes, and make available all services for 
which such groups are eligible. Further, the bill authorizes 
any group of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties in North 
Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe of 
North Carolina, to submit a petition to the Department of the 
Interior for acknowledgment of tribal existence.

                         Background and History

    The issue of whether to provide federal recognition to the 
Lumbee Indians is a longstanding one. Attempts to obtain 
federal recognition for the group began in 1888. Since that 
time, there have been numerous bills introduced in Congress to 
recognize the group, but none has been passed into law. There 
have also been numerous reports and studies conducted on the 
history of the Lumbee Indians. A history of these bills and 
some of the studies are better described in previous reports of 
the House of Representatives and Senate.\1\ The information in 
this report is primarily derived from previous congressional 
reports, Committee hearing records, and letters submitted by 
interested parties.
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    \1\ See H. Rep. No. 1752, 73d Cong., 2d Sess.; S. Rep. No. 204, 73d 
Cong., 2d Sess.; H. Rep. No. 1654, 84th Cong., 2d. Sess.; S. Rep. No. 
84-2012, 84th Cong., 2d Sess.; S. Rep. No. 100-579, 100th Cong. 2d 
Sess.; H. Rep. No. 102-215, 102d Cong., 1st Sess.; H. Rep. No. 103-290, 
103d Cong., 1st Sess.; S. Rep. No. 108-213, 108th Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 
Rep. No. 109-334, 109th Cong., 2d Sess.; and H. Rep. No. 110-164, 110th 
Cong., 1st Sess.
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    Although the Lumbee Indians have so far failed to gain 
federal recognition, the State of North Carolina has recognized 
the group as an Indian tribe, under various names and for 
varying purposes, since approximately 1885.\2\
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    \2\ The Lumbee Indians have been recognized by the State of North 
Carolina as Croatans, Indians of Robeson County, Cherokee Indians of 
Robeson County, and Lumbee Indians. One of the primary purposes of the 
initial state recognition was to fund a segregated school system 
operated and attended exclusively by children of the Lumbee Indians.
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    Given the history of the Lumbee Indians and the inability 
of the group to utilize the Federal Acknowledgment Process, the 
Committee supports congressional action to extend federal 
recognition to the Lumbee Indians (as designated as petitioner 
number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment at the 
Department of the Interior). Further, the Committee supports 
clarifying that other groups of Indians in Robeson and 
adjoining counties who are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe 
under Section 3(c) of the bill are authorized to utilize the 
Federal Acknowledgment Process.

                  HISTORY OF RECOGNIZING INDIAN TRIBES

    The recognition of an Indian group as a federally 
recognized Indian tribe is an important action. It is an 
affirmation by the United States of a tribe's right to self-
government and the existence of a formal government-to-
government relationship with the tribe. Once a tribe is 
federally recognized, it has access to federal benefits and 
programs, and incurs a responsibility to its members as the 
primary governing body of the community.
    Before Congress ended the practice of treaty-making with 
Indian tribes in 1871, treaties were the usual manner of 
recognizing a government-to-government relationship between the 
United States and an Indian tribe. Since the abolishment of 
treaty-making, the United States has recognized Indian tribes 
by executive order, legislation, and administrative decisions 
by the Executive Branch.
    Additionally, federal courts may clarify the status of an 
Indian group, though in many cases, the courts defer to the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior.
    In order to provide a uniform and consistent process in 
which to recognize an Indian group, the Department of the 
Interior developed an administrative process in 1978 through 
which Indian groups could petition for acknowledgment of a 
government-to-government relationship with the United States. 
The standards for this process are set forth in Title 25 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 83, ``Procedures for 
Establishing That an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian 
Tribe.''
    The regulations establish seven mandatory criteria; each of 
which must be met before a group can achieve status as a 
federally recognized Indian tribe. The criteria are as follows:
    (1) The petitioner has been identified as an American 
Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900;
    (2) A predominant portion of the petitioning group 
comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community 
from historical times until the present;
    (3) The petitioner has maintained political influence or 
authority over its members as an autonomous entity from 
historical times until the present;
    (4) The group must provide a copy of its present governing 
documents and membership criteria;
    (5) The petitioner's membership consists of individuals who 
descend from a historical Indian tribe or tribes, which 
combined and functioned as a single autonomous political 
entity;
    (6) The membership of the petitioning group is composed 
principally of persons who are not members of any acknowledged 
North American Indian tribe; and
    (7) Neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject 
of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or 
forbidden the federal relationship.
    The regulations have essentially remained unchanged since 
1978, with the exception of revisions clarifying the evidence 
needed to support a recognition petition (1994), updated 
guidelines on the process (1997), and a notice regarding BIA's 
internal processing of federal acknowledgment petitions (2000).
    There have been numerous complaints about the process since 
1978, but the primary complaints have been about the high cost 
of gathering documentary evidence to meet the seven criteria 
and the length of time it takes the Department to review a 
petition. Out of hundreds of petitioners that have filed 
petitions under the process, as of January 1, 2008, the 
Department has issued only 41 decisions. Of that number, 16 
petitioners were acknowledged as Indian tribes, and 25 
petitioners were denied acknowledgment.
    Due to the problems associated with the Federal 
Acknowledgment Process, an increasing number of tribal groups 
have asked Congress to recognize or restore their status as 
federally-recognized Indian tribes. Congress retains the 
authority to recognize tribal groups, as Congress did with the 
Loyal Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Graton Rancheria of 
California in 2000 in the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act.\3\ 
According to a report issued by the Congressional Research 
Service in September 2003, Congress has recognized, restored or 
otherwise changed the status of 28 tribal groups since the 
Federal Acknowledgment Process was created in 1978. Extending 
back to 1960, a total of 47 groups have had their tribal status 
clarified by congressional action.
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    \3\ See Pub. L. 106-568 (2000).
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                     HISTORY OF THE LUMBEE INDIANS

    Congress has deliberated on the status of the Lumbee 
Indians for more than a century. Since 1899, numerous bills 
have been introduced in Congress to recognize the Lumbee 
Indians, though none have been enacted into law.\4\
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    \4\ See H.R. 4009, 56th Cong., 1st Sess.; H.R. 19036, 61st Cong., 
2d Sess.; S. 3258, 62d Cong., 1st Sess. [House companion H.R. 20728]; 
H.R. 8083, 68th Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 4595, 72d Cong., 2d Sess.; H.R. 
5365, 73d Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 1632]; H.R. 4656, 84th 
Cong., 1st Sess.; H.R. 5042, 100th Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion 
S. 2672]; H.R. 2335, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 901]; 
H.R. 1426, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. [Senate companion S. 1036]; H.R. 334, 
103d Cong., 1st Sess.; S. 420, 108th Cong., 1st Sess. [House companion 
H.R. 898]; S. 660, 109th Cong., 1st Sess.
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    It appears that one of the reasons that the Lumbees have 
not been recognized yet is uncertainty over the group's 
origins. Unlike many other Indian tribes, the Lumbees cannot 
trace their lineage back to any tribal group that had a treaty 
relationship with the United States. The name ``Lumbee'' comes 
from the Indians themselves and is a recent designation from 
the 1950's based upon the name of the Lumber River, on which 
the Lumbee Indians reside.
    Several reports were issued by the Department of the 
Interior between 1900 and 1935 regarding the origins of the 
Lumbee Indians and their status.\5\ None of these reports 
provide conclusive evidence of Lumbee origins. In fact, the 
reports indicate that the Lumbee Indians, at various times, 
have been considered to be Croatan Indians, Siouan Indians, 
Cherokee Indians, and Cheraw Indians.
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    \5\ See Indian School Supervisor Pierce Report, filed with Senate 
on April 4, 1912; Special Indian Agent McPherson report, Doc. No. 677, 
53d Cong., 2d Sess., prepared in 1914; Report of J.R. Swanton, 
Smithsonian Institution, at request of Bureau of Indian Affairs and 
submitted to Congress in 1933; and Fred A. Baker Report on the Siouan 
Tribe of Indians of Robeson County, July 9, 1935.
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    In 1885, the Lumbees were believed to be descendants of the 
lost Raleigh colony and were designated as Croatan Indians.\6\ 
In a 1934 report by the Department of the Interior to the 
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs the Lumbee were described 
as:
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    \6\ Report of J.R. Swanton, Smithsonian Institution, at request of 
Bureau of Indian Affairs and submitted to Congress in 1933 and included 
within S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Sess.

          . . . a people who combine in themselves the blood of 
        the wasted native tribes, the early colonists or forest 
        rovers, the runaway slaves or other Negroes, and 
        probably also of stray seamen of the Latin races from 
        coasting vessels in the West Indian or Brazilian 
        trade.\7\
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    \7\ See S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Sess.

    In 1955, the leader of the Lumbee Indians testified before 
the House of Representatives that the Indians of Robeson County 
were an ``admixture of seven different tribes of Indians, 
including the Cherokee, Tuscarora, Hatteras, Pamli and 
Croatan.'' \8\
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    \8\ See Statement of Reverend D.F. Lowery of Pembroke, North 
Carolina before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs, United States House of Representatives, 
Hearing on H.R. 4656 Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, 
July 22, 1955.
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    A report conducted in 1934 by J.R. Swanton, a well-
respected specialist on southeastern Indians with the 
Smithsonian Institution, is considered to be the most reliable 
report on the origins of the Lumbee Indians. His report 
entitled the ``Probable Identity Of The `Croatan' Indians'' 
concludes that the Croatan Indians [now called the Lumbee] are 
likely descendants from the Cheraw and other related tribes. 
Mr. Swanton also concluded that the Cheraw Indians were ``very 
probably of Siouan stock.'' At that time, the Secretary of the 
Interior adopted the view of Mr. Swanton, but opposed providing 
the Lumbee with any federal wardship or any other governmental 
rights or benefits.\9\
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    \9\ See S. Rep. No. 204, 73d Cong., 2d Session. Recently, staff at 
the Department of the Interior that administer the administrative 
acknowledgment process have expressed some concern about the absence of 
a genealogical connection between the modern day Lumbee Tribe and the 
historic Cheraw Tribe. Representatives of the Lumbee Tribe acknowledge 
the lack of a genealogical connection, but state that this is due to a 
lack of recording the births and deaths of tribal members by the 
dominant society in the early 1700's. The Lumbee Tribe does state that 
it can connect modern day members to the Lumbee community located at 
Drowning Creek, the known home of the Cheraw Tribe, as far back as 
1790.
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    The uncertainty of the origins of the Lumbee has led the 
Department of the Interior to consistently oppose federal 
recognition of the Lumbee Indians as a tribe. The Department 
has historically stated that the United States has never 
entered into treaty relations with the Lumbee, the federal 
government is in no way indebted to the Lumbee, and that claims 
for assistance by the Lumbee Indians have no merit other than 
that which would attach to other needy citizens.
    When Congress previously considered bills to recognize the 
Lumbee, the Department consistently requested that any 
recognition not be construed as conferring a federal wardship 
or any other governmental rights or benefits upon the Lumbee 
Indians. Such was the case in 1956, when Congress finally 
passed legislation designating the Indians of Robeson and 
adjoining counties in North Carolina as Lumbee Indians.
    Between 1913 and 1953, the State of North Carolina 
recognized the Indians of Robeson County as Cherokee Indians. 
In 1951, the County Commissioners held a referendum at which 
the choice of a name for the Indians of Robeson and adjoining 
counties was determined. The result of this referendum was 
2,169 votes for ``Lumbee Indians of North Carolina'' and 35 
votes to remain ``Cherokee Indians of Robeson County.'' \10\ As 
a result of the referendum, the State of North Carolina 
modified its recognition of the Indians in 1953 and recognized 
them as Lumbee Indians.\11\
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    \10\ See Statement of Reverend D.F. Lowery of Pembroke, North 
Carolina before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs, United States House of Representatives, 
Hearing on H.R. 4656 Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, 
July 22, 1955.
    \11\ See North Carolina General Assembly 1953, chap. 874.
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    Thereafter, the Lumbee Indians went to Congress seeking 
passage of a bill similar to that passed by the State of North 
Carolina. A bill was introduced and passed by the House of 
Representatives, which designated the Indians of Robeson County 
as Lumbee Indians.\12\
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    \12\ See H.R. 4656, 84th Cong., 2d Sess.
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    During consideration of the bill in the House, the purpose 
of the bill was thoroughly discussed between Members of 
Congress and representatives of the Lumbee during a hearing:

        Mr. Aspinall. The next question would be: What benefit 
        would they [the Lumbee Indians] expect to get from 
        this? Just purely the name ``Lumbee Indian Tribe'' does 
        not appear to me to give too much importance to it, 
        unless they expect to get some recognition later on as 
        members of some authorized tribe, and then come before 
        Congress asking for the benefits that naturally go to 
        recognized tribes.
        Mr. Carlyle. No one has ever mentioned to me any 
        interest in that, that they had any interest in 
        becoming a part of a reservation or asking the Federal 
        Government for anything. Their purpose in this 
        legislation is to have a name that they think is 
        appropriate to their group. I do not know that they 
        refer to themselves as a tribe. They are citizens who 
        belong to the Indian race and they were interested in 
        having a name that would have, they think, some 
        significance.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          Mr. Carlyle. Now let me direct your attention to this 
        subject: What is the main purpose that the Indians of 
        Robeson County have in asking that their names be 
        designated as Lumbee Indians of North Carolina?
          Reverend Lowery. Since the Indians of Robeson County 
        are mixed, an admixture of seven different tribes of 
        Indians, including the Cherokee, Tuscarora, Hatteras, 
        Pamli and Croatan--about seven different tribes were 
        mixed with them and intermarried with the first 
        colonies.
          Among these Indians were found 42 names on the roster 
        of White's Colony sent over by Walter Raleigh. They 
        were killed.
          Later on the Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Indians 
        in the West, resented that. They introduced a bill at 
        Raleigh to name us ``Cherokee Indians of North 
        Carolina'' and the senator from Cherokee County wired 
        up there and they sent a delegation down there to 
        object to it. Then they had to change the bill and 
        designate us as ``Cherokee Indians of Robeson County'' 
        so when our boys go off to college, prior to this, they 
        would say to them,
          ``What nationality are you?''
          ``I am an Indian.''
          ``Where are you from? What tribe are you from?''
          ``Cherokee.''
          ``I have a cousin teaching at the Government School 
        up there, Mary Butler. How do you like her?''
          ``I never heard of her.''
          ``How do you like the president of the school?''
          ``Never heard of him.''
          ``You said you were a Cherokee Indian.''
          ``Yes, but I am not from up there. I am from Robeson 
        County.''
          ``Oh, I didn't know there was any Cherokee Indian in 
        Robeson County.''
          So that boy or girl was embarrassed. We go off to the 
        various states and are embarrassed. While we were 
        Cherokee Indians, after we told them we're Cherokees 
        and then they told them about the teachers and the 
        school, and they did not know anything about them, they 
        did not believe anything they said.
          If we get the name ``Lumbee'' we can go to any school 
        in the United States and tell them we are Lumbee 
        Indians. We can pick up the Act of the Legislature and 
        pick up the bill and read that the Lumbee Indians are 
        descendants of the seven tribes of Indians that settled 
        on the Lumber River, and are Lumbee Indians just like 
        the Hatteras and Mississippi Indians. Then they would 
        have no trouble telling the people, ``We are Lumbee 
        Indians.''
          They could look us up and find we are in the law; in 
        the books at Raleigh, and therefore we are honest in 
        their sight. That is No. 1.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          Mr. Aspinall. Do you or any members of your 
        organization anticipate that after you might receive 
        this designation you would come to Congress and ask for 
        any of the benefits that otherwise go to Indian Tribes?
          Reverend Lowery. No, sir. We would leave the county 
        before we would come under a reservation or anything 
        like wards of the government. We are citizens and 
        always have been citizens. We would leave before we 
        would come on this reservation.\13\
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    \13\ Hearing on H.R. 4656 Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North 
Carolina, Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, Committee on Natural 
Resources, House of Representatives, July 22, 1955.

    The transcript of the hearing record makes clear that the 
Lumbee Indians were not expecting to receive any federal 
benefits or privileges as a result of the 1956 law. 
Nonetheless, the Department of the Interior objected to the 
bill because the United States has no treaty or other 
obligation to provide services to these Indians. Because of 
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this, the Secretary of the Interior stated:

          We are therefore unable to recommend that the 
        Congress take any action which might ultimately result 
        in the imposition of additional obligations on the 
        Federal Government or in placing additional persons of 
        Indian blood under the jurisdiction of this Department.
          The persons who constitute this group of Indians have 
        been recognized and designated as Indians by the State 
        legislature. If they are not completely satisfied with 
        such recognition, they, as citizens of the State, may 
        petition the legislature to amend or otherwise to 
        change that recognition. Except for the possibility of 
        becoming entitled to Federal services as Indians, the 
        position of this group of Indians would not be enhanced 
        by enactment of this bill.\14\
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    \14\ S. Rep. No. 2012, 84th Cong., 2d Sess.

    Ultimately, the Congress amended the bill as requested by 
the Department of the Interior by including the following 
language: ``Nothing in this Act shall make such Indians 
eligible for any services performed by the United States for 
Indians because of their status as Indians, and none of the 
statutes of the United States which affect Indians because of 
their status as Indians shall be applicable to the Lumbee 
Indians.'' \15\ Thus, the Indians of Robeson and adjoining 
counties were designated as Lumbee Indians, but not granted any 
eligibility for services or benefits.
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    \15\ See Pub. L. 570, Act of June 7, 1956, 70 Stat. 254.
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    The Department of the Interior has interpreted the 1956 law 
as preventing the Lumbee Indians from utilizing the Federal 
Acknowledgment Process to become a federally-recognized Indian 
tribe. In 1989, the Solicitor for the Department of the 
Interior concluded that the 1956 law forbids a government-to-
government relationship with the Lumbee Indians.\16\ One of the 
seven requirements of the Department's administrative process 
for federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe is that neither 
the group nor its members be the subject of congressional 
legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the 
Federal relationship. Thus, the Lumbee Indians, unlike most 
Indian groups, cannot pursue the normal administrative process 
to obtain federal recognition.
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    \16\ See Memorandum to Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, U.S. 
Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor [BIA-IA-0929] 
(1989) in H.R. Rep. No. 102-215 (1991).
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    The Department of the Interior has recognized the 
consequences of its 1989 Solicitor's opinion. However, rather 
than directly recognize the Lumbee Indians as a tribe the 
Department would prefer that Congress amend the 1956 law to 
allow the Lumbee Indians to pursue the Department's 
administrative process.\17\ Representatives of the Lumbee 
Indians testified that requiring them to do so would delay 
their recognition by at least another ten years.
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    \17\ See Testimony of R. Lee Fleming, Director, Office of Federal 
Acknowledgment, Department of the Interior, before the Committee on 
Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, July 12, 2006.
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    The Committee is sympathetic to the plight of the Lumbee 
Indians. Although there appears to be no conclusive evidence of 
a relationship between the Lumbee Indians and one historic 
tribe, there is ample evidence that individual Lumbees are 
Indians. The various reports submitted to Congress and 
testimony provided to the Committee during the last one hundred 
years all recognize the Lumbees as Indians. The 1956 law passed 
by Congress also recognizes the Lumbees as Indians. H.R. 65 
would extend federal recognition to the Lumbee Indians as an 
Indian tribe.
    This recognition would be consistent with the longstanding 
recognition of the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe by the 
State of North Carolina. In 1885, the State of North Carolina 
recognized the Lumbee Indians (then designated as Croatan 
Indians) as an Indian tribe and established a separate school 
system for their children, one that the Lumbee tribe itself 
ran. Enrollment in the school was restricted to Lumbee children 
who could demonstrate Lumbee descent four generations back, or 
into the 1770's. The State of North Carolina established the 
Indian Normal School in 1888 to train Lumbee teachers for the 
Tribe's school system. The Indian Normal School has been in 
continuous operation since that time and is today the 
University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
    In addition to the school system, there is ample evidence 
that the Lumbee Indians have had a strong community for more 
than the past one hundred years. There are between 53,000-
75,000 Lumbee Indians today. There are two criteria for 
membership as a Lumbee. First, a person must prove descent from 
an ancestor on the base roll, which was developed using school 
and church records and the 1900 and 1910 federal census. 
Second, a person must maintain contact with the Lumbee 
community.\18\ If a person cannot identify an ancestor, the 
person's ancestry is considered by an Elders' Review 
Committee.\19\
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    \18\ Testimony of James Ernest Goins, Chairman, Lumbee Tribe of 
North Carolina, before the Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, 
July 12, 2006.
    \19\ Testimony of Dr. Jack Campisi, Anthropologist and Consultant 
for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, before the Committee on Natural 
Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, April 18, 2007.
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    The Lumbees continue to maintain a strong tribal community 
and live in communities that are nearly exclusively Lumbee. In 
2006, the Committee heard expert testimony revealing that 
sixty-four percent of the Lumbee members live within fifteen 
miles of Pembroke, North Carolina, where the original Lumbee 
school system was established.\20\ Additionally, the Committee 
was informed that seventy percent of Lumbee marriages are 
between tribal members. This information shows a remarkable 
rate of social cohesion within the tribal community.
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    \20\ Testimony of Dr. Jack Campisi, Anthropologist and Consultant 
for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina before the Committee on Indian 
Affairs, U.S. Senate, July 12, 2006.
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    The Lumbees have a longstanding history of functioning like 
an Indian tribe and being recognized as such by State and local 
authorities. Since 1885, the Lumbees have maintained an active 
political relationship with the State of North Carolina. For 
nearly 100 years, the Lumbees operated their own school system, 
established by the State. In defense of their schools, the 
Lumbee tribal leaders lobbied the State of North Carolina to 
set aside a 1913 Attorney General's opinion that held that the 
Robeson County Board of Education could overrule the tribal 
leader's decisions about enrollment in the Lumbee schools. In 
1921, the State legislature confirmed the Lumbees' authority to 
decide enrollment in its schools.\21\
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    \21\ Testimony of James Ernest Goins, Chairman, Lumbee Tribe of 
North Carolina, before the Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, 
July 12, 2006.
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    Religion and culture have also remained strong in the 
Lumbee community, and often Churches operate in a semi-
government fashion. There are more than 130 all-Indian churches 
among the Lumbees in Robeson County. Historically, leadership 
of the Lumbees arose out of the Lumbee churches. Most recently, 
the church leaders directed the effort to adopt a formal tribal 
constitution. Following a church-organized constitutional 
assembly, the Lumbees adopted its constitution in a special 
referendum in 2001.\22\
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    \22\ Testimony of James Ernest Goins, Chairman, Lumbee Tribe of 
North Carolina, before the Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, 
July 12, 2006.
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    The Committee has received letters and testimony from other 
Indian groups and Indian tribes opposing federal recognition of 
the Lumbee Indians as a tribe. The main concerns expressed are 
the lack of a conclusive lineage to one historical Indian 
tribe, the large membership of the Lumbee, the cost associated 
with providing federal services and benefits to the Lumbee 
tribe, and the impact recognition of the Lumbee Tribe may have 
on other groups of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties.
    The Lumbee represent the largest non-federally recognized 
tribe in the country. The Lumbee Indians have never had a 
reservation or received services from the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs or the Indian Health Service, though they are eligible 
for and do receive funds from other federal Indian programs 
because of their recognition by the State of North Carolina. 
The Lumbee Tribe receives approximately $11 million in federal 
funding for housing programs through the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development. As noted in the report provided to the 
Committee by the Congressional Budget Office, making the Lumbee 
Tribe eligible for federal services will result in a 
substantial budgetary impact on all the administrative agencies 
that provide programs and services for Indian tribes. However, 
the cost of providing justice to the Lumbee Indians is not so 
high that it should prevent justice from being done.
    Additionally, other local Indian groups that identify with 
the historic Tuscarora Tribe located in North Carolina have 
expressed concern that they not be deemed Lumbee, either for 
purposes of this recognition bill or for being subject to the 
provisions of the 1956 law. It is not the Committee's intent to 
deem Indians who are not historically Lumbee Indians as such. 
H.R. 65 is intended to extend federal recognition to the Lumbee 
Indians as an Indian tribe and allow other Indians in Robeson 
and adjoining counties to utilize the Federal Acknowledgment 
Process at the Department of the Interior. Thus, those Indians 
who are of Tuscarora descent should be able to pursue 
recognition through the administrative process.

                      Summary of Major Provisions

    H.R. 65 amends Pub. L. 84-570, the 1956 Lumbee Act, to 
extend federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina and to apply to the Tribe all Federal laws of general 
application to Indians and Indian tribes. Further, H.R. 65 
allows any other group of Indians in Robeson or adjoining 
counties to utilize the Federal Acknowledgment Process at the 
Department of the Interior.
    Section 2 of H.R. 65 adds additional findings clauses to 
the preamble of the 1956 Lumbee Act.
    Section 3 amends the 1956 Lumbee Act by striking the 
current Section 2 of the 1956 Lumbee Act, and inserting a new 
Section 2 that will provide federal recognition to the Lumbee 
Tribe of North Carolina (as designated as petitioner number 65 
by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment). Language of this new 
section further provides that any other group of Indians in 
Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, which 
heretofore has been prevented from pursuing petitions pursuant 
to 25 C.F.R. Part 83, will be deemed eligible to have their 
petitions for tribal acknowledgment considered. The Committee 
received testimony at its July 12, 2006, hearing from the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Federal Acknowledgment 
Director, who indicated that six other groups in Robeson and 
adjoining counties in North Carolina, who have petitioned under 
the Federal Acknowledgment Process, have been determined 
ineligible to petition based on the 1989 Solicitor's opinion 
interpreting the 1956 Lumbee Act. In addition, more than 80 
other groups that have contacted the Office of Federal 
Acknowledgment are affected by the 1956 Lumbee Act.
    Section 3 of the bill further amends the 1956 Lumbee Act to 
provide a new Section 3 that provides that the Tribe and its 
members will be eligible for the programs and services that are 
available to other federally recognized tribes. The bill does 
not automatically create an Indian reservation but defines a 
service delivery area within which the Tribe and its members 
will be eligible to receive federal services. The new Section 3 
also provides for verification of the tribal membership roll by 
the Secretary of the Interior for purposes of delivery of 
services. The Committee notes that this verification is not 
intended to authorize the Secretary to independently impose 
eligibility standards for membership. Rather it is simply 
intended to provide the Secretary, in keeping with trust 
responsibilities, with oversight to insure that each enrolled 
member actually appears on the Tribe's membership roll with the 
supporting documentation required by the Tribe. The bill 
requires the Secretary to verify the tribal roll within two 
years after date of enactment of the bill.
    With regard to land, the bill will insert a new Section 4 
into the 1956 Lumbee Act. This new section will provide that 
land within Robeson County, North Carolina, will be eligible to 
be taken into trust by the United States and will be treated as 
on-reservation for purposes of the fee-to-trust process. The 
bill prohibits the Lumbee Tribe from conducting gaming 
activities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
any Federal law or regulations.
    Notwithstanding the taking of land into trust for the 
Tribe, the bill will insert into the 1956 Lumbee Act a new 
Section 5 that provides that the State of North Carolina will 
continue to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction over 
tribal members and any lands that may be acquired in trust for 
the Tribe.\23\ However, the bill allows the State of North 
Carolina, with the agreement of the Lumbee tribe, to transfer 
criminal and civil jurisdiction to the United States after two 
years from the date of enactment of the bill. The bill states 
that nothing in the new Section 5 shall affect the application 
of Section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\ The Committee notes that this provision is a departure from 
long-established Federal Indian policy, which provides generally for 
exclusive Federal and tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction over 
tribal members and tribal lands. However, similar jurisdictional 
provisions have been provided by Federal statute on a case-by-case 
basis for specific Indian reservations or within specific states. See 
e.g. P.L. 83-280, 67 Stat. 589, Aug. 15, 1953. The intent of this 
provision is to maintain the status quo with respect to jurisdiction, 
since the Tribe has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the State 
of North Carolina, and is well represented among elected members of 
local governments where tribal members are geographically concentrated. 
The Committee further notes that this bill makes provision for 
retrocession of that jurisdiction from the State of North Carolina to 
the United States upon agreement between the Tribe and the State of 
North Carolina.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 65 was introduced in the House of Representatives on 
January 4, 2007, by Representative Mike McIntyre (N.C.). The 
bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources in the 
House of Representatives. On April 18, 2007, the Committee on 
Natural Resources held a hearing on H.R. 65. On April 25, 2007, 
the Committee on Natural Resources met and ordered favorably to 
report the bill, with an amendment. On June 7, 2007, the House 
of Representatives passed H.R. 65. by a vote of 256-128.
    H.R. 65 was received in the Senate and referred to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs on June 12, 2007. The Committee 
ordered the bill to be reported favorably, without an 
amendment, on April 24, 2008.

                 Section-by-Section Analysis of H.R. 65


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides the short title of the bill as the 
``Lumbee Recognition Act.''

Section 2. Preamble

    Section 2 adds clauses to the 1956 Act finding that the 
Lumbee Indians are descendants of coastal North Carolina 
Indians; that the State of North Carolina has recognized the 
Lumbees as an Indian tribe since 1885; that Congress 
acknowledged the Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe in 1956 but 
withheld the benefits, privileges and immunities that normally 
extend to Indians because of their status as Indians; and that 
Congress now finds that the Lumbee Indians should be entitled 
to full Federal recognition of their status as an Indian tribe.

Section 3. Federal recognition

    Section 3 amends the 1956 Lumbee Act by striking the 
current Section 2 of the 1956 Lumbee Act, and inserting a new 
Section 2 that will provide federal recognition to the Lumbee 
Tribe of North Carolina (as designated as petitioner number 65 
by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment). Language of this new 
section further provides that any other group of Indians in 
Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, which 
heretofore has been prevented from pursuing petitions pursuant 
to 25 CFR Part 83, will be deemed eligible to have their 
petitions for tribal acknowledgment considered. The Committee 
received testimony at its July 12, 2006, hearing from the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Federal Acknowledgment 
Director, who indicated that six other groups in Robeson and 
adjoining counties in North Carolina, who have petitioned under 
the Federal Acknowledgment Process, have been determined 
ineligible to petition based on the 1989 Solicitor's opinion 
interpreting the 1956 Lumbee Act. In addition, more than 80 
other groups that have contacted the Office of Federal 
Acknowledgment are affected by the 1956 Lumbee Act.
    Section 3 of the bill further amends the 1956 Lumbee Act to 
provide a new Section 3 that provides that the Tribe and its 
members will be eligible for the programs and services that are 
available to other federally recognized tribes. The bill does 
not automatically create an Indian reservation but defines a 
service delivery area within which the Tribe and its members 
will be eligible to receive federal services. The new Section 3 
also provides for verification of the tribal membership roll by 
the Secretary of the Interior for purposes of delivery of 
services. The Committee notes that this verification is not 
intended to authorize the Secretary to independently impose 
eligibility standards for membership. Rather it is simply 
intended to provide the Secretary, in keeping with trust 
responsibilities, with oversight to insure that each enrolled 
member actually appears on the Tribe's membership roll with the 
supporting documentation required by the Tribe. The bill 
requires the Secretary to verify the tribal roll within two 
years after date of enactment of the bill.
    With regard to land, the bill will insert a new Section 4 
into the 1956 Lumbee Act. This new section will provide that 
land within Robeson County, North Carolina, will be eligible to 
be taken into trust by the United States and will be treated as 
on-reservation for purposes of the fee-to-trust process. The 
bill prohibits the Lumbee Tribe from conducting gaming 
activities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 
any Federal law or regulations.
    Notwithstanding the taking of land into trust for the 
Tribe, the bill will insert into the 1956 Lumbee Act a new 
Section 5 that provides that the State of North Carolina will 
continue to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction over 
tribal members and any lands that may be acquired in trust for 
the Tribe.\24\ However, the bill allows the State of North 
Carolina, with the agreement of the Lumbee tribe, to transfer 
criminal and civil jurisdiction to the United States after two 
years from the date of enactment of the bill. The bill states 
that nothing in the new Section 5 shall affect the application 
of Section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\ The Committee notes that this provision is a departure from 
long-established Federal Indian policy, which provides generally for 
exclusive Federal and tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction over 
tribal members and tribal lands. However, similar jurisdictional 
provisions have been provided by Federal statute on a case-by-case 
basis for specific Indian reservations or within specific states. See 
e.g. P.L. 83-280, 67 Stat. 589, Aug. 15, 1953. The intent of this 
provision is to maintain the status quo with respect to jurisdiction, 
since the Tribe has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the State 
of North Carolina, and is well represented among elected members of 
local governments where tribal members are geographically concentrated. 
The Committee further notes that this bill makes provision for 
retrocession of that jurisdiction from the State of North Carolina to 
the United States upon agreement between the Tribe and the State of 
North Carolina.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Vote

    The Committee held a business meeting to consider H.R. 65 
on April 24, 2008. The Committee then voted, by voice vote, to 
report H.R. 65 favorably to the full Senate, without amendment.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The cost estimate for H.R. 65 as calculated by the 
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below:

H.R. 65--Lumbee Recognition Act

    Summary: H.R. 65 would provide federal recognition to the 
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, thereby making that tribe 
eligible to receive funding from various federal programs. CBO 
estimates that implementing this legislation would cost $768 
million over the 2009-2013 period, assuming appropriation of 
the necessary funds. Enacting H.R. 65 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues.
    H.R. 65 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no direct costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 65 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 450 
(community and regional development) and 550 (health).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      By fiscal year, in millions of
                                                 dollars--
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                   2009    2010    2011    2012    2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Bureau of Indian Affairs
    Estimated Authorization           24      24      25      25      26
     Level......................
    Estimated Outlays...........      17      23      24      24      25
Indian Health Service
    Estimated Authorization          124     128     133     139     144
     Level......................
    Estimated Outlays...........     112     128     133     138     144
Total Changes
    Estimated Authorization          148     152     158     164     170
     Level......................
    Estimated Outlays...........     129     151     157     162     169
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 
65 will be enacted near the start of fiscal year 2009. H.R. 65 
would provide federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina. Such recognition would allow the Lumbee, with a 
membership of about 54,000 people, to receive funding from 
various programs administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS). Based on the average 
expenditures for other Indian tribes, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 65 would cost $768 million over the 2009-2013 
period, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

    BIA provides funding to federally recognized Indian tribes 
for various purposes, including child welfare services, adult 
care, community development, and general assistance. A portion 
of this funding (classified in the BIA budget as Tribal 
Priority Allocations), is awarded solely on the basis of 
population. Based on information from BIA, CBO expects that the 
Lumbee Tribe would receive approximately $6 million per year in 
such funding, assuming a service population of 39,700 members. 
(The service population reflects those members living in the 
tribe's designated service area, where BIA services are 
generally provided.) In addition to the tribal priority 
allocation, the Lumbee would likely receive additional BIA 
funding based on other needs and characteristics of the tribe.
    In total, CBO estimates that providing BIA services would 
cost $113 million over the 2009-2013 period, assuming 
appropriation of the necessary funds. This estimate is based on 
expenditures for other federally recognized tribes located in 
the eastern United States; the Lumbee Tribe may qualify for 
more or fewer services than other tribes in the region.

Indian Health Service

    H.R. 65 also would make members of the Lumbee Tribe 
eligible to receive health benefits from the IHS. Based on 
information from the IHS, CBO estimates that about 56 percent 
of tribal members--or about 31,000 people--would receive 
benefits each year. CBO assumes that the cost to serve those 
individuals would be similar to funding for current 
beneficiaries--about $4,000 per individual in 2008. Assuming 
appropriation of the necessary funds, CBO estimates that IHS 
benefits for the Lumbee Tribe would cost $655 million over the 
2009-2013 period.

Other Federal agencies

    In addition to BIA and IHS funding, certain Indian tribes 
also receive support from other federal programs within the 
Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, 
and Agriculture. Based on their status as a tribe currently 
recognized by the state of North Carolina, the Lumbee are 
already eligible to receive funding from those sources. Thus, 
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 65 would not add to the 
cost of those programs.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 65 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no direct costs on state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Previous CBO estimate:
    On May 2, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 65 
as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources 
on April 25, 2007. The two versions of the legislation are 
nearly identical. Our estimate of spending under the Senate 
version is greater because it takes into account updated 
information on the likely cost of providing IHS services to the 
Lumbee. Specifically, this estimate assumes that the IHS would 
serve 9,000 additional people and reflects an estimated 30 
percent increase in average costs per beneficiary. Other 
differences in our estimates reflect a change in when we assume 
H.R. 65 will be enacted.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Leigh Angres--Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Robert Stewart--Indian Health Service; 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa 
Merrell; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that H.R. 65 will 
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        Executive Communications

    There have been no executive communications received by the 
Committee with regards to this legislation. However, the 
Committee notes that Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary for 
Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior testified 
before the Committee on Natural Resources in the House of 
Representatives on April 18, 2007 regarding H.R. 65. In his 
testimony, Mr. Artman testified that the Department strongly 
supports all groups going through the federal acknowledgment 
process at the Department. Further, Mr. Artman expressed 
concern about the length of time that H.R. 65 provides the 
Secretary of the Interior to verify the tribal roll, and the 
meaning of verification for inclusion on the Lumbee group's 
membership roll. Finally, Mr. Artman raised a concern about 
whether the provision in H.R. 65 that requires the submission 
of an annual budget for programs, services and benefits to the 
Lumbee Indians is in compliance with the United States 
Constitution.

                Additional Views of Senator Tim Johnson

    The ability to federally acknowledge, or terminate, the 
relationship that an American Indian tribe has with the United 
States is the most substantial power Congress has in the area 
of Indian Affairs. Acknowledgment carries with it great 
immunities and privileges, including the sovereign powers to 
exercise criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribal lands, to 
tax and to receive appropriations for federal programs serving 
tribes and other governments.
    In 1978, the Department of the Interior published 
regulations that established an administrative process for 
Federal acknowledgment whereby petitioning groups must meet 
seven mandatory criteria. In brief, the mandatory criteria 
require the petitioner to:
    (1) demonstrate that it has been identified as an American 
Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900;
    (2) show that a predominant portion of the petitioning 
group comprises a distinct community and has existed as a 
community from historical times until the present;
    (3) demonstrate that it has maintained political influence 
or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from 
historical times until the present;
    (4) provide a copy of the group's present governing 
document including its membership criteria;
    (5) demonstrate that its membership consists of individuals 
who descend from an historical Indian tribe or from historical 
Indian tribes that combined and functioned as a single 
autonomous political entity and provide a current membership 
list;
    (6) show that the membership of the petitioning group is 
composed principally of persons who are not members of any 
acknowledged North American Indian tribe; and
    (7) demonstrate that neither the petitioner nor its members 
are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly 
terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\ 25 CFR 83.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Currently, the Lumbee are prohibited from pursuing federal 
acknowledgment through this administrative process due to the 
1956 Lumbee Act.\24\ The Lumbee Act denied eligibility for the 
benefits and services available to Indians in accordance with 
the former Federal Indian policy of termination. The effect of 
the 1956 Lumbee Act was to both acknowledge and effectively 
terminate the Lumbee at the same time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\ See Pub. L. 84-570, Act of June 7, 1956, 70 Stat. 254.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Accordingly, I believe that the proper path for the Lumbee 
acknowledgment is through legislation that would allow the 
Lumbee an expedited review of their petition by the Department 
of the Interior's Office of Federal Acknowledgment. The Office 
of Federal Acknowledgment, and not Congress, is the appropriate 
entity to determine whether this group's recognition is based 
on history, culture and science, rather than politics alone. I 
have, and will continue to support legislation that would allow 
the Lumbee to complete the administrative review process to 
ensure that recognition decisions are based solely on a 
technical review process.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
H.R. 65, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman). Enactment of H.R. 65 would affect 
no changes in existing law except the following amendments to 
the Act of June 7, 1956:

                           Public Law 84-570


        AN ACT Relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina.

    Whereas many Indians now living in Robeson and adjoining 
counties are descendants of that once large and prosperous 
tribe which occupied the lands along the Lumber River at the 
time of the earliest white settlements in that section; [and]
    Whereas at the time of their first contacts with the 
colonists, these Indians were a well-established and 
distinctive people living in European-type houses in settled 
towns and communities, owning slaves and livestock, tilling the 
soil, and practicing many of the arts and crafts of European 
civilization; [and]
    Whereas by reason of tribal legend, coupled with a 
distinctive appearance and manner of speech and the frequent 
recurrence among them of family names such as Oxendine, 
Locklear, Chavis, Drinkwater, Bullard, Lowery, Sampson, and 
others, also found on the roster of the earliest English 
settlements, these Indians may, with considerable show of 
reason, trace their origin to an admixture of colonial blood 
with certain coastal tribes of Indians; [and]
    Whereas these people are naturally and understandably proud 
of their heritage, and desirous of establishing their social 
status and preserving their racial history [Now, therefore,];
    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 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,
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
Indians now residing in Robeson and adjoining counties of North 
Carolina, originally found by the first white settlers on the 
Lumber River in Robeson County, and claiming joint descent from 
remnants of early American colonists and certain tribes of 
Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North 
Carolina, shall, from and after the ratification of this Act, 
be known and designated as Lumbee Indians of North Carolina and 
shall continue to enjoy all rights, privileges, and immunities 
enjoyed by them as citizens of the State of North Carolina and 
of the United States as they enjoyed before the enactment of 
this Act, and shall continue to be subject to all the 
obligations and duties of such citizens under the laws of the 
State of North Carolina and the United States. [Nothing in this 
Act shall make such Indians eligible for any services performed 
by the United States for Indians because of their status as 
Indians, and none of the statutes of the United States which 
affect Indians because of their status as Indians shall be 
applicable to the Lumbee Indians.]
    [SEC. 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this 
Act are hereby repealed.]
    SEC. 2. (a) Federal recognition is hereby extended to the 
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, as designated as petitioner 
number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment. 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) 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 of the Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment 
of tribal existence.
    SEC. 3. (a) 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 tribe. For the purposes of the delivery of 
such services, those 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) Upon 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. The Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
each submit a written statement of such needs and budget to 
Congress after the tribal roll is verified.
    (c) For purposes of the delivery of Federal services, the 
tribal roll in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
section shall, subject to verification by the Secretary of the 
Interior, define the service population of the Tribe. The 
Secretary's verification shall be limited to confirming 
compliance with the membership criteria set out in the Tribe's 
constitution adopted on November 16, 2001, which verification 
shall be completed not less than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this section.
    SEC. 4. (a) Fee lands which 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 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (or a successor regulation) if such lands are 
located within Robeson County, North Carolina.
    (b) 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. 5. (a) 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, lands located 
        within the State of North Carolina that are owned by, 
        or held in trust by the United States for, the Lumbee 
        Tribe of North Carolina, or any dependent Indian 
        community of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
    (b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept 
on behalf of the United States, after consulting with the 
Attorney General of the United States any transfer by the State 
of North Carolina to the United States of any portion of the 
jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina described in 
paragraph (1) pursuant to an agreement between the Lumbee Tribe 
and the State of North Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction 
may not take effect until 2 years after the effective date of 
the agreement.
    (c) The provisions of this subsection shall not affect the 
application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 
1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).
    SEC. 6. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary to carry out this Act.

                                  
