110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 333
To provide for the acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North
Carolina, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 18, 2007
Mrs. DOLE (for herself, Mr. BURR, Mr. INOUYE, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Indian Affairs
A BILL
To provide for the acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North
Carolina, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Lumbee Recognition Act'.
SEC. 2. PREAMBLE.
The preamble to the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended--
(1) by striking `and' at the end of each clause;
(2) by striking `: Now, therefore,' at the end of the last clause and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
`Whereas the Lumbee Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina
are descendants of coastal North Carolina Indian tribes, principally Cheraw,
and have remained a distinct Indian community since the time of contact
with white settlers;
`Whereas since 1885 the State of North Carolina has recognized the Lumbee
Indians as an Indian tribe;
`Whereas in 1956 the Congress of the United States acknowledged the Lumbee
Indians as an Indian tribe, but withheld from the Lumbee Tribe the benefits,
privileges and immunities to which the Tribe and its members otherwise would
have been entitled by virtue of the Tribe's status as a federally recognized
Indian tribe; and
`Whereas the Congress finds that the Lumbee Indians should now be entitled
to full Federal recognition of their status as an Indian tribe and that
the benefits, privileges and immunities that accompany such status should
be accorded to the Lumbee Tribe: Now, therefore,'.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended--
(1) by striking the last sentence of the first section; and
(2) by striking section 2 and inserting the following:
`SEC. 2. RECOGNITION.
`(a) In General- Federal recognition is extended to the Lumbee Tribe of
North Carolina. All laws and regulations of the United States of general
application to Indians and Indian tribes shall apply to the Lumbee Tribe
of North Carolina and its members.
`(b) Petition- Notwithstanding the first section, any group of Indians in
Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, whose members are not enrolled
in the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as determined under section 3(c),
may petition under part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or
any successor regulation) for acknowledgment of tribal existence.
`SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.
`(1) SERVICES AND BENEFITS- The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its
members shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided to Indians
because of their status as members of a federally recognized Indian tribe.
`(2) RESIDENCE ON OR NEAR RESERVATION- For the purposes of the delivery
of such services, members of the Tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland,
Hoke, and Scotland counties in North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing
on or near an Indian reservation.
`(b) Determination of Needs and Budget-
`(1) IN GENERAL- On verification by the Secretary of the Interior of a
tribal roll under subsection (c), the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall develop, in consultation
with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a determination of needs and
budget to provide the services to which members of the Tribe are eligible.
`(2) INCLUSION IN BUDGET REQUEST- The Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall each submit a written statement
of those needs and a budget with the first budget request submitted to
Congress after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified.
`(1) IN GENERAL- For purposes of the delivery of Federal services, the
tribal roll in effect on the date of enactment of this section shall,
subject to verification by the Secretary of the Interior, define the service
population of the Tribe.
`(2) VERIFICATION- The Secretary's verification shall be limited to confirming
compliance with the membership criteria set out in the Tribe's constitution
adopted on November 11, 2000, which verification shall be completed not
less than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section.
`SEC. 4. FEE LAND.
`Fee land that the Tribe seeks to convey to the United States to be held
in trust shall be treated by the Secretary of the Interior as on-reservation
trust acquisitions under part 151 of title 25 Code of Federal Regulations
(or any successor regulation) if the land is located within Robeson County,
North Carolina.
`SEC. 5. STATE JURISDICTION.
`(a) In General- The State of North Carolina shall exercise jurisdiction
over--
`(1) all criminal offenses that are committed on; and
`(2) all civil actions that arise on;
land located within the state of North Carolina that is owned by, or held
in trust by the United States for, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or
any dependent Indian community of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of the Interior may accept on behalf of
the United States, after consulting with the Attorney General of the United
States, any transfer by the State of North Carolina to the United States
of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina described
in paragraph (1) under an agreement between the Lumbee Tribe and the State
of North Carolina.
`(2) EFFECTIVE DATE- A transfer of jurisdiction under paragraph (1) shall
not take effect until 2 years after the effective date of the agreement.
`(c) Effect of Section- This section shall not affect the application of
section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).
`SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
`There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry
out this Act.'.
END
