[Senate Report 109-334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 606
109th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 109-334
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LUMBEE RECOGNITION ACT
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September 13, 2006.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. McCain, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 660]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill, S. 660, to provide for the acknowlegment of the Lumbee
Tribe of North Carolina, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon and recommends
that the bill do pass.
Purpose
S. 660 would provide Federal recognition to the Lumbee
Indians of North Carolina and make applicable to the group and
its members all laws that are generally applicable to Indians
and Federally-recognized Indian tribes and make available all
services for which such groups are eligible.
Background
PREVIOUS RECOGNITION ATTEMPTS
The issue of the status of the Lumbee Indians of North
Carolina (the ``Tribe'') comes to the Committee with a
voluminous congressional and administrative record. Beginning
in 1899, numerous bills have been introduced in Congress to
recognize the group.\1\ Hearings were held and reports filed on
several of these bills.\2\ In addition, Congress requested and
obtained substantial reports from the Department of the
Interior on the Lumbees' history and status.\3\
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\1\ See, e.g., 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].
\2\ See Hearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on S.
3258, 62d Cong., 2d Sess., April 4, 1912; Hearing before the Committee
on Indian Affairs, House of Representatives, on S. 3258, Feb. 14, 1913;
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.
\3\ 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 Institute, at request of Bureau of Indian Affairs and
submitted to Congress at the 1933 hearing; and Fred A. Baker Report on
the Siouan Tribe of Indians of Robeson County, July 9, 1935.
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Historically, the Department of the Interior has opposed
Lumbee recognition bills, often on the grounds that recognition
would entail Federal provision of costly services. For example,
in 1890 Commissioner of Indian Affairs Moore recommended that
Congress reject the Tribe's first request for recognition in
1888, advising Congress:
While I regret exceedingly that the provisions made by the
State of North Carolina are entirely inadequate, I find it
quite impractical to render any assistance at this time. The
government is responsible for the education of something like
36,000 Indian children and has provision for less than half
that number. So long as the immediate wards of the government
are so insufficiently provided for, I do not see how I can
consistently render any assistance to the Croatans or any other
civilized tribes.\4\
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\4\ Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as quoted in the O.M. McPherson
Report on Condition and Tribal Rights of the Indians of Robeson and
Adjoining Counties of North Carolina, at p. 40, Doc. No. 677, 53d
Cong., 2d sess. (1914).
While Federal recognition of the group has been elusive,
state recognition has been long-standing, since 1885. The name
of the entity, however, has changed through time, depending
upon the representations of local historians and members of the
legislature regarding the Indian group's history. The State of
North Carolina has recognized the group as Croatan [1885 to
1911], Indians of Robeson County [1911 to 1913], and Cherokee
Indians of Robeson County [1913-1953].
Eventually the group became dissatisfied with its name
under state law. In 1952, the group conducted a referendum on
its name and voted overwhelmingly for the adoption of the name
``Lumbee,'' derived from the Lumber River along which the group
lived in the past and along which many members continue to live
today. The State of North Carolina changed its law to reflect
this name change in 1953. The group has since been recognized
by the State as the Lumbee Tribe.
In 1955, the Lumbees again sought Federal recognition based
on the recently amended state law. Again, the Department of the
Interior opposed the bill, but recommended an amendment that
included language, consistent with the then-prevailing Federal
Indian policy of termination, that declared the group
ineligible for services and not subject to general statutes
governing Indian affairs. This amended bill was enacted by
Congress in 1956 and provided that the Indians inhabiting the
coastal regions of North Carolina ``be known and designated as
Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. * * * ''\5\
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\5\ Pub. L. 84-570, Act of June 7, 1956, 70 Stat. 254.
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In 1988, the Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs
concluded that the 1956 Act was not a recognition act but
instead ``essentially identifie[d] a group of Indians as Lumbee
Indians.'' \6\ In 1989, the Associate Solicitor for Indian
Affairs concluded in a formal opinion that the 1956 Lumbee Act
precluded the Lumbees from participating in the Department of
the Interior's acknowledgment process for Indian tribes and
that Congress would need to amend that Act in order for the
Department to proceed with the recognition process for the
Lumbees.\7\
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\6\ See Memorandum to Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor [BIA-IA-0929]
(1988) in H.R. Rep. No. 102-215, at 24 (1991).
\7\ 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, at 26 (1991).
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The only other Indian tribe placed by Congress in a similar
position is the Tiwa Tribe of Texas. Using the 1956 Lumbee Act
as the model, in 1968 the Congress enacted a statute that
acknowledged the Tiwas--a state recognized tribe--as an Indian
tribe, but precluded the application of general Indian statutes
and the delivery of Federal services to the tribe.\8\ As a
result, the Tiwas were ineligible for the administrative
acknowledgment process. In 1987, Congress enacted legislation
to restore the Tiwas, renamed the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, to the
Federal relationship, Pub. L. 100-89, Act of August 18, 1987,
101 Stat. 667.
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\8\ See H. Rep. No. 1070, 90th Cong., 2d Sess.; 82 Stat. 93.
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HEARING TESTIMONY
At the July 12, 2006, hearing, the Committee received
testimony from several sources indicating that the Lumbee have
existed through history as a tribe. Dr. Jack Campisi, an
anthropologist who provided consulting services to the Lumbee,
testified that the Lumbee could meet each of the mandatory
criteria set forth in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Federal
Acknowledgment Process (FAP). See 25 C.F.R. Sec. 83.7.\9\
Although Congress is not bound by the BIA criteria when making
its own recognition decisions, the Committee notes the
persuasive evidence that has been marshaled in support of
administrative recognition. Dr. Campisi testified to the
continuous existence of Indians along the Lumber River, with
examples of documented presence from 1725 to the present. Dr.
Campisi specified that the Lumbee are descended from the
historic Cheraw and related Siouan-speaking tribes as evidenced
by their historical location on the Lumber River and by the
fact that traditional Cheraw surnames, such as Locklear, Chavis
and Groom, continue to be shared by modern-day Lumbees. He
noted that the Lumbee community remains distinct, as evidenced
both by its geographic concentration in Robeson County and by
the high percentage of group members who are married to other
members of the group.
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\9\ Legislative Hearing on S. 660, ``To provide for the
acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, and for other
purposes,'' Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 109th Cong.
11 (2006) (statement of Dr. Jack Campisi). At the hearing, however, it
was also acknowledged that the group could have difficulty meeting the
last of the mandatory criteria, that ``Neither the petitioner nor its
members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly
terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship.'' 25 C.F.R. 83.7(g).
Dr. Campisi acknowledged that the Department of the Interior Office of
the Solicitor determined in 1989 that the 1956 Lumbee Act forbad the
federal relationship for the purposes of 25 C.F.R. 83.7(g). The
Solicitor did not rule out a future federal relationship, however,
stating that Congress could either amend the 1956 Act to allow the
group to go through the Federal Acknowledgment Process or enact
legislation granting recognition.
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Dr. Campisi also noted that the Lumbee have maintained
political authority as evidenced by the group's control over
its school system and teacher's training college. In 1887, for
example, the State of North Carolina established a separate
state-funded school system for Lumbee children. The Lumbee
managed the school and when, in 1913, the State Attorney
General opined that the county school board could override
tribal decisions regarding eligibility to attend the Lumbee
schools, Lumbee leaders convinced the State Legislature to pass
special legislation setting aside the Attorney General's
opinion. The Indian Normal Schoolestablished by the State in
1888 to train Lumbee teachers for the group's school system has been in
continuous operation and is today the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke. Dr. Campisi also testified that key events in the history of
the Lumbee also corroborate its separate existence as a political
community. For example, during the Civil War, the North Carolina Home
Guard attempted to conscript ancestors of the Lumbee into confederate
service. The Lumbees resisted this effort, resulting in the formation
of a defensive band led by Henry Berry Lowrie. Lowrie was protected by
tribal members and never captured by the Home Guard. According to Dr.
Campisi, Lowrie is a folk hero among the Lumbee and his life is
commemorated today in the annual ``Strike at the Wind'' outdoor drama
held by the group.
Other witnesses testified to the long and difficult path
that the Lumbee have taken in pursuit of federal recognition.
James Goins, Chairman of the Lumbee, and Arlinda Locklear,
counsel for the Lumbee, both testified to the hundred years of
effort that the group has devoted to seeking legislative and
administrative recognition. They and the legislation's
sponsors, Senators Dole and Burr, testified that fundamental
fairness requires legislative recognition.
While the Committee thus has received extensive testimony
that recognition is warranted, it notes one unique factor that
requires attention. The Lumbee represent the largest non-
Federally recognized tribe in the country, with a tribal
enrollment estimated between 53,000-75,000. As noted in the
report provided to the Committee by the Congressional Budget
Office and in testimony from the Eastern Band of Cherokee, who
oppose Lumbee recognition, making the 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. In addition, the Department noted
in testimony at the July 12, 2006, hearing that, given the
number of members, it will need a substantial period of time to
review the membership rolls of the tribe to certify that such
lists include only Lumbee Indians. Other local Indian groups
that identify with the historical Tuscarora Tribe located in
North Carolina have expressed concern that they not be deemed
Lumbee, either for the purposes of this recognition bill or for
being subject to the provisions of the 1956 Act. Establishing
clarity as to Lumbee membership is therefore imperative, both
for the Department of the Interior and for other North Carolina
Indians.
Summary of Major Provisions
The Lumbee Recognition Act, S. 660, amends Pub. L. 84-570,
the 1956 Lumbee Act, to provide 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.
Section 2 adds additional precatory 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. 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 the July 12,
2006, hearing from the BIA's 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.
In addition, more than 80 other groups that have contacted the
Office of Federal Acknowledgment are affected by the 1956
Lumbee Act.
The Committee further notes that section 2 does not restore
the Tribe, but extends Federal recognition. It is the express
intent of the Committee that this bill not bedeemed to be a
restoration act, for purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25
U.S.C. 2701 et seq., or otherwise.
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 merely
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.
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 all administrative purposes. 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, except for
application of Section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of
1978.\10\ 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.
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\10\ 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1919.
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Legislative History
S. 660 was introduced by Senators Dole and Burr on March
17, 2005, and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On
May 24, 2006, Senator Crapo was added as a cosponsor. The
Committee held a hearing on the bill on July 12, 2006.
The Committee ordered the bill to be reported favorably on
August 2, 2006.
Section-by-Section Analysis of S. 660
Section 1 titles the bill the Lumbee Recognition Act.
Section 2 amends the preamble to the Act of June 7, 1956,
by incorporating Congressional findings that the Lumbee Indians
of Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina: (1) are
descendants of North Carolina Indian tribes, mainly Cheraw; (2)
have been recognized by the State of North Carolina since 1885;
(3) are subject to a 1956 Act of Congress that acknowledged the
Lumbee Indians as an Indian tribe but withheld the benefits,
privileges and immunities to which other Federally recognized
tribes are entitled; and (4) are entitled to Federal
recognition as a distinct Indian tribe and to the benefits,
privileges and immunities that accompany such status.
Section 3 amends the 1956 Act by striking the last sentence
of the first section and all of section 2 and inserting the
following provisions to the Act:
A new section 2(a) provides for Federal recognition of the
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and for application to such
tribe of all Federal laws of general application to Indians and
Indian tribes.
A new section 2(b) provides that notwithstanding (a), any
group of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, North
Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Lumbee Tribe
may petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal
Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence.
A new section 3(a) provides that the Lumbee Tribe and its
members shall be eligible for services provided to Indians
because of their status as Indians, and defines the service
area for delivery of those services as Robeson, Cumberland,
Hoke, and Scotland Counties in North Carolina. Subsection (b)
directs the secretaries of the departments of the Interior and
Health and Human Services to conduct a needs assessment and
develop a budget for the services to which members of the Tribe
are eligible, in consultation with the Tribe. Both secretaries
are directed to submit to Congress a written statement of such
needs and budget the first fiscal year following the
verification of a tribal roll under subsection (c). Subsection
(c) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to verify a tribal
roll for the purposes of the delivery of federal services
within one year after the date of enactment.
A new section 4 provides that any request by the tribe to
the Secretary of the Interior for a trust acquisition of land
in Robeson County, North Carolina, shall be treated as an on-
reservation acquisition under governing Federal regulations.
A new section 5(a) provides that the State of North
Carolina shall continue to exercise civil and criminal
jurisdiction over tribal members and any lands that may be
acquired in trust for the tribe. Subsection (b) authorizes the
Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with the Attorney
General of the United States, to accept a transfer of any
portion of jurisdiction from the State pursuant to an agreement
between the Lumbee Tribe and the State.
A new section 6 authorizes such sums as are necessary to
carry out the Act.
Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Vote
The Committee held a business meeting to consider S.660 on
August 2, 2006. At that business meeting, Senator Thomas
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill
as introduced. Senator Thomas's amendment in the nature of a
substitute would enable the Lumbees (and any other group of
Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina) to
go through the administrative Federal Acknowledgment Process in
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, notwithstanding the 1956 Lumbee
Act and, if recognized under the administrative process, to
receive federal services. The amendment would also deem the
documented petition of the Lumbee Indians (Petitioner #65) that
was submitted to the BIA in 1988 to be complete. The Thomas
amendment was defeated in a 6 to 8 rollcall vote, listed below.
Voting no Voting aye
Senator McCain Senator Thomas
Senator Murkowski Senator Coburn
Senator Domenici Senator Dorgan
Senator Smith Senator Conrad
Senator Crapo Senator Johnson
Senator Burr Senator Cantwell
Senator Inouye
Senator Akaka
The Committee then voted, by voice vote, to report S. 660
favorably to the full Senate, without amendment.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The cost estimate for S. 660 as calculated by the
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 11, 2006.
Hon. John McCain,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 660, the Lumbee
Recognition Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel S.
Hoople.
Sincerely,
Donald B. Marron,
Acting Director.
Enclosure.
S. 660--Lumbee Recognition Act
Summary: S. 660 would provide federal recognition to the
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. CBO estimates that implementing
this legislation would cost the Federal Government about $80
million in fiscal year 2007 and $473 million over the 2007-2011
period, assuming the appropriation of the necessary funds.
Enacting S. 660 would have no effect on direct spending or
revenues.
S. 660 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 S. 660 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 450
(community and regional development) and 550 (health).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRlATION
Bureau of Indian Affairs:
Estimated Authorization Level.................................. 22 22 23 23 24
Estimated Outlays.............................................. 15 21 22 23 23
Indian Health Service:
Estimated Authorization Level.................................. 70 72 75 78 81
Estimated Outlays.............................................. 63 72 75 78 81
Total Changes:
Estimated Authorization Level.............................. 92 94 98 101 105
Estimated Outlays.......................................... 78 93 97 101 104
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Basis of estimate: S. 660 would provide federal recognition
to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Such recognition would
allow the Lumbee to receive funding from various programs
administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), including
child welfare services, adult care, family services, general
assistance, and the Indian Health Service (IHS).
Bureau of Indian Affairs
BIA provides funding to federally recognized Indian tribes
based on membership population or acreage of land held in trust
by the federal government. Based on information from the Lumbee
Tribe, there are approximately 39,700 Lumbee currently residing
``on or near the reservation'' as defined by the bill. Assuming
the appropriation of the necessary funds, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 660 would cost approximately $15 million in
2007 and $104 million in BIA funding over the 2007-2011 period.
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 and funding
than other tribes in the region, thus the cost to implement
this bill is uncertain.
Indian Health Service
S. 660 also would make members of the Lumbee Tribe eligible
to receive health benefits from the Indian Health Service.
Based on information from IHS, CBO estimates that about 55
percent of tribal members--or about 22,000 people--would
receive benefits each year. CBO assumes that the cost to serve
those individuals would be similar to funding for current
beneficiaries--about $3,100 per person in 2007. Assuming
appropriation of the necessary funds, CBO estimates that IHS
benefits for the Lumbee Tribe would cost $63 million in 2007
and $369 million over the 2007-2011 period.
Other
In addition to BIA and IHS funds, certain Indian tribes
also receive funding from other federal programs within the
Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor,
and Agriculture. Based on their status as a state-recognized
tribe, the Lumbee are currently eligible to receive funding
from those sources. Thus, CBO estimates that enactment of S.
660 would not add to the cost of those programs.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 660
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no direct costs on state,
local, or tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Bureau of Indian
Affairs--Daniel Hoople, Indian Health Service--Eric Rollins.
Impact on state, local, and tribal governments: Marjorie
Miller. Impact on the Private Sector: Carla-Marie Ulerie.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, 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 S. 660 will
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
Executive Communications
There have been no executive communications received on
this legislation.
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
the bill, 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 show in roman):
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 Lumbee 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
recurrent among them of family names such as Oxendine,
Locklear, Chavis, Drinkwater, Bullard, Lowery, Sampson, and
other, 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 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 the 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 Lumbee River in Robeson County, and
claiming joint descent from remnants of early American
colonists and certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting
he 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. 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 of the Code of Federal Regulations for
acknowledgment of tribal existence.
SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Services and benefits.--The Lumbee Tribe of North
Carolina and its members shall be eligible for all
services and benefits provided to Indians because of
their status as members of a federal recognized tribe.
(2) Residence on or near reservation.--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) 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 Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall each submit a written statement of such needs and
budget with the first budget request submitted to
Congress after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll
is verified.
(c) Tribal Roll.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of the delivery of
Federal services, the tribal roll in effect on the date
of the 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 the
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; 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) Transfer.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may
accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting
with the Attorney General of the United States any
transfer by the State of North Carolina to the United
States of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State
of North Carolina described in paragraph (1) under an
agreement between the Lumbee Tribe and the State of
North Carolina.
(2) Effective date.--Such transfer or jurisdiction
may 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.''