Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

This bill, if enacted, would amend the Lumbee Act of 1956, removing the section that makes the Lumbee ineligible for full federal recognition and the "benefits, privileges and immunities that accompany such status." It further states, "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."

Additional specifications include the following:

—Other groups of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties may apply for federal recognition by following the petition process outlined in part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations.

—For service delivery, the counties of Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland will be considered the tribe's reservation.

—The tribal roll in effect when Section 3 of the bill is enacted will determine the tribe's service population.

--Within one year of enactment of Section 3 of the bill, the Secretary of the Interior must verify whether the members on the tribal roll meet the membership qualifications listed in the tribe's constitution adopted on November 11, 2001.

—Section 4, on "fee land," specifies how land held in Robeson County by the tribe will be treated by the Secretary of the Interior.

—The State of North Carolina will have jurisdiction over civil and criminal offenses committed on land owned by or held in trust for the Lumbee Tribe.

—Appropriations: The bill specifies that "There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act."