H.R. 474 — Lumbee Fairness Act

This section amends the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), concerning the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina, to restructure its preamble and sections; strike section 2; add definitions of "Secretary" (i.e., Secretary of the Interior) and "Tribe" (i.e., Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina); and strike certain language limiting services to nontribal programs. The section grants federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe (designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment), applies to the tribe and its members all federal laws and regulations of general application to federally recognized Indian tribes, and allows other groups of Indians in Robeson and adjoining North Carolina counties not enrolled in the tribe to petition for federal acknowledgment under 25 C.F.R. part 83. The section makes the tribe and its members eligible for all federal services and benefits available to federally recognized tribes; deems tribe members residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties, North Carolina, as residing on or near a reservation for service delivery purposes; requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Health and Human Services, after verifying the tribe's roll (within two years of submission, limited to confirming compliance with the tribe's November 16, 2001, constitution), to consult with the tribe on its service needs and report those needs to Congress. The section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the tribe, treating applications tribe, treating applications for land in Robeson County, North Carolina, as on-reservation acquisitions under 25 C.F.R. part 151. The section provides that North Carolina retains jurisdiction over all criminal offenses and civil actions on land owned by or held in trust for the tribe or comprising a dependent Indian community of the tribe within the state; authorizes the Secretary to accept a transfer of such jurisdiction pursuant to a tribe-state agreement (after consulting the U.S. Attorney General), effective no earlier than two years after the agreement; and specifies that these provisions do not affect the application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919), which authorizes state-tribal agreements on jurisdiction over child custody proceedings involving Indian children.