“To extend Federal recognition to the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section cites the Act as the “Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act” and sets forth the table of contents.
This section states 14 congressional findings documenting the Nottoway Indian Tribe's (also known as Mangoaks) historical presence and interactions with English colonists in Virginia—including early encounters noted in 1586, treaties in 1646 and 1677 establishing tributary status and reservations of approximately 40,000 acres in 1705, migrations due to colonial expansion, governance structures, education of tribal children at the Brafferton School through about 1760, and military service alongside colonists during the French and Indian War in the 1750s.
This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "Secretary" as the Secretary of the Interior; (2) "Tribal member" as an individual who is an enrolled member of the Tribe as of enactment or who is placed on the Tribe's membership rolls in accordance with the Act; and (3) "Tribe" as the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, Incorporated.
This section extends federal recognition to the Tribe and applies to it and its members all U.S. laws (including regulations) of general applicability to Indians or Indian tribes, including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5101, prohibiting allotment of tribal lands in severalty), unless inconsistent with this Act. The section further makes the Tribe and its members eligible for all federal services and benefits available to federally recognized Indian tribes, without regard to the existence of a reservation, and designates the Tribe's service area for delivery of such services as Nottoway, Southampton, Sussex, Surry, Isle of Wight, Franklin, and Dinwiddie Counties in Virginia.
This section designates as the Tribe's membership roll and governing documents the most recent versions, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to the Secretary before the date of enactment.
This section designates the governing body of the Tribe as (1) the body in place as of the date of enactment or (2) any subsequent body elected in accordance with the Tribe's governing documents.
This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, upon request by the Tribe, to take into trust for the Tribe any land it holds in fee that was acquired on or before January 1, 2022, if located within the boundaries of Southampton, Sussex, Surry, Isle of Wight, Nottoway, or Dinwiddie Counties in Virginia; authorizes the Secretary to take into trust any other such land within those counties; and declares land taken into trust under the mandatory provision to be part of the Tribe's reservation upon request. For discretionary trust requests, the Secretary must issue a final written determination within three years and immediately provide it to the Tribe. (As background, land taken into trust is held by the United States for the tribe's benefit, generally exempting it from state and local jurisdiction.)
This section prohibits the Tribe from conducting gaming activities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under any federal law, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) or regulations promulgated by the Secretary or National Indian Gaming Commission.