S. 107 — Lumbee Fairness Act

This section amends the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment) and applies to the tribe and its members all federal laws (including regulations) of general application to federally recognized Indian tribes. The section further (1) makes the tribe and its members eligible for all federal services and benefits available to federally recognized tribes, deeming members residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties, North Carolina, as living on or near a reservation for service delivery; (2) requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Health and Human Services, upon verification of the tribe's membership roll (to be completed by the Secretary of the Interior within two years of submission, confirming compliance with the tribe's November 16, 2001, constitution), to consult with the tribe and report to Congress on service needs; (3) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the tribe, treating applications for land in Robeson County as on-reservation acquisitions under 25 C.F.R. part 151; and (4) 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 a dependent Indian community of the tribe), while authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to accept a transfer of such jurisdiction from the state pursuant to a tribe-state agreement (effective two years after the agreement). As background, section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. 1919) authorizes agreements between states and Indian tribes on jurisdiction over child custody proceedings involving Indian children, including case-by-case transfers and concurrent jurisdiction. (Thus, the section explicitly states that its jurisdiction provisions do not affect the application of that section.)