Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2009
(Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House)


111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1385 EH

AN ACT
Sponsor: Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] (introduced 3/9/2009)  
To extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

…
TITLE I--CHICKAHOMINY INDIAN TRIBE
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) in 1607, when the English settlers set shore along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was 1 of about 30 tribes that received them;
(2) in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe entered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of the Jamestown Colony, under which--
(A) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send warriors to protect the English; and
(B) Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own tribal governance;
(3) in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area around the York Mattaponi River in present-day King William County, leading to the formation of a reservation;
(4) in 1677, following Bacon's Rebellion, the Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy;
(5) in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base;
(6) in 1711, the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indians called Brafferton College;
(7) a Chickahominy child was 1 of the first Indians to attend Brafferton College;
(8) in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to migrate from King William County back to the area around the Chickahominy River in New Kent and Charles City Counties;
(9) in 1793, a Baptist missionary named Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took a Chickahominy woman as his wife;
(10) in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to appear in the Charles City County census records;
(11) in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe formed Samaria Baptist Church;
(12) from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were assessed a tribal tax so that their children could receive an education;
(13) the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, and pay a teacher's salary;
(14) in 1919, C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief O.W. Adkins that he had instructed the Commissioner of Revenue for Charles City County to record Chickahominy tribal members on the county tax rolls as Indian, and not as white or colored;
(15) during the period of 1920 through 1930, various Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia wrote letters of introduction for Chickahominy Chiefs who had official business with Federal agencies in Washington, DC;
(16) in 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, requesting money to acquire land for the Chickahominy Indian Tribe's use, to build school, medical, and library facilities and to buy tractors, implements, and seed;
(17) in 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the `Indian Reorganization Act') (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), but had not made the appropriation to fund the Act;
(18) in 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial designation on Selective Service records for Chickahominy soldiers;
(19) in 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of the Richmond News-Leader newspaper of Richmond, Virginia, to help Virginia Indians obtain proper racial designation on birth records;
(20) Collier stated that his office could not officially intervene because it had no responsibility for the Virginia Indians, `as a matter largely of historical accident', but was `interested in them as descendants of the original inhabitants of the region';
(21) in 1948, the Veterans' Education Committee of the Virginia State Board of Education approved Samaria Indian School to provide training to veterans;
(22) that school was established and run by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe;
(23) in 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe purchased and donated to the Charles City County School Board land to be used to build a modern school for students of the Chickahominy and other Virginia Indian tribes;
(24) the Samaria Indian School included students in grades 1 through 8;
(25) in 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, requested Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins to provide assistance in analyzing the status of the constitutional rights of Indians `in your area';
(26) in 1967, the Charles City County school board closed Samaria Indian School and converted the school to a countywide primary school as a step toward full school integration of Indian and non-Indian students;
(27) in 1972, the Charles City County school board began receiving funds under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 458aa et seq.) on behalf of Chickahominy students, which funding is provided as of the date of enactment of this Act under title V of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 458aaa et seq.);
(28) in 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe bought land and built a tribal center using monthly pledges from tribal members to finance the transactions;
(29) in 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the Commonwealth of Virginia, along with 5 other Indian tribes; and
(30) in 1985, Governor Gerald Baliles was the special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving Day dinner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe.

SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(2) TRIBAL MEMBER- The term `tribal member' means--
(A) an individual who is an enrolled member of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) an individual who has been placed on the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance with this title.
(3) TRIBE- The term `Tribe' means the Chickahominy Indian Tribe.

SEC. 103. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
(a) Federal Recognition-
(1) IN GENERAL- Federal recognition is extended to the Tribe.
(2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS- All laws (including regulations) of the United States of general applicability to Indians or nations, Indian tribes, or bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)) that are not inconsistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe and tribal members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits-
(1) IN GENERAL- On and after the date of enactment of this Act, the Tribe and tribal members shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a reservation for the Tribe.
(2) SERVICE AREA- For the purpose of the delivery of Federal services to tribal members, the service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of New Kent County, James City County, Charles City County, and Henrico County, Virginia.

SEC. 104. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.
The membership roll and governing documents of the Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and governing documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 105. GOVERNING BODY.
The governing body of the Tribe shall be--
(1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as of the date of enactment of this Act; or
(2) any subsequent governing body elected in accordance with the election procedures specified in the governing documents of the Tribe.

SEC. 106. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.
(a) In General- Upon the request of the Tribe, the Secretary of the Interior--
(1) shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe that was acquired by the Tribe on or before January 1, 2007, if such lands are located within the boundaries of New Kent County, James City County, Charles City County, or Henrico County, Virginia; and
(2) may take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such lands are located within the boundaries of New Kent County, James City County, Charles City County, or Henrico County, Virginia.
(b) Deadline for Determination- The Secretary shall make a final written determination not later than three years of the date which the Tribe submits a request for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(2) and shall immediately make that determination available to the Tribe.
(c) Reservation Status- Any land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this paragraph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part of the reservation of the Tribe.
(d) Gaming- The Tribe may not conduct gaming activities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary or the National Indian Gaming Commission.

SEC. 107. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER RIGHTS.
Nothing in this title expands, reduces, or affects in any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe.

SEC. 108. JURISDICTION OF COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA.
(a) In General- The Commonwealth of Virginia shall exercise jurisdiction over--
(1) all criminal offenses that are committed on; and
(2) all civil actions that arise on,
lands located within the Commonwealth of Virginia that are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for, the Tribe.
(b) Acceptance of State Jurisdiction by Secretary- The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting with the Attorney General of the United States, all or any portion of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Virginia described in subsection (a) upon verification by the Secretary of a certification by a tribe that it possesses the capacity to reassume such jurisdiction.

What Criteria Must Be Met for Federal Recognition of Tribal Status?

Testimony of Theresa Rosier Counselor to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs U.S. Department of the Interior at the Hearing Before the Committee on Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives on the Federal Acknowledgment Process

May 5, 2004

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. My name is Theresa Rosier and I am the Counselor to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs. I am pleased to be here today to speak on behalf of the Department of the Interior about the Federal acknowledgment process, recent improvements to this process, and other potential improvements that can be made to promote clarity, transparency and efficiency in acknowledgment decisions. I understand this issue is of importance to this Committee. On April 22, 2004, H.R. 4213 was introduced and cosponsored by Mr. Shays. That bill would codify the criteria established at 25 C.F.R. Part 83, and repeal certain exemptions for former federal officers and employees representing Indian tribes.

The Federal acknowledgment regulations, known as Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe, [25 C.F.R. Part 83], govern the Department’s administrative process for determining which groups are Indian tribes within the meaning of Federal law. The Department’s regulations are intended to apply to groups that can establish a substantially continuous tribal existence and, which have functioned as autonomous entities throughout history until the present. See 25 C.F.R. Sections 83.3(a) and 83.7. When the Department acknowledges an Indian tribe, it is acknowledging that an inherent sovereign continues to exist. The Department is not granting sovereign status or powers to the group, nor creating a tribe made up of Indian descendants.

Under the Department’s regulations, in order to meet this standard, petitioning groups must demonstrate that they meet each of seven mandatory criteria. The petitioner must:
(1) Demonstrate that it has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900;
(2) Show that a predominant portion of the petitioning group comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times until the present;
(3) Demonstrate that it has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from historical times until the present;
(4) Provide a copy of the group’s present governing document including its membership criteria;
(5) Demonstrate that its membership consists of individuals who descend from the historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes that combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity and provide a current membership list;
(6) Show that the membership of the petitioning group is composed principally of persons who are not members of any acknowledged North American Indian tribe; and
(7) Demonstrate that neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship.

A criterion is considered met if the available evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of the validity of the facts relating to that criterion.

For the past few years, Congress has considered legislation almost annually to modify the criteria for groups seeking acknowledgment as Indian tribes or to remove the process altogether from the Department. Although the Department supports the current Federal acknowledgement criteria, we do recognize that improvements could be made to encourage more timely decisions and increased transparency. Generally, the Department is supportive of legislation that maintains the criteria established by 25 C.F.R. Part 83 and that promotes increased integrity, transparency and time sensitivity to the federal recognition process.

The Federal acknowledgement process is implemented by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), formerly the Branch of Acknowledgment and Research. OFA is staffed with a director, a secretary, three anthropologists, three genealogists, and three historians. There is a high volume of work within this office. The current workload consists of nine petitions on active consideration and 13 fully documented petitions that are ready, waiting for active consideration. The administrative records for some completed petitions have been in excess of 30,000 pages. There are 213 groups that have submitted only letters of intent or partial documentation. These groups are not ready for evaluation and require technical assistance. Two final determinations representing three petitioners are under review at the Interior Board of Indian Appeals in response to requests for reconsideration. In addition, there are currently four lawsuits directly involving Federal acknowledgment or the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) related to Federal acknowledgment.

Recent Improvements in the Federal Recognition Process

In November of 2001, the General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report entitled Indian Issues:

Improvements Needed in the Federal Recognition Process. The two primary findings made by the GAO in this report are that the Federal acknowledgement decision making process is not transparent nor is it equipped to respond in a timely manner. In response to the GAO report, the Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs implemented a Strategic Plan to provide strategies to communicate a clearer understanding of the basis used in making federal recognition decisions, and to improve the responsiveness of this process. As illustrated below, many of the strategies developed in the Strategic Plan have been implemented and completed.

1. In response to the GAO report, all technical assistance review letters, proposed findings, final determinations, and reconsidered petitions have been electronically scanned and indexed and are now available on CD-ROM. This CD-ROM has been made available to the general public. Immediate and user-friendly access to all prior decisions enhances both transparency and consistency in the decision making process. We are hopeful that interested parties will have access to this information via Internet once the BIA is able to access it.

2. Additional resources have enabled the OFA to fill two professional staff vacancies. The addition of these new staff members resulted in the formation of three functioning teams composed of one professional from each of the three disciplines. With three teams, the OFA has increased its ability to review petitions and their accompanying documentation in a more time sensitive manner.

3. OFA has also hired two sets of independent contractors to assist in administrative functions. The first set of contractors includes two FOIA specialists/records managers. The second set of contractors includes three research assistants who work with a computer database system, scanning and indexing the documents to help expedite the professional research staff’s evaluation of a case. Both sets of contractors assist in making the process more accessible to petitioners and interested parties, while increasing the productivity of the OFA researchers by freeing them from many administrative duties.

4. Implementation of the Federal Acknowledgment Information Resource (FAIR) system, a computer database system that provides on-screen access to all the documents in the administrative record of a case has made a significant positive impact in the efficiency of the OFA. The FAIR system scans all submitted documentation and then the data is extracted, linked, and indexed to create a searchable administrative record. This system allows the OFA researchers to have immediate access to the records and allows them to make more efficient use of their time. This system also allows petitioning groups and interested parties, such as States and local governments, to have the record on CD-ROM and thus have on screen access to the administrative record and to any data entries made by the OFA researchers. We anticipate that the next generation of scanning for FAIR will allow electronic redaction of privacy information from the documents, which will save the Department a tremendous amount of time otherwise spent photocopying cases for interested parties or FOIA requests.

Another significant improvement made to the Federal acknowledgement process as the realignment of the OFA. Effective July 27, 2003, the staff of the Branch of Acknowledgement of Research were realigned and renamed. OFA now reports directly to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs. Previously, the Branch of Acknowledgement and Research reported through the Office of Tribal Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs. This realignment eliminated two layers of review and now provides more direct and efficient policy guidance.

Due to these above mentioned improvements made to the federal recognition process, OFA was able to assist the Department in completing 14 major decisions regarding Federal acknowledgment since January 2001. During this time, OFA completed six proposed findings, six final determinations, and two reconsidered final determinations.

Other Improvements to the Federal Acknowledgement Process

On April 1, 2004, Secretary Norton requested that Indian Affairs review the Strategic Plan and ensure that all the appropriate steps were being taken to implement the strategies developed in the plan. As discussed above, the Department has completed many of the action items identified in the strategic plan. We plan to have all the remaining tasks (that are within the control of the Department) completed by this fall. We do recognize however, that some tasks will take longer to implement because they may require congressional action, regulatory amendments, or access to the Internet.

In addition, we are planning to formalize an already internal policy of the Assistant Secretary’s office that prohibits federal acknowledgement decision-makers from having contact and communications with a petitioner or interested party within 60 days of an acknowledgment decision. Formalization of this policy will ensure that all parties are made aware of this 60 day period and that the integrity of the process is protected.

Conclusion

The Department believes that the acknowledgment of the existence of an Indian tribe is a serious decision for the Federal Government. It is of the utmost importance that thorough and deliberate evaluations occur before the Department acknowledges a group’s tribal status, which carries significant immunities and privileges, or denies a group Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe.

When the Department acknowledges an Indian tribe, it recognizes an inherent sovereign that has existed continuously from historic times to the present. These decisions have significant impacts on the petitioning group as well as on the surrounding community. Therefore, these decisions must be based on a thorough evaluation of the evidence using standards generally accepted by the professional disciplines involved with the process. The process must be open, transparent, and timely.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the Federal acknowledgment process. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Constitution of Virginia, 1902


ARTICLE I - BILL OF RIGHTS

ARTICLE II - ELECTIVE FRANCHISE AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE

ARTICLE III - DIVISION OF POWERS

ARTICLE IV - LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

ARTICLE V - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

ARTICLE VI - JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT

ARTICLE VII - ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF COUNTIES

ARTICLE VIII - ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF CITIES AND TOWNS

ARTICLE IX - EDUCATION AND PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

ARTICLE X - AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION

ARTICLE XI - PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AND PRISONS

ARTICLE XII - CORPORATIONS

ARTICLE XIII - TAXATION AND FINANCE

ARTICLE XIV - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS - HOMESTEAD AND OTHER

EXEMPTIONS

ARTICLE XV - FUTURE CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION


Whereas, pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, approved March the fifth, in
the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred, the question, "shall there be a convention to revise the
Constitution and amend the same?" was, submitted, to the electors of the State of Virginia,
qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly, at an election held throughout the
State on the fourth Thursday in May, in the year nineteen hundred, at which election a majority
of the electors so qualified voting at said, election did, decide in favor of a convention for such
purpose; and,

Whereas, the General Assembly at its next session did provide by law for the election of
delegates to such convention, in pursuance whereof the members of this Convention were
elected by the good people of Virginia, to meet in convention for such purpose.

We, therefore, the people of Virginia, so assembled in Convention through our representatives,
with gratitude to God for His past favors, and invoking His blessings upon, the result of our
deliberations, do ordain and establish the, following revised and amended Constitution for the
government of the Commonwealth:


ARTICLE I

BILL OF RIGHTS.

A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, made by the representatives of the good people of Virginia
assembled in full and free Convention; which rights do pertain to them and their posterity, as
the Basis and Foundation of Government.

Section 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent
rights of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot., by any compact, deprive
or divest their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring
and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

Section 2. That all power is vested in, and, consequently derived. from, the people; that
magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them.

Section 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection
and security of the people, nation or community; of all the various modes and forms of
government, that is best,

http://classroom.monticello.org/

Thomas Jefferson Foundation

2009-04-22

The Monticello Classroom offers extensive information about Thomas Jefferson, Virginia history, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and other important aspects surrounding the founding of the United States. The website also allows visitors to log in and create projects, design lesson plans, or do homework. It also features fun information, such as why Thomas Jefferson is on the nickel, and how to make ice cream the colonial way.

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Liz Moore

George Mason University