Seven Indian tribes, including the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, would gain federal recognition and become eligible for federal aid under a bill that a Senate committee approved yesterday.
The Lumbee and six Virginia tribes would be eligible for up to $800 million in federal funds under two bills passed by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The bills, which bar the tribes from building casinos, have already passed the House.
Legislators said that Congress does not have the expertise to determine federal recognition of tribes, but it noted that the tribes have faced lengthy delays in accessing federal funding for housing, education and health benefits. In some cases, it has taken 20 to 30 years for their federal recognition to be processed through the Interior Department, and that needs to be fixed, said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the committee's chairman.
"The administrative process is broken," he said.
President Obama has pledged support for the Lumbee Tribe, which has sought federal recognition for more than 100 years. The administration has not said whether it will support recognition of the Virginia tribes.
The six Virginia tribes, with around 3,000 members, have been seeking recognition since the 1990s. They are the Eastern Chickahominy, Chickahominy, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Monacan and Nansemond tribes.
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