The Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina's membership rules are set by a 1993 federal settlement law. Under the current law, a person seeking to enroll must be a lineal descendant of someone on the original 1993 membership roll AND must have maintained political relations with the Tribe. This bill removes the second condition, so lineal descendants can seek enrollment regardless of whether they have kept up formal political ties with the Tribe over the years. The change gives the Tribe broader reach to welcome back descendants who may have lost regular contact across generations.
Congressional Summary
This bill revises tribal membership requirements for the Catawba Indian Nation (a tribe in South Carolina).The Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 explicitly restricted the tribe’s future membership to lineal descendants of people on the final base membership roll who maintained continuous political relations with the tribe. This bill removes these membership criteria and allows the tribe to determine its membership. (The tribe uses three base membership rolls and anyone who wants to be enrolled must prove lineal descent from someone listed on one of these base membership rolls.)
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2026-04-02
- Date Added
- 2026-05-29
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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