The Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina currently faces a federal restriction that requires anyone seeking tribal membership to be a lineal descendant of a person on a historical base membership roll and to have maintained continuous political relations with the Tribe. This bill removes that restriction from the 1993 Land Claims Settlement Act, giving the Catawba Tribe the ability to set its own membership criteria without those two federally imposed conditions. The change primarily affects the Tribe's internal governance and the individuals who might seek enrollment under new rules the Tribe chooses to adopt. It does not alter the Tribe's land rights or the broader settlement terms from 1993.
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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