YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesWho can join the Catawba Tribe would be up to the Tribe — not federal law.
Civil Liberties
A 1993 federal law now spells out who the Tribe may enroll. Removing that language would leave membership rules to the Tribe itself.
Federal law now blocks enrollment for descendants who did not keep political ties with the Tribe. That block would be lifted, though the Tribe could still set its own limits.
More about this bill
If you are a Catawba descendant in South Carolina, the rules for joining the Tribe would change. A 1993 federal settlement law now sets who may enroll. It says a person must be a direct descendant of someone on an official membership list. That list was drawn up under the 1993 law. The person must also have kept up political ties with the Tribe. Both federal conditions would be removed. The Tribe would then decide its own membership rules. Congress would no longer set them. For everyone else, daily life would not change. The House passed the bill on June 2, 2026. It now waits in a Senate committee, so nothing has changed yet.
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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