Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia — descendants of the people Captain John Smith encountered along the Potomac in 1608 — would receive official federal recognition under this bill. The tribe has been state-recognized since 2010 but lacks federal status, which means its roughly 2,300 members can't access many federal services available to other tribes. Federal recognition would make them eligible for those benefits, and the bill allows the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the tribe in three Virginia counties. The bill explicitly prohibits the tribe from operating casinos.