NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1977 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1193

HOUSE BILL 1633

 

 

AN ACT TO REENACT AND REVISE THE LAWS RELATING TO INDIAN TRIBES INADVERTENTLY REPEALED BY THE 1977 SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 71 of the General Statutes shall be written to read as follows:

"§ 71-1.  Cherokee Indians of Robeson County; rights and privileges. — The persons residing in Robeson, Richmond, and Sampson counties, who have heretofore been known as 'Croatan Indians' or 'Indians of Robeson County', together with their descendants, shall hereafter be known and designated as 'Cherokee Indians of Robeson County', and by that name shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges heretofore or hereafter conferred, by any law or laws of the State of North Carolina, upon the Indians heretofore known as the 'Croatan Indians' or 'Indians of Robeson County'. In all laws enacted by the General Assembly of North Carolina relating to said Indians subsequent to the enactment of said Chapter 51 of the Laws of 1885, the words 'Croatan Indians' and 'Indians of Robeson County' are stricken out and the words 'Cherokee Indians of Robeson County' inserted in lieu thereof.

"§ 71-2.  Chapter not applicable to certain bands of Cherokees. — Neither this Chapter nor any other act relating to said 'Cherokee Indians of Robeson County' shall be construed so as to impose on said Indians any powers, privileges, rights, or immunities, or any limitations on their power to contract, heretofore enacted with reference to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians residing in Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Swain and other adjoining counties in North Carolina, or any other band or tribe of Cherokee Indians other than those now residing, or who have since the Revolutionary War resided, in Robeson County, nor shall said 'Cherokee Indians of Robeson County', as herein designated, be subject to the limitations provided in the Chapter Contracts Requiring Writing, G.S. 22-3, entitled Contracts with Cherokee Indians.

"§ 71-3.  Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina; rights, privileges, immunities, obligations and duties. — The Indians now residing in Robeson and adjoining counties of North Carolina, originally found by the first white settlers on the Lumbee River in Robeson County, and claiming joint descent from remnants of early American Colonists and certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina, shall, from and after April 20, 1953, be designated and officially recognized as Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and shall continue to enjoy all rights, privileges and immunities enjoyed by them as citizens of the State as now provided by law, and shall continue to be subject to all the obligations and duties of citizens under the law.

"§ 71-4.  Waccamaw Siouan Tribe of North Carolina; rights, privileges, immunities, obligations and duties. — The Indians now living in Bladen and Columbus and adjoining counties of North Carolina, originally found by the first white settlers in the region of the Cape Fear River, Lake Waccamaw, and the Waccamaw Indians, a Siouan Tribe which inhabited the areas surrounding the Waccamaw, Pee Dee, and Lumber Rivers in North and South Carolina, shall, from and after July 20, 1971, be designated and officially recognized as the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe of North Carolina and shall continue to enjoy all their rights, privileges and immunities as citizens of the State as now or hereafter provided by law, and shall continue to be subject to all the obligations and duties of citizens under the law.

"§ 71-5.  Haliwa Tribe of North Carolina; rights, privileges, immunities, obligations and duties. — The Indians now residing in Halifax, Warren and adjoining counties of North Carolina, originally found by the first permanent white settlers on the Roanoke River in Halifax and Warren Counties, and claiming descent from certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina, shall, from and after April 15, 1965, be designated and officially recognized as the Haliwa Tribe of North Carolina, and they shall continue to enjoy all their rights, privileges and immunities as citizens of the State as now or hereafter provided by law, and shall continue to be subject to all the obligations and duties of citizens under the law.

"§ 71-6.  Coharie Tribe of North Carolina; rights, privileges, immunities, obligations and duties. — The Indians now living in Harnett and Sampson and adjoining counties of North Carolina, originally found by the first white settlers on the Coharie River in Sampson County, and claiming descent from certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina, shall, from and after July 20, 1971, be designated and officially recognized as the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina and shall continue to enjoy all their rights, privileges and immunities as citizens of the State as now or hereafter provided by law, and shall continue to be subject to all the obligations and duties of citizens under the law."

Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 16th day of June, 1978.