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Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act

Floor Speech

Date: Nov. 1, 2021
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1619 would ratify and reaffirm a March 2020 decision by the Department of the Interior to place 17 acres of the land located in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, into trust for the Catawba Indian Nation.

In 1980, the Catawba Tribe filed a land claim for former Tribal land in South Carolina, but the agreement they entered with the State failed to provide a clear understanding as to where the Tribe may have lands held in trust, what process is required, or whether the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act applies to the Catawba Nation.

By 1993, the Tribe and the State of South Carolina entered into an agreement to settle the lawsuit, and the South Carolina legislature enacted a law ratifying that agreement.

That same year, Congress ratified the settlement agreement by passing the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act and extinguished any other potential claims of the Catawba.

In exchange, the Catawba received $50 million, the restoration of their status as a Federally-recognized Tribe, and a streamlined process for restoring its land base in South Carolina.

But confusion about the Tribe's land continued as it submitted an application with the Department of the Interior to place land in Cleveland County, North Carolina, acquired into trust to develop a casino.

Even after the Department of the Interior approved the Catawba's trust application, determining that the Tribe met the restored lands exemption under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, there were still ambiguities that led to a challenge in court.

Madam Speaker, I hope that this bill will finally resolve the remaining issues and give the Catawba Tribe certainty about its land and the ways it can use it.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn).

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Timmons).

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

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