Sponsors (4)
The bill grants formal federal recognition and pathways to restore tribal lands and services—strengthening tribal sovereignty and access to programs—while creating trade-offs in lost gaming revenue, administrative and legal burdens, risks to individuals omitted from the submitted roll, and local fiscal/jurisdictional impacts.
Members of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Tribe gain formal federal recognition, making the Tribe eligible for federal Indian laws and programs and strengthening tribal governance and self-determination.
Tribal lands already owned by the Tribe can be taken into federal trust and designated as reservation land on request, restoring tribal land base and enhancing tribal sovereignty and eligibility for reservation-linked programs.
The Tribe gains a predictable, relatively quick process for federal service coverage because the Secretary must consult and set a service area within 120 days, which can speed delivery of federal services to tribal citizens.
Individuals omitted from the Tribe’s submitted membership roll risk losing recognition and the federal and tribal benefits tied to membership, creating potentially severe individual impacts.
The Act prohibits the Tribe from operating gaming enterprises, eliminating a major potential source of tribal revenue, jobs, and local economic activity tied to casinos.
Applying federal Indian laws, changing land status to trust/reservation, and implementing the Act can create substantial legal and administrative complexity and prompt litigation, causing delays and costs for the Tribe, governments, and third parties.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Grants federal recognition to the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Tribe, sets its membership/governance records, allows certain tribal lands to be taken into trust, and bars the Tribe from conducting gaming.
Introduced September 4, 2025 by Jennifer Kiggans · Last progress September 4, 2025
Grants federal recognition to the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia, making the Tribe and its enrolled citizens eligible for federal services and benefits available to federally recognized tribes. It fixes the Tribe’s membership roll and governing documents as those most recently submitted to the Department of the Interior, recognizes the Tribe’s governing body or successors elected under its governing documents, and allows the Secretary of the Interior to take eligible tribal-owned fee lands in Southampton County into trust on the Tribe’s request. The Act also bars the Tribe from conducting gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or any claimed inherent tribal authority, requires the Secretary to consult with the Tribe on service delivery areas within 120 days, and preserves existing hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and water rights without change.