Sponsors
Want the short version? I can break this bill down for you
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Grants the Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe of North Carolina formal federal recognition and a government‑to‑government relationship with the United States. It makes federal Indian law applicable to the Tribe and its members, establishes the Tribe’s service area and membership roll for federal program eligibility, and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust and proclaim an initial reservation for the Tribe. As a result, the Tribe and its members become eligible for the same federal services and benefits other federally recognized tribes receive, even if no reservation currently exists. The Secretary will verify membership rolls and the Tribe’s governing documents submitted before enactment and may use trust‑land authority to establish a reservation for the Tribe.
The Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe of North Carolina is a confederated Tribe descended from the Saponi Nation, Nansemond, and affiliated Tribes that inhabited the Piedmont and coastal regions of what are now Virginia and North Carolina.
The name "Haliwa" is a geographical designation derived from the Tribe’s physical location, which is primarily in Halifax and Warren Counties, North Carolina.
After the American Revolution (1775–1783), the Tribe’s ancestors merged together for mutual protection and survival in Halifax, Warren, Nash, and Franklin Counties in an area known as "The Meadows."
Among surrounding communities, the Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe has often been referred to as the "Meadows Indians."
In 1889, Warren County resident G.B. Alston wrote to Smithsonian anthropologist James Mooney confirming the residence of a Tribe of 300–600 Indians in the Meadows in Halifax and Warren Counties.
Primary affected parties:
Haliwa Saponi Tribe members: Gain federal recognition, access to federal tribal programs and benefits (health, education, housing, economic development, services administered through federal agencies), and a basis for tribal self‑government under federal law.
Haliwa Saponi Tribal government: Gains an official government‑to‑government relationship with the U.S., authority to work with federal agencies, and the option to have lands taken into trust and receive an initial reservation proclamation. This enables greater access to federal programs, grants, and trust land management authorities.
Secretary of the Interior and federal agencies: Will have verification and administrative responsibilities (confirming membership rolls, processing land‑into‑trust actions, extending federal services and benefits), and must apply federal Indian law to the Tribe in agency operations.
Local governments and residents in the designated six‑county service area: May experience changes in jurisdictional and service relationships with the Tribe over time (for example, coordination on services, taxation, land use and law enforcement where trust lands are established), though immediate impacts depend on subsequent land‑into‑trust actions and program enrollments.
Overall effects:
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced April 17, 2025 by Don Davis · Last progress April 17, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House