Sponsors (2)
The bill grants the Nottoway Tribe federal recognition and clear access to federal services, land-into-trust tools, and protections for tribal governance and culture while locking in membership/governance rules and banning tribal gaming—trading increased sovereignty, services, and cultural preservation for potential economic losses, local tax impacts, and legal/administrative uncertainties.
Members of the Nottoway Tribe gain formal federal recognition and government-to-government status, enabling access to federal services/benefits (health, education, housing), inclusion under the Indian Reorganization Act, and a specified service area that clarifies where agencies will deliver those services.
Tribal authority under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is preserved so tribal governments can intervene in child custody proceedings and Native children/families keep existing ICWA placement protections.
The Act fixes which membership lists, governing documents, and official governing body are used for implementation, giving tribal governments and federal agencies legal certainty and reducing post-enactment disputes over representation and eligibility.
Tribal communities are prohibited from operating gaming enterprises under this Act, which can sharply reduce tribal government revenue, local jobs tied to gaming, and funding for services the tribe provides.
Fixing membership rolls and pre-enactment governing documents can exclude people added or whose status changes after the submitted roll, denying those individuals benefits, representation, or eligibility under the Act until a new process is authorized.
Converting fee lands into trust and reservation status can reduce local tax revenue and local/state land-use authority, complicating service provision and planning for nearby local governments and residents.
Based on analysis of 18 sections of legislative text.
Introduced September 11, 2025 by Jennifer McClellan · Last progress September 11, 2025
Grants federal recognition to the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, makes most federal Indian laws applicable to the Tribe and its members, and sets which membership roll and governing documents control. Requires the Interior Secretary to take certain Tribe-owned fee land in specified Virginia counties into trust on request, allows discretionary trust for other lands (with a 3-year deadline for those discretionary determinations), and expressly bars the Tribe from conducting gaming under federal law. The Act also preserves selected existing rights (Indian Child Welfare Act application and hunting/fishing/trapping/gathering/water rights) and records congressional findings about the Tribe's history.