To amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993.
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The bill would remove a 1993 federal law's requirement that Catawba Indian Nation members prove both lineal descent from the tribe's founding roll and continuous political ties to the tribe, letting the tribe set its own future membership rules.
The change would give the Catawba Indian Nation more control over its own citizenship criteria, a matter tribes generally handle themselves but which Congress restricted for the Catawba in their 1993 land claims settlement.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 by striking language that limited future tribal membership to individuals who are both lineal descendants of someone on the tribe's final base membership roll and who have continuously maintained political relations with the tribe. Removing this clause would eliminate the "continued political relations" requirement as a statutory condition for enrollment.
The bill does not rewrite the tribe's membership rules itself; it simply removes the federal restriction, leaving the Catawba Indian Nation free to determine its own membership criteria going forward, subject to whatever internal rules or roll requirements the tribe otherwise maintains.
Key provisions
- 1Would strike the requirement that tribal members must have continuously maintained political relations with the tribe, in addition to lineal descent, to be enrolled
Who would be affected
Members and prospective members of the Catawba Indian Nation in South Carolina, particularly descendants of people on the tribe's base membership rolls who may not have maintained continuous political relations with the tribe but wish to enroll.
Why it matters
Removing the political-relations requirement could allow more descendants to qualify for tribal membership, affecting who can access tribal services, voting rights within the tribe, and benefits tied to citizenship in the Catawba Indian Nation, while shifting membership decisions further into the tribe's own hands.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-116) (Section 1)
Strikes the requirement that enrolled members maintain continuous political relations with the tribe, leaving only tribe-determined membership standards.
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4463 would have no effect on the federal budget.
H.R. 4463 would amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 by removing the requirements that a person seeking tribal enrollment must be a lineal descendant of a member on the final base membership roll and must have maintained continuous political relations with the Tribe. While the bill could increase the number of recognized tribal members, CBO found that federal agencies — primarily the Department of the Interior and the Indian Health Service — do not limit their services solely to people who meet the existing 1993 enrollment criteria, meaning those agencies can already serve anyone who might gain membership under the bill. Accordingly, CBO estimates zero effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2026–2036 scoring window, and identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill revises tribal membership requirements for the Catawba Indian Nation (a tribe in South Carolina).
The Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 explicitly restricted the tribe’s future membership to lineal descendants of people on the final base membership roll who maintained continuous political relations with the tribe. This bill removes these membership criteria and allows the tribe to determine its membership. (The tribe uses three base membership rolls and anyone who wants to be enrolled must prove lineal descent from someone listed on one of these base membership rolls.)
Legislative subjects
Federal-Indian relations; Indian claims; Native Americans; South Carolina
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-583