Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 107 Part 2.djvu/166

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107 STAT. 1118 PUBLIC LAW 103-116—OCT. 27, 1993 Public Law 108-116 103d Congress An Act Oct 27 1993 '^° provide for the settlement of land claims of the Catawba Tribe of Indians ' in the State of South Carolina and the restoration of the Federal trust relationship [H.R. 2399] ^^ tjjg Tribe, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Catawba Indian the United States of America in Congress assembled. Tribe of South ' ^ ' Carolina Land SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. Settlement Act This Act may be cited as the "Catawba Indian Tribe of South of 1993. Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993". 25 USC 941 note. 25 USC 941. SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY, CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) FINDINGS. — The Congress declares and finds that: (1) It is the policy of the United States to promote tribal self-determination ana economic self-sufficiency and to support the resolution of disputes over historical claims through settlements mutually agreed to by Indian and non-Indian parties. (2) There is pending before the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina a lawsuit disputing ownership of approximately 140,000 acres of land in the State of South Carolina and other rights of the Catawba Indian Tribe under Federal law. (3) The Catawba Indian Tribe initiated a related lawsuit against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims seeking monetary damages. (4) Some of the significeuit historical events which have led to the present situation include: (A) In treaties with the Crown in 1760 and 1763, the Tribe ceded vast portions of its aboriginal territory in the present States of North and South Carolina in return for guarantees of being quietly settled on a 144,000-acre reservation. (B) The Tribe's district court suit contended that in 1840 the Tribe and the State entered into an agreement without Federal approval or participation whereby the Tribe ceded its treaty reservation to the State, thereby giving rise to the Tribe's claim that it was dispossessed of its lands in violation of Federal law. (C) In 1943, the United States entered into an agreement with the Tribe and the State to provide services to the Tribe and its members. The State purchased 3,434 acres of land and conveyed it to the Secretary in trust for the Tribe and the Tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act.