A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to change the state‑recognized name of the meherrin tribe to the Meherrin‑chowanoke nation, in order to recognize the historic merger of members of the chowanoke tribe into the meherrin community.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 71A‑7.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 71A‑7.1.  Meherrin‑Chowanoke Nation of North Carolina; rights, privileges, immunities, obligations and duties.
The Indians now residing in small communities in Hertford, Bertie, Gates, and Northampton Counties, who in 1726 were granted reservational lands at the mouth of the Meherrin River in the vicinity of present‑day Parker's Ferry near Winton in Hertford County, and who are of the same linguistic stock as the Cherokee, Tuscarora, and other tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy of New York and Canada, shall, from and after July 20, 1971, be designated and officially recognized as the  Meherrin‑Chowanoke Nation of North Carolina, and shall continue to enjoy all their rights, privileges, and immunities as citizens of the State as now or hereafter provided by law, and shall continue to be subject to all the obligations and duties of citizens under the law."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑210.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑210.1.  Membership – How appointed.
The Council shall consist of 15 members, as follows:
…
(5)	Indian members of the Council shall be broadly representative of North Carolina Indian tribes and organizations, specifically, the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Lumbee, Coharie, Waccamaw‑Siouan, Haliwa Saponi,  Meherrin‑Chowanoke Nation, Person County Indians, Cumberland County Association for Indian People, the Guilford Native American Association, the Metrolina Native American Association, and any other Indian tribe gaining State recognition in the future."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 143B‑407(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The State Commission of Indian Affairs shall consist of two persons appointed by the General Assembly, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the State Employment Security Commission, the Secretary of Administration, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, the Commissioner of Labor or their designees and 21 representatives of the Indian community. These Indian members shall be selected by tribal or community consent from the Indian groups that are recognized by the State of North Carolina and are principally geographically located as follows: the Coharie of Sampson and Harnett Counties; the Eastern Band of Cherokees; the Haliwa Saponi of Halifax, Warren, and adjoining counties; the Lumbees of Robeson, Hoke and Scotland Counties; the  Meherrin‑Chowanoke Nation of Hertford County; the Waccamaw‑Siouan from Columbus and Bladen Counties; the Sappony; the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation of Alamance and Orange Counties, and the Native Americans located in Cumberland, Guilford, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange, and Wake Counties. The Coharie shall have two members; the Eastern Band of Cherokees, two; the Haliwa Saponi, two; the Lumbees, three; the  Meherrin‑Chowanoke Nation, one; the Waccamaw‑Siouan, two; the Sappony, one; the Cumberland County Association for Indian People, two; the Guilford Native Americans, two; the Metrolina Native Americans, two; the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, one, the Triangle Native American Society, one. Of the two appointments made by the General Assembly, one shall be made upon the recommendation of the Speaker, and one shall be made upon recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Appointments by the General Assembly shall be made in accordance with G.S. 120‑121 and vacancies shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 120‑122."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.