2021 -- H 5385

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LC000778

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RECOGNITION OF NATIVE

AMERICAN TRIBES

     Introduced By: Representatives Vella-Wilkinson, Williams, Kazarian, Morales,
Ruggiero, Donovan, and Caldwell

     Date Introduced: February 05, 2021

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND

GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 160

RECOGNITION OF NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES

     42-160-1. Seaconke Wampanoag tribe.

     (a) The state of Rhode Island officially recognizes the Seaconke Wampanoag tribe as a

native American Indian tribe for the limited purpose of assisting this tribe in establishing eligibility

for federal education, job training, and housing benefits and federal protection for the sale of

artwork; qualifying for public and private grants for which Indian tribes or groups, or members

thereof, may be eligible; protecting the ability of this tribe and their members to engage in

traditional religious practices and ceremonies; preserving and protecting burial sites and artifacts;

and ensuring that handicrafts made by tribal members may be sold as "Indian made."

     (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed or interpreted as conferring recognition for

any purpose except as expressly stated in subsection (a) of this section, or as evidence that a tribe

has a state compact or state approval for the purposes of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,

25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. The limited state recognition accorded to this tribe named in subsection

(a) of this section, shall not be construed to affect in any way a tribe or group's case for federal

recognition, shall not confer the right of any tribe, group or individual to conduct gambling of any

kind or to engage in the sale of motor fuels or tobacco and shall not constitute an acknowledgement

of any claim by any tribe, group, or individual to any ancestral, tribal or other public or private

lands.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RECOGNITION OF NATIVE

AMERICAN TRIBES

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     This act would officially recognize the Seaconke Wampanoag tribe for the limited purposes

of assisting in establishing eligibility for federal benefits and to protect the tribe in preserving

artifacts, ceremonies and practices.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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