What This Bill Does · Plain English
Summary · Congress.gov
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.)
Action Timeline
2026-02-12
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
2026-02-12
Introduced in Senate
Frequently Asked Questions
Did S.3859 pass?
S.3859 is still alive. Current stage: COMMITTEE. Pass likelihood: pending.
What does S.3859 do?
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 thes…
Who sponsored S.3859?
S.3859 was sponsored by Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).
Full Bill Text
103 S3859 IS: To amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation. U.S. Senate 2026-02-12 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3859 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 12, 2026 Mr. Graham (for himself and Mr. Scott of South Carolina ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs A BILL To amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation. 1. Future membership of the Catawba Indian Nation Section 7(d) of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 ( Public Law 103–116 ; 107 Stat. 1125) is amended by striking ; however, in no event may an individual be enrolled as a tribal member unless the individual is a lineal descendant of a person on the final base membership roll and has continued to maintain political relations with the Tribe .
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