October 15, 1998
Mr. R. Glen Peterson General Counsel North Carolina Department of Administration 116 West Jones Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
Re: Advisory Opinion; Recognition of Indian Tribes by Local Governments in North Carolina;
N.C.G.S. 143B-406
Dear Glen:
On December 4, 1995, the Orange County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution which recognized "the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation as a Native American tribe indigenous to Orange County," and which supported "the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation in their request for State and Federal recognition." See Attachment A. The resolution adopted by Orange County did not purport to grant State recognition as an Indian tribe to the group. It merely supported the request of that group for State and Federal recognition.
The North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs ("Commission"), through the General Counsel for the Department of Administration, has requested an opinion from the Attorney General as to whether units of local government in North Carolina have the authority to "recognize" Indian tribes located in the State. If so, how does such recognition impact official State recognition by the Commission? For the reasons hereinafter stated, it is the opinion of this office that local units of government do not have the authority to grant official recognition to an Indian group as a State recognized tribe. However, as Orange County did in 1995, counties may adopt a resolution recognizing an Indian group as a tribe and urging the State to grant such recognition.
The Commission was established as an agency of the State of North Carolina within the Department of Administration. See Article 9, Part 15, Chapter 143B of the North Carolina General Statutes. N.C.G.S. 143B-406 provides in pertinent part as follows:
It shall be the duty of the Commission … to study the existing status of recognition of all Indian groups, tribes and communities presently existing in the State of North Carolina; to establish appropriate procedures to provide for legal recognition by the State of presently unrecognized groups; to provide for official State recognition by the Commission of such groups; and to initiate procedures for their recognition by the federal government.
To comply with these directives, the Commission has established recognition procedures which have been made a part of the North Carolina Administrative Code. See 1 NCAC 15, § .0200, et seq. These procedures have been utilized by the Commission in the recognition efforts undertaken by various Indian groups, including the self-styled "Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation," which itself utilized these rules in a formal request for recognition.
Only the North Carolina State Commission of Indian Affairs has the statutory responsibility and duty to establish procedures for legal recognition by the State of presently unrecognized Indian groups and to provide for official State recognition by the Commission of such groups. N.C.G.S.
143B-406. There is no statutory authority for any local unit of government to grant official recognition to an Indian group as a State recognized Indian tribe.
A local unit of government, as a matter of policy, could adopt a resolution recognizing an Indian group as a tribe. Such action would have no binding impact on the Commission’s statutory duties or its process for recognition. Under the criteria for recognition as an Indian tribe currently adopted by the Commission, such a resolution, if presented by an Indian group in support of a request for recognition, could be considered by the Commission and afforded such weight as it deems appropriate. See 1 NCAC 15.0209(b)(1).
In summary, actions by local units of government purporting to "recognize" Indian groups as Indian tribes have no binding impact on the Commission with regard to its statutory duties or its process for official State recognition of Indian tribes.
signed by:
Reginald L. Watkins Senior Deputy Attorney General
Roy A. Giles, Jr.
Special Deputy Attorney General
D. David Steinbock Assistant Attorney General