Lumbee Tribe gains federal acknowledgement sought since 1888 : NPR

North Carolina Lumbee Tribe Chairman and State Representative John Lowery (center) is comforted as he cries tears of joy. Lowery and other members of the tribe gathered Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to mark the passage of a bill granting full federal recognition.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

After 137 years of struggle, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina finally received full federal recognition from the U.S. government.

Members of the Native American tribe shed tears as she reached the historic milestone in Washington, D.C., this week. Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery watched as President Trump signed the bill extending recognition to the tribe at the White House on Thursday.

“I am so grateful today to everyone who has helped us along this journey, from our ancestors since the late 1880s to the present day. So many people have been a part of this fight,” Lowery said in a video posted to the tribe’s social media accounts.

Federal lawmakers included the Lumbee Fairness Act in the $900 billion annual military spending package.

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has 55,000 members. Tribal territory is located in the southeastern part of the state in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties.

Federal recognition opens the door to an expansion of federal resources for tribes. Federally recognized tribes are eligible to receive federal funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Benefits include assistance with housing, education and health care.

“I believe the greatest benefit we are going to receive as a tribe is Indian Health Services,” Lowery said during a news conference Friday. “For our people who don’t have health insurance, or for our people who have high health insurance, they will be able to work through Indian Health Services to get services provided to them.”

In 2022, after the measure was introduced in the House, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal government would spend nearly $250 million to provide health benefits to Lumbee tribal members over four years through the Indian Health Service.

Federally recognized tribes hold certain rights to self-government. The designation expands tribal control over economic development by authorizing the BIA to take land into trust for the benefit of the tribe.

The Lumbee first petitioned Congress for federal recognition in 1888. The tribe then received only partial recognition in 1956.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein applauded the milestone this week. “The state has long recognized the Lumbee Tribe,” he said in a news release. “Full federal recognition will allow members to access federal health care, education, housing, child care and disaster relief benefits provided to other federally recognized tribes. These benefits will in turn create economic opportunities for the tribe and the surrounding community.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., sponsored the bipartisan Lumbee Fairness Act in the upper chamber. He credited Trump in a statement, calling the designation long-standing for the people of Lumbee.

He said “a historic injustice has been corrected and Lumbee residents can finally access the full federal benefits they have long earned and deserve.”

Trump issued a memo in January directing the Interior Department to develop a plan to help the tribe gain full federal recognition.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opposed recognition. Tribal leaders said the Lumbee circumvented proper federal eligibility procedures that require historical proof of Native heritage. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was the only federally recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee are now the 575th federally recognized tribe in the United States.

“I know with every fiber of my being that our ancestors are smiling down on us today,” Lowery said in a statement as the bill headed to Trump’s desk. “After decades of waiting, praying, and fighting, our tribe has finally broken through a barrier that once seemed impossible to overcome.”

More than a dozen tribes in several states are listed online as seeking federal recognition from the Interior Department. The Office of Federal Recognition’s website says decisions are based on factors that include anthropological, genealogical and historical research.

The department rejected the petitions that it said did not meet the seven criteria that define an Indian tribe under federal law. The requirements include that “the petitioner understands a distinct community and demonstrates that it has existed as a community from 1900 to the present.”

Petitioners could wait decades for a solution.