Controversial language to federally recognize Lumbee Tribe placed in Congressional defense bill

Congress is poised to vote on the latest national defense spending agreement soon, and this version would grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina, The Assembly reports.

Tribal chairman and North Carolina state representative John Lowery celebrated the move, when the $900 billion bill was released Dec. 8.

“We move forward with hope and determination, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends in Congress and the White House to secure final passage,” Lowery said in a Facebook post the night before.

The Lumbee have 55,000 citizens, which makes them the largest Native tribe east of the Mississippi River. They’ve been seeking full federal recognition for more than a century. Congress granted the Lumbee partial recognition in 1956, but that’s not enough to allow them to develop casinos or to make them eligible for federal dollars.

While past efforts have failed, President Trump directed the U.S. Dept. of the Interior to explore paths toward recognition after assuming office this year. Other allies include Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who tried last year to block recognition of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site in South Dakota. More recently, Tillis urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ cannabis operation in western North Carolina, where the tribe runs a casino.

The Eastern Band — which is the only one in North Carolina with full federal recognition — is against the Lumbee Fairness Act. They argue the Lumbee people descend from several tribes who mingled with white and Black settlers, and lack both a shared history and identity.

The Assembly says the Eastern Band’s principal chief, Michell Hicks, stated that his tribe was “deeply disappointed and alarmed” that Congress put Lumbee recognition in this latest defense bill.

“A national defense bill is not the appropriate place to consider federal recognition, particularly for a group that has not met the historical and legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations,” said Hicks.