John Lowery, chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and state representative (center), is consoled and weeps with joy. Lowry and other tribal members gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Wednesday's passage of a bill granting full federal recognition.
Jacqueline Martin/AP
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Jacqueline Martin/AP
After a 137-year struggle, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina finally received full federal recognition from the U.S. government.
Members of a Native American tribe cried as they reached a historic milestone in Washington, D.C., this week. Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery witnessed President Trump sign a bill expanding recognition of the tribe into law at the White House on Thursday.
“Today, I am so grateful to everyone who has helped us along the way—everyone, from our ancestors in the late 1880s to today. So many people were part of this fight,” Lowry said. in the video posted on the tribe's social media accounts.
Federal lawmakers included the Logging Fairness Act in their $900 billion annual budget. military spending package.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has 55,000 members. The tribe's territory is located in the southeastern part of the state in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties.
Federal recognition opens the door for tribes to expand federal resources. Federally recognized tribes are eligible to receive federal funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Benefits include housing, education and health care support.
“I believe the biggest benefit we will receive as a tribe is Indian health services,” Lowery said. during a press conference on Friday. “For our people who do not have health insurance or our people who have high health insurance, they will be able to work through the Indian Health Service to receive the services provided to them.”
In 2022, after the measure passed the House of Representatives, the Congressional Budget Office rated The federal government will spend nearly $250 million to provide health services to members of the Lumbee Tribe over four years through the Indian Health Service.
Federally recognized tribes have certain rights of self-government. This designation expands tribal control over economic development by allowing the BIA to hold land in trust for the benefit of the tribe.
The Lumbees first petitioned Congress for federal recognition in 1888. The tribe received only partial recognition in 1956.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein welcomed this week's important development. “The state has long recognized the Lumbee Tribe,” he said in an interview. press release. “Full federal recognition will allow members access to federal health care, education, housing, child care and disaster relief benefits that are available to other federally recognized tribes. These benefits, in turn, will 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 expressed his gratitude to Trump in a statement: naming the appointment is long overdue for the Lumbee people.
He said “a historical injustice has been righted and Lumbee residents can finally access all the federal benefits they have long earned and deserve.”
Trump issued a memo in January directed the Interior Department to develop a plan to help the tribe gain full federal recognition.
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opposed recognition. Tribal leaders said the Lumbee bypassed proper federal selection procedures that require historical evidence of local heritage. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was the only federally recognized Indian tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee are currently 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.” Lowry said this in a statement. as the bill headed to Trump's desk. “After decades of waiting, praying and fighting, our Tribe has finally overcome a barrier that once seemed impossible to overcome.”
More than a dozen tribes from several states have registered online as petitioning the Interior Department for federal recognition. Website of the Office of Federal Recognition speaks decisions are based on factors that include anthropological, genealogical and historical research.
The department has rejected petitions it believes do not meet the seven-part criteria that define an Indian tribe under federal law. The requirements include that “the plaintiff is a distinct community and demonstrates that it has existed as a community from 1900 to the present.”
Applicants can wait decades for a decision.
