John Lowry, North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe Chairman and state representative (center), feels relieved as he cries tears of joy. Lori and other members of the tribe gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the passage of a bill granting full federal recognition on Wednesday.
Jacqueline Martin/AP
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Jacqueline Martin/AP
After a 137-year struggle, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has finally gained full federal recognition from the United States government.
Members of a Native American tribe were in tears as they arrived at the historic event in Washington, D.C., this week. Tribal leader John L. Lurie witnessed President Trump sign the bill extending recognition of the tribe at the White House on Thursday.
“I am so grateful today to everyone who has helped us along this path, everyone from our ancestors from the late 1880s to the present day. So many people have been a part of this fight,” Lowery said. In the video Posted on the tribe’s social media accounts.
Federal lawmakers included the Lumbee Justice Act in their $900 billion annual military spending package.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has 55,000 members. The tribal region is located in the southeastern part of the state in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties.
Federal recognition opens the door to expanding federal resources to tribes. Federally recognized tribes are eligible for federal funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Benefits include housing, education and health care support.
“I think the biggest benefit we will have as a tribe is Indian Health Services,” Lowery said. During a press conference on Friday. “For our people who don’t have health care insurance, or our people who have high health care insurance, they will be able to work through the Indian Health Services to get services provided to them.”
In 2022, after the measure was introduced in the House of Representatives, the Congressional Budget Office estimated The federal government will spend nearly $250 million to provide health benefits to Lumbee tribal members over four years through the Indian Health Service.
Federally recognized tribes have certain rights to self-government. This designation expands tribal control over economic development by allowing the BIA to seize lands for the benefit of the tribe.
The Lumbee Tribe first petitioned Congress for federal recognition in 1888. The tribe then received only partial recognition in 1956.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein praised the important milestone achieved this week. “The state has long recognized the Lumbee tribe,” he said. press release. “Full federal recognition will allow members access to federal health care, education, housing, child care, and disaster relief benefits afforded to other federally recognized tribes. These benefits, in turn, will create economic opportunities for the tribe and the surrounding community.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, sponsored the Lumbee Justice Act, which passed the bipartisan Senate. He credited Trump in a statement, Call the long-awaited appointment For the Lumbee people.
“The historical injustice has been corrected, and the Lumbee people can finally receive the full federal benefits they have long earned and deserve,” he said.
Trump issued a memorandum in January directing the Interior Department to develop a plan to help the tribe gain full federal recognition.
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians I opposed the confession. Tribal leaders said the Lumbee Tribe circumvented proper federal eligibility procedures that require historical evidence of Native heritage. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was the only federally recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee Tribe is now the 575th federally recognized tribe in the United States.
“I know with every fiber of my being that our ancestors are smiling at us today.” Lowry said in a statement While the bill was headed to Trump’s desk. “After decades of waiting, praying and fighting, our tribe has finally crossed a barrier that previously seemed impossible to overcome.”
More than a dozen tribes from several states are listed online to petition the Department of the Interior for federal recognition. Federal Recognition Office website He says Decisions are based on factors including anthropological, genealogical and historical research.
The department denied the petitions it felt did not meet its seven-part criteria that define an Indian tribe under federal law. Requirements include that “the petitioner must be from a distinct community and demonstrate that it has existed as a community from 1900 to the present.”
Petitioners may wait decades for a resolution.