(The Center Square) – Full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has taken another step forward.
Long sought by the largest American-Indian tribe east of the Mississippi River, and ninth largest in the nation, most members of the Lumbee are in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties. Lumbees were denied any federal services and benefits in 1956 when Congress enacted the Lumbee Act.
The Lumbee Fairness Act would change that. North Carolina has recognized the Lumbees since 1885.
The U.S. House of Representatives’ passage was 311-96 on Tuesday, notably with nay votes from Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Chuck Edwards, R-N.C. Reps. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., did not vote; yea votes were recorded by Democratic Reps. Alma Adams, Don Davis, Valerie Foushee, Jeff Jackson, Kathy Manning and Deborah Ross, and by Republican Reps. Dan Bishop, Richard Hudson, Dr. Greg Murphy, and the bill’s author, David Rouzer.
“This is a great step toward Congress rectifying the 1956 Lumbee Act and ensuring that the remains of the Indian Termination Era policy continues to be dismantled,” said John Lowery, Lumbee tribal chairman, in a release from Rouzer’s office. “To our allies in Congress and Indian Country, continue to push forward and let us see this bill adopted by the Senate and finally finish what our ancestors began almost 140 years ago.”
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
“They are our neighbors and our friends,” Rouzer said of the Lumbees in a statement. “We attend church together. Our children go to school together. But for generations, the Lumbee Tribe has been denied full recognition and tribal sovereignty.”
He applauded House colleagues for the passage, saying it would “help ensure the Lumbee people have the same rights and benefits as the other federally recognized tribes across the country.”
