(The Center Square) – Full federal recognition of the 55,000-member Lumbee Tribe is included in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., led the effort and said justice is long overdue.
“This is about dignity, opportunity, and honoring the rich heritage of one of North Carolina’s proudest communities,” Rouzer said. “I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for this vote to bring the Lumbee people one step closer to receiving the same rights and protections as every other federally recognized tribe across the country. I look forward to the Senate’s consideration.”
Passage was 231-196. For the measure with Rouzer were Republican Reps. Tim Moore, Brad Knott, Chuck Edwards, Pat Harrigan, Richard Hudson, Rev. Mark Harris, Addison McDowell, Virginia Foxx and Dr. Greg Murphy, and Democratic Rep. Don Davis. Against were Democratic Reps. Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams.
Federal recognition can be gained by an act of Congress; the Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement process; or by federal court decision. A memorandum by second-term Republican President Donald Trump directed the Interior secretary to analyze the legal pathways.
The Cherokees, 16,000 strong, are the only one of eight tribes with a presence in the state to be fully federally recognized. Their home is on the 56,000 acres Qualla Boundary, about a 45-minutes plus drive west of Asheville. That’s adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and north-northeast of the Nantahala National Forest.
“We had solid support from the North Carolina U.S. House delegation as they worked closely with the White House legislative team to secure a majority vote,” said Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery in a release from Rouzer’s office. “The Lumbee Fairness Act corrects the wrongs of the 1956 Lumbee Act which was passed during the Era of Indian Termination. We are one step closer to securing our full federal recognition.”
The Lumbees have about 55,000 in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in the southeastern part of the state between South Carolina and the Sandhills. Pembroke is the economic, cultural and political center of the tribe.
The Lumbees are the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River. The state recognized the tribe in 1885. In 1956, Congress passed legislation and Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it recognizing the tribe but without benefits that every other federally recognized tribe receives.
