Around 55,000 Lumbees live in North Carolina.
What You Need To Know
Lumbees have tried to get federal recognition for decades
Legislation has never made it all the way through Congress
Some tribes say the Lumbees and other groups shouldn't go through Congress for recognition
The state and Congress call them a tribe.
But the Lumbees don’t have official federal recognition, which means the tribe is losing out on federal dollars.
“There are set asides for only tribes. We are missing out on those set asides,” Lumbee Tribe Chairman John Lowery said earlier this year.
That’s why the Lumbees have tried to get federal recognition for decades.
But the legislation has never made it all the way through Congress, stalling in the Senate.
The Senate could decide to bring it up for a vote in the next few months. And while there is bipartisan support for recognition, some tribes, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina aren’t on board with the process.
“We have a policy in place, and we want that followed,” Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Chairman Richard French said.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is the only federally recognized tribe in North Carolina.
French said the Lumbees should seek recognition through the Department of Interior and not through Congress.
“We're asking to go through the process. Prove your identity,” French said.
More than 80 tribes, according to the Eastern Band, have expressed concern about Congress passing legislation that would allow groups like the Lumbees to sidestep the stringent reviews conducted by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment.
They say doing so would result in more groups trying to claim recognition through Congress that wouldn’t normally qualify.
The Eastern Band questions whether the Lumbees are a legitimate tribe.
The tribe also says it’s been told by lawmakers that Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is holding up other Indian affairs legislation unless Lumbee recognition is included.
Burr didn’t directly respond to that in a statement to Spectrum News, but said “I am fully committed to their fight for full federal recognition.”
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both campaigned in support of the Lumbee tribe getting federal recognition.
Ben Barnes is the chief of the Shawnee Tribe and doesn’t support Congress granting the federal recognition.
“Unless you’re blind and deaf or a simple casual observer, this is obviously politics," Barnes said.
The Lumbees said they have to go through Congress because a law passed in the 1950s blocks them from winning recognition any other way.
Lowery also said Congress has previously restored recognition to other tribes, so it needs to do the same for the Lumbees.
The Eastern Band disputes the process, citing a legal opinion by the Interior Department’s solicitor that said the department can grant the Lumbees recognition
Federal recognition would not only mean federal money for the Lumbees, but it would also allow them to go through the process of opening a casino. It’s potential competition for the two casinos run by the Eastern Band in the state.
French said his concern isn’t about money but rather about following the process.
“It has to do with sovereignty, sovereignty of all native tribes. Prove who you are and everything’s fine,” French said.