WASHINGTON — North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe could gain full federal recognition this year without a proverbial — or literal — act of Congress.
President Donald Trump on Thursday sent a memorandum to the Secretary of Interior to submit a plan to grant the Lumbee full recognition, according to the White House.
This act is reportedly the president working to fulfil a campaign promise made last September when he vowed, if elected, “to sign legislation granting the great Lumbee Tribe federal recognition that it deserves.”
According to the White House, there are three ways native tribes can obtain federal recognition: through an act of Congress; through the Department of Interior’s Office of Acknowledgement process; or by federal court decision.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, Dec. 17 passed H.R. 1101, named the Lumbee Fairness Act. However, the bill didn’t make it past the Senate before the end of the session.
The bill was introduced in February of 2023 by Rep. David Rouzer, joined by Reps. Dan Bishop, Richard Hudson, Greg Murphy, Deborah Ross, Don Davis and Kathy Manning, and had support from representatives in South Carolina, West Virginia, Texas and California.
Sen. Thom Tillis had introduced a companion bill in the Senate, which was sent to the Committee on Indian Affairs where it languished.
More than 30 bills for Lumbee recognition have been filed since 1988, according to Hudson’s office.
Trump’s memo directs the secretary to “review all applicable authorities regarding the recognition or acknowledgement of Indian tribes and, in consultation with the leadership of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, … submit to the President a plan to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full Federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms, including the right to receive full Federal benefits.”
That plan “shall include consideration and analysis of each potential legal pathway to effectuate full Federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe, including through an act of the Congress, judicial action, or the Procedures for Federal Acknowledgement of Indian Tribes…”
The secretary will have 90 days to submit the plan.
Former North Dakota governor Doug Burgam is going through the confirmation process to be the new secretary.
Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery had not released a statement as of the time of this writing.
The Lumbee make up around 40% of the population of Robeson County, which supported Trump with more than 60% of the local presidential vote.
With more than 55,000 members, the Lumbee are the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River.
The state recognized the Lumbee in 1885. The tribe has sought federal recognition since 1888. Congress somewhat recognized the tribe with the Lumbee Act of 1956, but denied benefits.
The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians — the only federally recognized tribe in the Tar Heel state — has long opposed recognition for the Lumbee.