[Ed. note: On Thursday, Dec. 18, President Trump signed the Lumbee Fairness Act into law.]
NORTH CAROLINA — A decades-in-the-making piece of legislation is closer to becoming law to federally recognize the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River.
The Lumbee Fairness Act, sponsored by Congressman David Rouzer (R-NC 7), passed Wednesday in a 77-20 bipartisan vote in the Senate. Tucked in the $900-billion National Defense Authorization Act, the legislation now gives the Lumbee people full benefits and services that have been offered to other fully federally approved tribes. This includes access to grants, Indian Health Service, tribal housing assistance, more education funding and the like.
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The tribe has roughly 60,000 members, meaning it could potentially cost hundreds of millions in federal dollars to allocate resources.
“Today is truly a great and monumental day for the Lumbee Tribe — the effects of which will transcend generations for the Lumbee people and all of North Carolina,” Rouzer said in a release. “The Lumbee voice has been heard, and their commitment and perseverance has brought us to this historic moment.”
President Trump still has to sign off on the legislation in order for it to become law and is expected to do so this week.
Trump endorsed the tribe on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 election, noting during a stop in Robeson County, the ancestral homeland of the Lumbee people, that he would do everything to ensure the tribe’s legitimacy was fully seen through during a second term.
Making the Lumbee tribe a federally recognized nation has been discussed for more than 40 years in Congress. Though recognized by the state of North Carolina since 1885, the Lumber tribe has only been partially acknowledged by the federal government under the 1956 Lumbee Act, meaning the Lumbee people stopped short of receiving full federal benefits as other tribes. Around 575 Native American tribes are recognized by the federal government today.
Controversy has arisen over the Lumbees, particularly because of historical and genealogical claims, with critics saying the tribe has not had a single ancestral heritage or clear documented heritage, including historical language. However, the multi-ethnic Lumbee tribe members counter they come from Algonquian, Iroquoian and Siouan language-speaking families.
For a tribe to be federally recognized, it usually goes through a lengthy Interior Department application process via the Office of Federal Acknowledgement; however, the department has denied the Lumbee application previously. An act of Congress can also change course and the Lumbees have appealed to the legislature, with the House passing previous bills but they always fell shy of a Senate vote.
In January, Trump issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to work on a plan for Lumbee recognition, while also encouraging tribe members to continue their pursuit through Congress.
Both North Carolina Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis pushed for Wednesday’s passage as co-sponsors. Their advocacy follows in the footsteps of former Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein also sent letters to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urging the Senate to pass legislation. The NC Commission of Indian Affairs has advocated for federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe since the advisory body was legally established more than 50 years ago.
“Without this historic commitment by all, today’s victory would have never been achieved,” Rouzer noted in a statement.
Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery added generations of “voices were finally heard” upon Wednesday’s passage. He posted a video from D.C. after the vote and in it said:
“I can proudly say that I am the last chairman that’s had to come to D.C., fighting, pushing, advocating for our full federal recognition. Now our children and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren can come up here working and fighting and promoting other things for our people, and that’s something I’m very proud of.”
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