ICT and the Associated Press
Trump signed a memo Thursday directing his administration to help advance full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a distinction that would unlock access to federal funds.
“This is a great step for the new administration and we encourage Congress to move forward with codifying this policy of President Trump toward full federal recognition of the Lumbee People,” said Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery.
Congress acknowledged the state-recognized tribe in 1956 but stopped short of giving the now 55,000-member tribe federal recognition, which has been granted to 574 other Native American tribes in the U.S. Along with federal funds, the designation comes with access to resources like health care through the Indian Health Service. It also creates a pathway for a tribe to secure a land base.
Trump’s memo directs the Department of the Interior, within 90 days, to provide a plan on how to get the Lumbee Tribe federal recognition “through legislation or other available mechanisms.”
When Kamala Harris and Trump campaigned in North Carolina last year, both candidates courted the Lumbee.
Trump in September promised that he would sign legislation to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe. He ultimately won North Carolina by more than 3 percentage points, in part due to continued support from Lumbee voters.
Tribal nations typically receive federal recognition through an application with the Department of the Interior, but the Lumbee have been trying for many years to circumvent that process by going through Congress.
The Lumbee have faced deep-rooted opposition from tribal nations across the country.
To gain federal recognition, a tribal nation has to file a successful application with the Office of Federal Acknowledgement, a department within the Interior.
The Lumbee Tribe was denied the ability to apply for federal recognition in 1987, based on the interpretation of a 1956 congressional act that acknowledged the Lumbee but stopped short of granting them federal recognition.
In 2016, the Interior reversed that decision, allowing the Lumbee Tribe to apply, but the Lumbee have opted for the congressional route.
Members of Congress from both parties have supported recognizing the Lumbee through legislation, including Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation who campaigned for Trump in North Carolina and backed the legislation.
But perhaps the state-recognized tribe’s most ardent ally in Congress is North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who introduced the Lumbee Fairness Act in 2023.
At one point about a century ago, the Lumbee were known as the Cherokee Indians of Robeson County, and for many years now all three Cherokee tribes — the Eastern Band, the Cherokee Nation, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians — have denounced this and been vocal opponents of granting the Lumbee federal recognition.
