Wait continues for Lumbee tribe. Federal recognition not included in congressional deal
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina’s long wait for federal recognition will continue.
Despite public support from President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden and passage of a recognition bill in the U.S. House, the year-end congressional spending package released Monday did not include any provisions related to federal recognition for the tribe.
Monday night, North Carolina Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis were denied in their attempt to get the U.S. Senate to pass the House-backed recognition bill on unanimous consent. Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, objected.
“It’s nothing short of discrimination,” Burr said on the floor of the Senate.
There are about 60,000 enrolled Lumbee, many who live in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke and Scotland counties in North Carolina. The tribe has been recognized by the state since 1885, but has been unable to obtain full federal recognition in that time.
Federal recognition could bring millions of federal dollars for health care and education, among other priorities, to the region. Robeson County, which is 42% Native American, ranks last among the state’s 100 counties in health outcomes and health risk factors.
“The Lumbee people deserve recognition, they deserve respect, and they’ve been fighting for it for a century,” Tillis said Monday night.
Supporters of federal recognition, including Burr and Tillis, knew they were unlikely to get the bill through the Senate unanimously. That left the must-pass spending deal, which includes the latest round of COVID relief, as the most likely way to pass federal recognition this year.
Tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. posted a message Sunday on Facebook that announced federal recognition would not be included in package. The bill, which is more than 5,000 pages, was released Monday afternoon.
“Even after our dedicated recent efforts to get Lumbee Recognition legislation enacted, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you we have not been successful,” Godwin wrote in his letter.
Presidential promises
In early October, Biden came out in favor of Lumbee recognition. Later in the month, Trump publicly backed recognition and held a campaign event in Robeson County. In November, after the election, the U.S. House passed a recognition bill, backed by North Carolina Republicans and Democrats, on a voice vote.
“I want to thank our many champions in the House and Senate and our friends and allies in North Carolina and across the country for their friendship and support,” Godwin wrote Sunday. “I can assure you this is not the final word on Lumbee Recognition.”
Both Burr and Tillis vowed to keep fighting for the Lumbee.
“I promise my colleagues, this place will come to a grinding halt,” Burr said. “... We’ll debate for as long as people want to and we’ll make the case to why this discrimination is despicable.”
Recognition measures have passed the U.S. House previously, but never the Senate. A Lumbee recognition bill has been introduced in 12 consecutive Congresses by Sens. Terry Sanford, Elizabeth Dole and, now, Burr.
When a new Congress is sworn in in January, the Lumbee will have to start over in the quest. New bills must be filed in the House and Senate.
Some North Carolina tribes, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee, have opposed federal recognition for the Lumbee.
“While I’m disappointed, I do feel like this might have been the closest we have gotten,” said Emily Locklear, a Lumbee who lives in Illinois, in a text message on Monday. “... Like the pines in the swamps of our ancestral home, the Lumbee Tribe is resilient and will continue to strive towards total recognition and our rightful place at the table.”
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This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Wait continues for Lumbee tribe. Federal recognition not included in congressional deal."
