‘Long past time.’ Tillis, Budd legislation grants Lumbee Tribe federal recognition
North Carolina’s two U.S. senators on Friday introduced legislation that would finally grant federal benefits to the Lumbee Tribe.
The Lumbee Fairness Act provides the same benefits every other federally recognized tribe receives, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, R-NC, said in a joint statement.
“More than six decades ago, Congress made a promise to recognize the Lumbee Tribe, but then failed to keep it,” Tillis said in the statement. On Twitter, he added, “It’s long past time.”
Full federal recognition of the tribe has ”broad bipartisan consensus” in congress, Tillis said, and “the unequivocal support” of current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Congress passed legislation in 1956 recognizing the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, but an “unfair caveat” in the bill denied the tribe benefits, according to the senators’ statement.
“The more than 60,000 North Carolina members of the Lumbee Tribe ... deserve the same rights, privileges, and respect granted to other Native American tribes,” Budd said.
In Friday’s statement, Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery said the tribe is grateful to the congressmen and co-sponsors of the legislation. U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, R-NC, introduced the legislation in Congress with Tillis and Budd.
“It is clearly time for Congress to provide the Lumbee People with the benefits that are inherent to federally recognized tribes,” Lowery said.
In 2020, despite Biden and Trump’s support, the Lumbee were left out of a Congressional spending package, The News & Observer previously reported.
A year later, the Lumbee Recognition Act passed the U.S. House and was sent to a Senate committee.
This story was originally published February 18, 2023 at 1:17 PM.