Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board
If a new North Carolina state house bill passes, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) would be sharing a portion of its gaming revenues with various state-recognized groups and organizations including the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The basic premise is ludicrous, but read on.
State House Bill 224 (Strengthen Our Tribal Communities Act) was submitted by State Rep. Jarrod Lowery (R-Robeson), a member of the state-recognized Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and brother of John Lowery who serves as the Lumbee Tribal Chairman.
House Bill 224 is attempting to amend law established by North Carolina Senate Bill 582, passed by the North Carolina General Assembly and ratified by then-Gov. Beverly Perdue on June 6, 2012, which approved the Amended & Restated Tribal Gaming Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina and created the Indian Gaming Education Revenue Fund.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has been making a monthly payment to the state’s Indian Gaming Education Fund since September 2012. According to the Gaming Compact, the amount of the monthly payment is gross revenue from live table gaming multiplied by a percentage that changes over time and is currently at 6 percent.
The current language regarding appropriated funds from the Indian Gaming Revenue Fund is found in 143C-9-7, “Upon appropriation by the General Assembly, funds received in the Indian Gaming Education Revenue Fund shall be allocated quarterly by the State Board of Education to local school administrative units, charter schools, and regional schools on the basis of allotted average daily membership. The funds allotted by the State Board of Education pursuant to this section shall be non-reverting. Funds received pursuant to this section by local school administrative units in this State shall be expended for the sole purpose of educating children in the classroom.”
Lowery’s bill seeks to take money from the State Board of Education and put it into the pockets of the Lumbee and other state-recognized tribes and organizations.
House Bill 224 seeks to amend the name of the fund from the Indian Gaming Education Fund to the Indian Gaming Fund and provide the following new appropriations “in recurring funds each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium”:
– $2,000,000 annually to the North Carolina State Commission of Indian Affairs “for the Commission’s operating expenses and programs”
– $5,250,000 “to provide directed grants to the seven non-gaming Indian tribes to be used for cultural, educational, and economic development”. The funds would be divided equally among the following: Coharie, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Waccamaw-Siouan, Sappony, and the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation.
– $400,000 “to provide directed grants to the four Urban Indian Organizations to be used for cultural, educational, and economic development”. The funds would be divided equally among the following: Cumberland County Association for Indian People, Guilford Native Americans Association, Metrolina Native Americans Association, and the Triangle Native American Society.
– $100,000 “to support the State Advisory Council on Indian Education”.
– $1,100,000 to the Office of State Budget and Management to be split as follows: $500,000 to the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School; $500,000 to the Old Main STREAM Academy; and $100,000 to the Waccamaw-Siouan Daycare.
For context, John Lowery, Lumbee Tribal Chairman, attacked the EBCI in a letter on Feb. 5, 2025. It states, in part, “We know the EBCI are paying public relations firms a lot of money to create so-called or fake news reports, research articles and studies with a single purpose to discredit and dishonor the Lumbee Tribe.”
The letter goes on to state, “We will continue to fight against the multi-million dollar propaganda machine of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.”
Well, is House Bill 224 the way the Lumbees are fighting? Is it a punishment of sorts for not just blindly agreeing with and supporting them?
And, if the Lumbee leadership is so disgusted with the EBCI, then why seek money from the Tribe?
Rep. Lowery told the Border Belt Independent, “The Strengthen Our Tribal Communities Act ensures all of North Carolina’s tribes – not just gaming tribes – receive support for education, cultural preservation, and economic development. Many states already share gaming revenue with non-gaming tribes, and this bill follows that proven model.”
Well, Rep. Lowery is correct that some states do have revenue sharing amongst tribes…but, it is amongst federally recognized tribes that chose not to have gaming. There is no example of a federally recognized tribe being forced to share revenue with state-recognized tribes.
House Bill 224 is currently in the Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House, and it doesn’t need to go any further. It needs to die.
