By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a state-recognized group, was the subject of a Presidential Memorandum on Jan. 23, 2025 regarding its bid for federal acknowledgement. The memorandum directed the Department of Interior (DOI) to develop a plan, within 90 days, “to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms”.
The 90 days came and went, and no plan was presented to the public. The One Feather reached out after the deadline date and received a statement from the DOI press office on April 28, 2025. “The Department of the Interior has developed a plan in accordance with President Trump’s memorandum and will provide an update when appropriate.”
The One Feather reached out again this week to the DOI and received the following statement on Aug. 19, 2025 from Elizabeth Peace, Office of the Interior Secretary senior public affairs specialist, “As directed by the Jan. 23 Presidential memo and after multiple consultations and collaboration with the Lumbee Tribe, a report regarding the Lumbee Tribe federal recognition alternatives was completed and submitted on April 8 by the Department as required. We anticipate the Lumbee Tribe will work with Congress on a path forward to be formally recognized.”
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks said in a statement to the One Feather, “The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is disappointed that the Department of the Interior will not release its full report on Lumbee recognition. The Lumbee have never provided evidence of their ancestry, yet Congress is being asked to recognize them at a cost of nearly $2 billion in taxpayer dollars.”
He added, “Sadly, the Department is signaling that politics, not evidence, can determine tribal status. That is a dangerous precedent. This is about protecting the meaning of sovereignty for all federally recognized tribes, including ours. If recognition is handed out without proof, it opens the door for hundreds of groups to make similar claims, threatening resources, rights, and programs meant for legitimate tribal nations.
We are calling on Congress to require the Lumbee to undergo the Office of Federal Acknowledgment process. That’s the only fair way forward, and it protects the future of all American Indian tribes.”
Two identical bills are currently in Congress regarding Lumbee recognition. The legislation (S. 107) for the 119th Congress was introduced in the Senate on Thursday, Jan. 16 by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.). An identical bill (H.R. 474) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen David Rouzer (R-N.C.) and Mark Harris (R-N.C.). S.107 was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs, and H.R. 474 was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
This issue has been before Congress before. Following are the results of Lumbee recognition bills from the past 10 Congresses alone. The bills passed in the House would subsequently die in the Senate.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 2758), in the 117th Congress, passed the House by a vote of 357-59 on Nov. 1, 2021.
- The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Recognition Act (H.R. 1964), in the 116th Congress, passed the House by a voice vote on Nov. 16, 2020.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 2352), in the 115th Congress, died in the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 184), in the 114th Congress, died in the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 1803), in the 113th Congress, died in the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 27), in the 112th Congress, died in the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 31), in the 111th Congress, passed the House by a vote of 240-179 on June 3, 2009.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 65), in the 110th Congress, passed the House by a vote of 256-128 on June 7, 2007.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 21), in the 109th Congress, died in the House Committee on Resources.
- The Lumbee Recognition Act (S.420), in the 108th Congress, passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Nov. 24, 2003 but never made it to a vote in the Senate. There was no House companion bill in that Congress.
Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) spoke of the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 25, 2024 in opposition to the Lumbee Fairness Act and in favor of groups going through the OFA (Office of Federal Acknowledgment) process.
“For over 40 years, the Department of the Interior has carried out a merit-based process, as set out by Congress and administered by the Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA), to make determinations on federal recognition of tribes. If the administration or Congress allows the Lumbee to bypass the OFA, it sends a clear message that other groups with dubious claims for tribal recognition can also avoid the deliberation and scrutiny that the OFA petition is designed to provide.”
His remarks continued, “If there was actual merit behind the Lumbee case for federal recognition, they’d go through the OFA process as set out in the law. But, as they know, it won’t hold up under a deliberative process, they’ve instead sought to get special treatment through other avenues, all in the face of credible opposition by multiple federally recognized tribes.”
The Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) is located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. According to information from the OFA, “By applying anthropological, genealogical, and historical research methods, OFA reviews, verifies, and evaluates groups’ petitions for federal acknowledgment as Indian Tribes.”
There are currently 13 petitions being reviewed by the OFA including: Salyersville Indian Community (Mich.), Affiliated Ute Citizens of the State of Utah (Utah), Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Reservation (Va.), Tuskarora Nation of Moratoc Indians (N.C.), Salinan Tribe of Monterey and San Luis Obispo (Calif.), Tripanick Nansemond Family Indian Tribe (Kan.), Chihene Nde Nation of New Mexico (N.M.), Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (Calif.), Butte Tribe of Bayou Bourbeaux (La.), Schaghticoke Indian Tribe (Conn.), Muscogee Nation of Florida (Fla.), Piro/Manso/Tiwa Indian Tribe of Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe (N.M.), and Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians (Mich).
