Federal Recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina – The White House

On January 24, 2025By Littum

MEMORANDUM TO THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

SUBJECT: Federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North

Carolina

Section 1. Purpose and policy. The The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolinaknown as the People of the Dark Water, have a long and storied history. The tribe’s members were descendants of several tribal nations from the Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan language families, including the Hatteras, Tuscarora, and Cheraw. The waters of the Lumbee River and lands surrounding it have protected and provided for the Lumbee people for centuries despite war, disease and many other dangers.

In 1885, the state of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee people as an Indian tribe. 1885 NC Sess. Laws 92. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Lumbee Act (Public Law 84-570, 70 Stat. 254)which recognized the Lumbee as the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina but denied the Lumbee Indians federal benefits associated with such recognition. Today, according to the state of North Carolina, the Lumbee tribe consists of more than 55,000 members, making it the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth-largest tribe in the nation.

In 2024, the United States House of Representatives passed by a vote of 311–96 Lumbee Fairness Act (HR 1101), which would give the Lumbee tribe full federal recognition, but this legislation was not considered by the US Senate before the end of the 118th Congress. Similar legislation has been passed in the House of Representatives several times.

Given the historical and contemporary importance of the Lumbee Tribe, it is the policy of the United States to support the full federal recognition, including the authority to receive full federal benefits, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Sec. 2. Directive for recognition plan. (a) Within 90 days after the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of the Interior shall review all appropriate authorities with respect to the recognition or recognition of Indian tribes and shall, in consultation with the leadership of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, submit to the President a plan to assist the Lumbee- the tribe to obtain full federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms, including the right to receive full federal benefits.

(b) The plan shall include consideration and analysis of each potential legal avenue to accomplish full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe, including through an act of Congress, judicial action, or the procedures for federal recognition of Indian tribes set forth in 25 CFR Part 83.