DIRECTING PLAN FOR RECOGNITION OF LARGEST TRIBE EAST OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to advance full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
The memorandum establishes that it is the
policy of the United States to support federal recognition and full tribal benefits for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.It directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms, including the right to receive full federal benefits.
FULL FEDERAL RECOGNITION IS LONG OVERDUE:The Lumbee have long been recognized at the state and federal level, but further federal action is required for full federal recognition and the accompanying benefits and protections.
The State of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee Tribe in 1885, and in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the 1956 Lumbee Act, which recognized the Lumbee but denied them some federal benefits.
Tribes can gain federal recognition by: (1) Act of Congress; (2) the Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement process; or (3) federal court decision.
President Trump’s memorandum directs the Secretary of the Interior to analyze these legal pathways for advancing Lumbee recognition.
Federal recognition grants tribes’ certain governmental autonomy, land protections, and access to federal programs and services, like health care through the Indian Health Service.
DELIVERING ON PROMISE TO SUPPORT RECOGNITION: President Trump promised to support federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe.
On September 23, 2024, President Trump stated: “Today, I’m officially announcing that, if I am elected in November, I will sign legislation granting the great Lumbee Tribe federal recognition that it deserves.”
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