Biden Favors Federal Recognition Of Lumbee Indian Tribe Print
Federal Government
By Administrator   
Friday, 09 October 2020 10:48

, Biden for President announced its support of full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. As part of the campaign’s continued support of Indian County, the campaign announced Joe Biden would sign into law Congressman G.K. Butterfield’s bipartisan legislation that grants the Lumbee Tribe full federal recognition--and the support it has been denied for far too long.
 
The announcement supporting federal recognition coincides with Biden for President’s rollout of Joe Biden’s Commitment to Indian County, the Vice President’s plan to build on the progress made under the Obama-Biden Administration to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship, support the sovereignty of tribal nations, and make far reaching investments in Indian Country.       
 
See the full story below:

Raleigh News & Observer: Biden backs Lumbee tribe’s push for federal recognition
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will back full federal recognition for the Lumbee tribe, the largest in North Carolina, his campaign said Thursday.

The former vice president pledged to back a bill from U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield granting the Lumbee that status. The bill, introduced last year, has not passed the House.

“Six decades ago, Congress recognized the Lumbee Tribe but denied it the benefits that all other federally recognized tribes receive,” said a statement from the campaign. “It is past time for the federal government to rectify this injustice and fully recognize the Lumbee tribe, providing it with the critical resources it needs to prosper.”

Situated largely around Robeson, Scotland and Hoke counties, the Lumbee make up the largest American Indian tribe east of the Mississippi River.

Its 55,000 members hold annual powwows to display their Native American traditions, and the tribe keeps its office inside a turtle-shaped building in Pembroke.

But while North Carolina has long recognized the tribe, the federal government has denied the Lumbee that status since 1956, when Congress acted to deny members that full legal status and corresponding access to benefits.

Last year, Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, sponsored the Lumbee Recognition Act. Though hearings were held in December, it has yet to pass.

With recognition, the tribe could win the right to self-government as a sovereign nation and gain access to funds for school and health care.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee in western North Carolina is the state’s only federally recognized tribe, having a reservation within the Qualla Boundary.