Federal Recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

Memorandums

TLDR

This executive order requires the Secretary of Interior to develop a 90-day plan for achieving full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (55,000+ members) through legislative, judicial, or administrative pathways, though it does not guarantee immediate recognition.

This executive order represents a significant shift in federal policy regarding the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

The Lumbee Tribe has faced a complex path to recognition. While North Carolina recognized them in 1885, and President Eisenhower signed the Lumbee Act in 1956, the tribe has been denied full federal benefits associated with tribal recognition. With over 55,000 members, they represent the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth-largest tribe nationally.

Key Provisions

Federal recognition pathway:

  • The Secretary of Interior must submit a recognition plan within 90 days
  • The plan must explore multiple legal pathways including:
    • Congressional legislation
    • Judicial action
    • Federal acknowledgment procedures under 25 C.F.R. Part 83

The order establishes official U.S. policy supporting full federal recognition and benefits for the Lumbee Tribe.

Strengths:

  • Creates a clear timeline for action (90 days)
  • Provides multiple pathways to recognition
  • Acknowledges historical injustice of partial recognition

Limitations:

  • Does not guarantee immediate recognition
  • Still requires further legislative or administrative action
  • Faces potential opposition from other tribal nations

This order follows Trump’s campaign promise made in September 2024. The House passed the Lumbee Fairness Act with bipartisan support (311-96) in 2024, but it stalled in the Senate. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has expressed concerns about the Lumbee’s claims and urged careful review of historical evidence.

While this order doesn’t immediately grant full federal recognition, it creates a formal process and timeline for achieving it. The success will largely depend on the Interior Department’s plan and subsequent political will to implement it through one of the identified pathways.

EMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

SUBJECT: Federal Recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North

Carolina

Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, known 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, the Tuscarora, and the Cheraw. The waters of the Lumbee River and lands that surround it have protected and provided for the Lumbee people for centuries despite war, disease, and many other perils.

In 1885, the State of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee people as an Indian tribe. 1885 N.C. 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 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, the Lumbee Fairness Act (H.R. 1101), which would grant the Lumbee Tribe full Federal recognition, but this legislation was not considered by the United States Senate before the end of the 118th Congress. Similar legislation has passed the House of Representatives several times.

Considering the Lumbee Tribe’s historical and modern significance, 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 of the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of the Interior shall review all applicable authorities regarding the recognition or acknowledgement of Indian tribes and, in consultation with the leadership of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, shall submit to the President 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.

(b) The plan shall include consideration and analysis of each potential legal pathway to effectuate full Federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe, including through an act of the Congress, judicial action, or the Procedures for Federal Acknowledgement of Indian Tribes set forth in 25 C.F.R. Part 83.

© The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.