Lumbee Chairman John Lowery testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Nov. 5, 2025. (Photo from senate.gov)
Federal tribal recognition for the Lumbee is set for a vote before Congress Wednesday, 10 months after the Trump administration vowed “to support the full Federal recognition, including the authority to receive full Federal benefits, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.”
Put forward in January by North Carolina Republicans Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Ted Budd, Rep. David Rouzer, and Rep. Mark Harris, the Lumbee Fairness Act is included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is set to appropriate $900 billion in defense spending for fiscal year 2026.
Professor David Wilkins (Photo: University of Richmond).David Wilkins, a professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond and a Lumbee citizen, said he believes things have “lined up in a way that they never had before.”
“There had always been one major segment of the governmental framework that was definitely opposed to Lumbee recognition,” Wilkins said. “I think it’s got a decent shot at going through, but as we know in politics, you never can say until it’s a done deal.”
After nearly 140 years of Lumbee recognition efforts, the pending vote puts the prospect closer than ever before. Should the bill pass, they will become the largest federally recognized tribe east of the Mississippi River at more than 55,000 members.
“For decades, the Lumbee People have sought full federal recognition — and today, we are closer than ever to making it a reality,” Harris said in a statement. “We have used every tool at our disposal to secure recognition in this year’s NDAA. I’m deeply grateful to President Trump for his longstanding championship of the Lumbee Tribe and for working across both chambers of Congress to deliver the full federal recognition and rights our people deserve.”
President Donald Trump has promised recognition since hitting the campaign trail in North Carolina in 2020, and during last year’s race, both he and Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to deliver it. Just three days after his inauguration, he directed the Interior Department to explore all legal pathways for recognition.
President Donald Trump signs a memorandum making full federal recognition for the Lumbee a priority for his administration on Jan. 23, 2025. (Photo: White House YouTube channel)“I love the Lumbee Tribe,” Trump said in the Oval Office in January. “So, this is the first big step, right? They were with me all the way, they were great.”
Lumbee recognition has polarized federally recognized tribes across the U.S., with roughly 235 backing their bid and more than 100 opposed. The most vocal opposition has come from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who are currently the only recognized tribe based in North Carolina.
In a statement Monday, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Michell Hicks said that the Lumbee have failed to meet the historical and legal requirements for recognition.
“We are deeply disappointed and alarmed to see the inclusion of Lumbee recognition language in the National Defense Authorization Act,” Hicks said. “Once recognition is granted without an evidentiary review, the standing of all federally acknowledged tribal nations becomes more vulnerable to political shifts rather than being anchored in history and law.”
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians maintains that the recognition process must go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has an existing process for vetting claims. The Lumbee argue that because of a 1956 congressional act explicitly denying them federal rights and benefits, only Congress has the power to grant them full recognition.
Wilkins disputed the Cherokee argument, noting that the congressional recognition process long predates the executive branch’s process for vetting claims.
“They’ve gone through the proper route, constitutionally speaking,” he said. “[The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians] have tried out every argument they can muster, and this is their latest one, and it doesn’t bear out in any historical or constitutional way.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a longtime supporter of Lumbee recognition, said in November that “anyone with doubts” should visit Robeson County and see their culture and history firsthand. (Photo: Senate.gov)Tillis pushed back on skepticism over Lumbee history during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Nov. 5, pointing to countless Lumbee veterans who have served at Fort Bragg and elsewhere. “They’ve done everything this nation has ever asked of them, and all they ask in return is fairness,” he said.
“I invite anyone with doubts to visit Robeson County, Hope County, or Scotland County, go to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, founded by and for the Lumbee people,” Tillis said at the hearing. “You’ll see the rich Lumbee culture, their deep roots in North Carolina, and their extraordinary contributions to our state and our nation.”
Lumbee Chairman John Lowery declined to comment ahead of Wednesday’s vote, but in testimony before the committee last month, he called on Congress to grant his people full self-determination.
“Today, I stand before you as a leader of a people who have never been afraid to fight, to stand our ground, and to resist oppression. When we are pushed, we push back,” Lowery said. “Congress must move to ensure the Lumbee Indians are no longer second-class Natives in our own land.”
While the recognition issue has received bipartisan support, a litany of disputes over elements of the full National Defense Authorization Act could hinder Wednesday’s vote. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) vowed to vote against the bill on Tuesday, citing disagreements over foreign policy with the Trump administration, and other Republicans have raised concerns over cryptocurrency and anti-DEI provisions removed from the bill.
The House is scheduled to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.. If passed, the bill will go to the Senate for final approval.
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