Filing for Tribal Council is now open

            The Lumbee Tribe will hold an election to fill seven seats on the Tribal Council on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. The filing period opens Monday, August 23, 2010 and will end Friday, September 10, 2010. Candidates may apply at the tribal office at 6984 NC Hwy 711 West in Pembroke from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

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Lumbee Tribe Assumes Indian Health Care Clinic

            The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will assume the operations of the Indian Health Care Clinic previously of 304 N. Cedar Street of Lumberton.  The new clinic will re-open as part of the Lumbee Tribe’s Department of Health and Human Services.  The clinic will continue to operate as a non-profit and will move to the Native Exchange complex located in ComTech off NC Highway 711 in Pembroke. 

            Indian Health Care (IHC) first opened in March 2004.  According to Fred Rogers, founder and Executive Director, IHC’s mission has been to provide primary health care to the American Indian population of Robeson and surround counties at little or no cost to the patient.  Patients are screened and served provided their income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household.  This means for a family of four they may that a total income of up to $44,100 or a family of two may make up to $29,136.

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Tribe Travels to support 2nd Annual Dream Catcher Project

                  Tribal Youth Services Coordinators traveled to Camp Rockfish on Monday, August 9, to jumpstart and support the Cumberland County Schools Department of Indian Education in the “Dream Catcher Project”.
            The Office of Indian Education has funded a week long day camp, August 9th-12th, through the Dream Catcher project.  The former Coordinator of Indian Education, Trudy Locklear, along with Darlene Ransom, also a Lumbee Supreme Court Justice, was presented with the proposal about five years ago by non-Indian grant writers. “They knew there was Indian money to be had but they didn’t have any stories of our culture to tell, so they asked Trudy and me for our stories so our voices could be heard,” stated Ransom.  The program accepted students from Cape Fear, Douglas Byrd, Gray’s Creek, Jack Britt and South View schools.

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Tribe and Pembroke host 4th Annual National Night Out

            The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Town of Pembroke sponsored its 4th Annual National Night Out from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Pembroke Town Park on Tuesday, August 3.
            The National Association of Town Watch sponsors the organization of National Night Out which brings together 37 million Americans in 15, 000 communities. The purpose of National Night out is to strengthen communities, instigate involvement in crime and drug prevention programs, strengthen police to community relationships, and to symbolize the community message to criminals that they are fighting back.
             According to Brian Duckworth, a lieutenant with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Department, there are over 140 crime prevention and community watch programs available. “Our biggest crime right now is individuals stealing the identity of children through twitter, facebook and sources of that nature,” said Lt. Duckworth. He also informed them of the risks in putting too much information on the internet, and about giving too much information to a stranger or someone you are casually chatting with online. VIDEO & PHOTOS

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School is almost in session, how can you help disadvantaged youth?

           (July 2010) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Volunteer Program has begun its 1st Annual School Supply Drive at various drop-off sites continuing until 5 p.m. on Monday, August 23, 2010.
            Throughout the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina’s four-county service area there are tribal students within the public school system that are economically disadvantaged. They do not have the necessary school supplies required for learning to ensure a successful school year. According to the Tribal Volunteer Program, the average cost of school supplies per child is about $50.00, which does not include the cost of replacing supplies throughout the year or the advanced high tech calculators required by most high schools.
           The following locations have been designated as drop-off sites: the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Housing Complex, First Nation Boys & Girls Club, Pembroke Boys & Girls Club, Hoke County Boys & Girls Club, Fuller’s BBQ in Lumberton, Cyna’s Jewelry, First Bank and New Century Bank in Pembroke. “If someone is willing to donate school items, I am more than willing to pick-up if they cannot travel to a drop-off site,” said Hunt-Warriax. These sites are identifiable by the event posters attached to bins and baskets inside the locations.

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NC Tribes Discuss with Federal Officials Education Reform

            (August 2010) The Administration of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina participated in a Listening and Learning Session with the US Department of Education Thursday, August 5, at the Indian Education Resource Center in Pembroke.
            The session opened with the Lumbee Color Guard, led by Vice Chairman and Tribal Council member, Furnie Lambert. The session was then opened with a prayer by the Chairman of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, Rev. Mike Jacobs. After the session was called to order, Executive Director of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs Greg Richardson read a proclamation issued by Governor Beverly Purdue declaring Thursday, August 5, 2010 as American Indian Education Day.  COMPLETE STORY or MORE LUMBEE NEWS

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Religious Leaders meet on Federal Recognition

           (July 2010) The Lumbee Tribal Chairman held a meeting with religious leaders on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 8 a.m. at Prospect United Methodist Church to discuss federal recognition efforts. 
            The meeting opened up with “Victory in Jesus,” a selection from the Prospect United Methodist Church hymnal, and was followed with a prayer. The goal of the meeting was to become clear about the objectives toward federal recognition efforts and to effectively show the Lumbee communities as working together. “We are all struggling toward the same effort and we are not focused on gaming; it is not in the Bill and it is not going to be changed by Congressman Mike McIntrye,” said Reverend Mike Cummings, Associational Missionary for the Burnt Swamp Baptist Association, “the faith community is the largest community and we want to show the people are together with the Ministers in the lead.”
            The discussion continued amongst the ministers as various individuals that were previously elected to discuss the matter at hand stood to give clarity and encouragement. “We need this very much, it is not outside the realm of possibility and it can happen,” stated Presiding Bishop James A. Woods with the Holiness Methodist Conference, “we are laying the foundation now for those to come behind us and we want you to be of good courage, we are on a mission to seek something that will bless and enrich our people.”

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Lumbee Recognition

          The Lumbee are the present-day descendants of the Cheraw Tribe and have continuously existed in and around Robeson County since the early part of the eighteenth century. (Note: A brief timeline of Lumbee history can be found by clicking here.) In 1885, the tribe was recognized as Indian by the State of North Carolina. The tribe has sought full federal recognition from the United States Government since 1888. In 1956, Congress passed the Lumbee Act, which recognized the tribe as Indian. However, the Act withheld the full benefits of federal recognition from the tribe. Efforts are currently underway to pass federal legislation that grants full recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

What does the term "federally recognized" mean?

          Only tribes who maintain a legal relationship with the U.S. government through binding treaties, acts of Congress, executive orders, etc., are officially "recognized" by the federal government. Once "recognized" a tribe has a legal relationship with the United States. There are currently more than 440 federally recognized tribes in the United States, including some 200 village groups in Alaska. No treaty exists between the Lumbee and the United States. Typically, treaties were entered into when a tribe posed a threat to the United States, or when a tribe possessed minerals and gold desired by the United States. Because Lumbee lived at peace with its non-Indian neighbors and did not possess any valuable minerals or gold, the United States had little reason to treaty with the Lumbee. However, the United States Congress did enact a law in 1956 which recognized the Lumbee, while withholding all privileges and benefits normally associated with recognition.

Tribal Origins

          The earliest document showing Indian communities in the area of Drowning Creek is a map prepared by John Herbert, the commissioner of Indian trade for the Wineau Factory on the Black River, in 1725. Herbert identifies the four Siouan-speaking communities as the Saraws, Pedee, Scavanos, and Wacomas. (Note: Drowning Creek is presently known as the Lumber River, and flows through present-day Robeson County. Many Lumbee people also know it as the Lumbee River.)

          In 1754, it was reported that there was an Indian settlement consisting of 50 families located on Drowning Creek. That same year, North Carolina Governor Matthew Rowan proclaimed the county of Anson a "frontier to the Indians". Drowning Creek formed the border between Anson and Bladen counties and the settlement was located on the Anson side of the border. In 1771, a convicted felon by the name of Winsler Driggers was captured "near Drowning Creek, in the Charraw settlement" (South Carolina Gazette October 3, 1771). This mention, along with other evidence that a new settlement was established or the old settlement was abandoned, confirms that the settlement on Drowning Creek in 1754 was a Cheraw settlement.

Is the Lumbee Tribe pursuing federal recognition for the sole purpose of gaming?

          The Lumbee Tribe has been pursuing federal recognition since 1888. In that petition, the Lumbee requested educational assistance from the federal government but was denied. Since that time, the Lumbee have petitioned the federal government several times regarding issues of education and federal recognition. From 1910 to 1924, at least five separate bills were introduced in Congress seeking federal recognition of the Tribe. The Tribe attempted recognition again in 1932 and 1933 when similar bills were submitted to Congress for consideration. It is clear from the history of the Lumbee Tribe and their relations with Congress that they seek the simple acknowledgement of their tribal existence, and the right to self-governance to protect and preserve the Lumbee way of life.

          In addition, the Lumbee Constitution required that any ordinance passed by the Tribal Council authorizing gaming must be certified for referendum by the membership of the Lumbee Tribe. Therefore, the Lumbee Tribal Council itself cannot impose gaming. The history of the Lumbee pursuit of federal recognition, as well as the language in their Constitution, clearly suggests that gaming is the least of all motives for the Tribe's pursuit of federal recognition.

Meaning of the Tribal Seal

          The circular shape of the tribal seal is symbolic of the circle of life. Along with the circle, the four equal parts and colors of the medicine wheel represent the lifespan of man: birth (red), growth (yellow), maturity (black) and death (white). But, as the circle has no end, so there can be no end to life but only another beginning. In addition, the colors represent the four qualities of a balanced life: the spiritual, the emotional, the physical, and the intellect.

          The colors and their location on the wheel also represent: the four directions: east, south, west and north, the four colors of man: red, yellow, black and white, and the four seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter.

          The Lumbee Pinecone Patchwork surrounding the circle of life represents the pride, power and will of the Lumbee Tribe. The circle, the four equal parts with corresponding colors and the Lumbee Pinecone Patchwork come together to form a symbol representative of the Lumbee Tribe.

(per ORDINANCE NO. 2006-000)

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