After the Civil War, the Republican-controlled legislature established a system of free public education and established separate white and black schools. However, the Lumbees did not send their children to black schools. In 1885, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill sponsored by Hamilton McMillan, a legislator from Robeson County. The legislation recognized the Lumbee tribe (naming it Croatan), and established a separate school system for the benefit of tribal members. The law also gave the tribe the right to establish its own school committees, select teachers, and entitled them to a share of the county's school funds. The school committees determined the eligibility of students and hired teachers for the schools. At that time, literacy was very low in the community and teachers were in short supply.

On February 2, 1887, the tribe petitioned Hamilton McMillan for assistance in establishing a Normal School in Robeson County to train teachers. Legislation sponsored by McMillan regarding the request was introduced to the North Carolina General Assembly on February 10, 1887, and was enacted into law on March 7, 1887. The law provided $500 for each of the first two years to pay teachers' salaries. It did not, however, provide funds for land purchase or building construction. The Lumbee people themselves raised money to purchase land and construct a building. In the fall of 1887, the Croatan Normal School opened its doors to fifteen students, and in 1905, the first diploma was awarded.

Despite staffing and funding inadequacies, the school continued to train teachers. In 1909, the school had a total enrollment of 166. That same year, the trustees for the normal school decided to move the school to Pembroke. A ten-acre site in Pembroke was purchased; construction on the main building began in late spring and was completed in time for the fall semester.

In 1911, the tribe petitioned the North Carolina state legislature to change their name from Croatan. The legislature chose the name "Indians of Robeson County". The name of the normal school was also changed from Croatan Normal School to "Indian Normal School of Robeson County".

In 1912, legislation was introduced to the Senate to establish a school for the tribe. When the bill was sent to committee, the committee requested information from the Department of the Interior. The Indian Office sent Charles F. Pierce, the Supervisor of Indian Schools, to the county to conduct a study of the tribe. Pierce reported that the state and county were providing approximately $5,000 for teachers' salaries and the physical plant to educate the 1,976 school-age Indian children. The bill passed in the Senate and was sent to the House of Representatives where it was ultimately defeated.

In 1913, the tribe successfully petitioned to change their name to "Cherokee Indians of Robeson County", and the name of the normal school to "Cherokee Indian Normal School of Robeson County".

On April 28, 1914, the Senate called for an investigation into the status and conditions of the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties. The Indian Office sent Special Indian Agent O.M. McPherson to the county to obtain information regarding the educational system of the tribe. In his report, submitted to the Senate on January 4, 1915, he wrote:

While these Indians are essentially an agricultural people, I believe them to be as capable of learning the mechanical trades as the average white youth. The foregoing facts suggest the character of the educational institution that should be established for them, in case Congress sees fit to make the necessary appropriation, namely the establishment of an agricultural and mechanical school, in which domestic science shall also be taught.

The normal school was accredited by the state as a standard normal school in 1928. The North Carolina General Assembly changed the name of the school in 1941 to Pembroke State College for Indians. Until 1953, it was the only state-supported four-year college for Indians in the nation. In 1969, the name was changed to Pembroke State University. On July 1, 1996, Pembroke State University officially became The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

< Language | Religion >