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Tonight, the Lumbee Tribal Council kicked off the new year in their January Business Meeting by selecting the executive committee and the committee chairs. Alex Baker was renominated as Speaker, Bobby Emanuel was nominated as Vice Chair, Nanci Locklear was nominated as Treasurer, Billy Oxendine was nominated as Parliamentarian, and Chocajuana Oxendine was nominated as Secretary. The Committee chairs include Harold Smith (Housing Chair), Nanci Locklear (Finance Chair), Rudy Locklear (Constitution and ordinance Chair), Graylen Mitchell (Economic development Chair), Chocajuana Oxendine (Education Chair), Alex Baker (Federal recognition Chair), Jody Bullard (Health and Human services Chair), Mary Locklear (ANR Chair), and Homer Fields (Ethics Chair). Chairman John Lowery also presented on recent developments in Federal Recognition.

The Lumbee Tribe of N.C. invites you to join us as we remember and honor our Lumbee ancestors who stood against the KKK 68 years ago at the Battle of Hayes Pond. Join us on Friday, January 16th at 11 am as we look back on this anniversary at that pivotal day with stories from battle participant Jack Lowery and Nancy Chavis, Lumbee historian and Curator of the Museum of the Southeast American Indian. Author Kayden Ryan will also share insight into his recent book about the battle that made headlines around the globe. The event will be at the Lumbee Tribe Boys & Girls Club in Pembroke.

Congratulations to our Newly Elected Lumbee Tribal Council members, who were sworn in at the Inauguration. Sworn in tonight by the Honorable Ronette Sutton were Alex Baker (District 13), Eric Chavis (District 21), Sandra Dial (District 17), Josephine Doss (District 12), Kathy Hunt (District , Sharon Hunt (District 15), and Rubalena Locklear (District 1). Thank you to our outgoing council members for their service: Mrs. Yvonne Barnes Dial (District 7), Mr. Gerald Goolsby (District 2), Mrs. Kristy Hunt (District 20), and Mrs. Pam Hunt (District 3). Also, thank you to the Drowning Creek Drummers, Senior Ms. Lumbee Wendy Chavis Locklear, the Lumbee Ambassadors; Miss Lumbee Taylor Davis, Little Miss Lumbee Jadyn Grace Herndon, Junior Miss Lumbee Kyndall Locklear, Teen Miss Lumbee Keely Deal and Page Freeman, Miss Indian North Carolina, for honoring the council tonight in song.

On Wednesday of this week, we held our first official meeting with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. It was a productive and informative discussion that marks an important step forward for our Tribe. Before the end of this month, the BIA will release its annual list of federally recognized tribes, and I am honored to share that, for the first time, the Lumbee Tribe will officially appear on that list. Being added to the list of Federally Recognized Tribes published in the Federal Register annually will finally open the door to every avenue available to protect the sovereignty of the Lumbee people. It will give the Tribe and our members access to new tools to protect our land, our children, our ancestors’, and most importantly, will remind anyone with questions that we are here and will be here, now and in the future.” We were also informed that over the coming months we will begin receiving what is called “new tribe” funding which will support infrastructure costs and technical assistance for this transition. We will work closely with the BIA to access and implement this funding as it becomes available. These resources will allow us to thoughtfully build systems and gradually bring programs online as we enter this New Era of Possibilities and Prosperity. We also discussed the process by which the Secretary of the Interior will verify our tribal rolls, which will be based on our enrollment as of December 18, 2025. Regarding enrollment, we will resume updates for currently enrolled citizens later this month. Once the Secretary’s verification procedures are finalized, I will work with the Tribal Council to establish a date for open enrollment for those individuals who have decided to wait until now to finally become enrolled citizens of the Lumbee Tribe. Also, we have learned that our Lumbee students working towards a vocational certificate or diploma, associate’s, bachelors, masters, doctoral or professional degree, are now eligible for the Cobell Scholarship which is the first of the many opportunities that will be available for our youth. For more information you can visit the website, cobellscholar.org For the foreseeable future, I will provide weekly video updates as we continue to move forward in this new and evolving relationship with the United States government. As I have shared with many over the past three weeks, this is a learning process—one step at a time. I ask for your patience, because as we learn, you will learn, and I remain committed to keeping you informed every step of the way. As a tribal government, we are actively engaged in discussions around the Indian Child Welfare Act, cultural and historic preservation, funding opportunities beyond the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Services, land-into-trust, updates to state statutes that reflect our new status as a fully recognized tribe, and how best to strengthen and exercise our political and sovereign might to better serve our people for generations to come.

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Department of Energy is accepting applications for the Heating Assistance Program (HAP) through January 30, 2026. LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) provides vital assistance to help eligible households with energy costs during the coldest months of the year. The Department of Energy is committed to ensuring that families in need can stay safe and warm this winter. The assistance dates are broken into three categories: - Jan. 5 - 9: Senior Citizens 65 years and older - Jan. 12 - 16: Disabled and Veteran households - Jan. 19 - 30: All eligible households For more information, and a checklist of required documentation, please visit the Department of Energy website at; lumbeetribe.com/energydept , or by telephone at 910-522-2206.

Please be advised that the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Rehabilitation Department will not accept applications during the month of January 2026. This temporary pause is necessary to allow staff time to complete internal changes and implement program updates to serve the tribal membership better. Application intake is scheduled to resume on February 2, 2026.

The President of the United States. Donald Trump, has signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which included the Lumbee Fairness Act. Chairman John L. Lowery was with President Trump for this historic moment in Lumbee History. It is confirmed the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. is fully Federally Recognized as the 575th Tribe in the nation on this the 18th day of December 2025. Chairman Lowery said, “I had the honor of witnessing President Trump sign the National Defense Authorization Act, and in that moment our legal limbo finally ended. The injustice of the 1956 Act has been corrected, a relic of the Indian Termination Era has been erased, and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is now fully and rightfully recognized.”

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill in a ceremony today at 6:00 p.m. That ceremony will be broadcast on Youtube at this link

Today, Chairman John L. Lowery met with U.S. Department of the Interior Chief of Staff JoDee Hanson and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs William Kirkland. Chairman Lowery looks forward to continued engagement with Department leadership in the coming months as implementation of the Lumbee Fairness Act begins.

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will hold a Press Conference on Friday, December 19, 2025 to discuss the U.S. Senate vote and the Lumbee Fairness Act. All media are invited. The location is the Lumbee Tribe Housing Complex on 8984 Highway 711 in Pembroke, NC 28372. The Press conference will conclude with a question-and-answer session. Interviews may be available upon request.

The Lumbee Tribal Council Business Meeting has been rescheduled from tonight and moved to next Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 6:30 pm at the Pembroke Boys & Girls Club. The address is 120 Youth Drive in Pembroke.

The Lumbee Tribe of N.C. awaits with gratitude and appreciation the signature of President Donald Trump on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill. The ceremony is today at 6:00 p.m.