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The American Indian Culture Day performance spotlighted Lumbee history, culture, traditions and even weaponry on Thursday at Givens Performing Arts Center. The students also had an opportunity to see traditional dancing, learn about Eastern Woodland Tribal ways, language and much more. The two performance event welcome students from Kindergarten through 8th grade students. Thank you to all of our dancers, drummers, singers and the staff who worked to make this event a great success. The event is part of American Indian Heritage Month.

Get in the holiday spirit with UNCP as they light up Old Main on November 28, 2023 at 6 pm. Light refreshments and entertainment will be in front of Old Main. This is a free event that is open to the public.

As we continue to celebrate American Indian Heritage Month, the staff at Scotland Regional Hospice, in Scotland County, welcomed the Lumbee Tribe’s Culture team with open arms to participate in their American Indian Heritage Program. It was a great day to honor the Hospice staff for what they do as well as share the story and tradition of the flute. Thank you Scotland Regional Hospice for the opportunity!

For Immediate Release Lumbee Holdings, Inc. Advances Forward - Creating Fourth Business Pembroke, NC (November 6, 2023) - Lumbee Holdings, Inc. Board Chairman John L. Lowery has officially signed the formal legal documents for the creation of Lumbee Support Solutions, LLC. Lumbee Support Solutions, LLC, which will be the fourth subsidiary wholly owned by Lumbee Holdings, Inc. The company’s primary business focus will be on professional administrative management and related business lines with federal agency partners. The Lumbee Tribal Council unanimously approved the creation of this new company at a Tribal Council meeting in October. Lumbee Holdings, Inc. is wholly owned by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and distributions from its operations go to support critical programs for the tribal citizens.

November 6, 2023 Dear Lumbee People, The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a long-time member of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). NCAI is the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing tribal nations. In September, two amendments to the NCAI constitution were proposed that would exclude the Lumbee Tribe, along with 23 other tribes, from being voting members of NCAI. These two preposterous amendments are a direct contradiction to the original purpose and mission of NCAI, which is to create tribal unity and to protect the sovereign rights of tribes. My administration and the Lumbee Tribal Council are working with fellow Tribes and partners to defeat these two radical amendments, which pose a threat to the sovereignty of all tribes. The NCAI Annual Conference will take place November 12-17 in New Orleans and these amendments will be considered by members of NCAI. We are making every effort to defeat these amendments, which are yet another effort to challenge our existence as a Sovereign Nation. I will not stand by and let that happen quietly. As a long-standing member of NCAI, we have every right to confront this challenge and we are doing so without hesitation. I ask that you keep your tribal leadership, tribal members, and our allies in your prayers over the coming weeks. Together we can withstand this challenge, as we have done before and perhaps end this once and for all. If you would like to submit comments on these two absurd amendments, we will post a link in the coming week to share your thoughts on this crucial issue for our people.

NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall visited the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina this week to meet with Tribal Chairman Lowery and Lumbee Holdings, Inc. CEO Joshua Malcolm. Secretary Marshall’s office has provided support to Lumbee Holdings as is seeks to expand its overseas business development efforts. Chairman Lowery presented her with a tobacco bundle. It was the Secretary’s first time visiting the Lumbee Tribal Housing Complex.

Today, Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery kicked off American Indian Heritage Month at St. Pauls High School with 9th - 12th grade high school students and members of the St. Pauls High School American Indian Student Association. Chairman Lowery encouraged the students to get their diploma and discussed the importance of education. He also shared his education and the journey that he took to becoming Chairman of the Lumbee People. Chairman Lowery also discussed the tribal government structure, up and coming events, construction projects, and much more with the students. This is just one of many American Indian heritage events that the Lumbee Tribe will participate in throughout the month of November, as we share about American Indian culture and the contributions of American Indian People to our nation.

For Immediate Release Lumbee Tribe Awarded $7.4 Million for Affordable Housing as Part of $43.2 Million from the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) Raleigh, NC (October 31, 2023) -The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) has awarded $43.2 million from the Affordable Housing Development Fund (AHDF) to four municipal governments and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina to increase community resilience. This third round of AHDF funding prioritized government entities that had not yet received affordable housing funds from NCORR, including Bladen, Duplin, Jones, Pamlico, Pender and Scotland counties. Local and tribal governments were encouraged to apply for financing for single-family homeownership development or multifamily housing rehabilitation or new construction outside of the 100-year floodplain. The funds will be used to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing in areas of the state that experienced major damage from hurricanes’ Matthew and Florence. “This third round of affordable housing funding is particularly exciting because five local and tribal governments are first-time recipients of the long-term disaster recovery housing grant program,” said Michele Wiggins, NCORR housing opportunities manager. “The funds will play a critical role in replenishing single and multifamily units damaged and destroyed by past storms.” The first project selected was a single-family homeownership development project led by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The initiative looks to build 30 single family homes and will target individuals at 80% or below Area Median Income. This project also has designated housing units for veterans and those with physical disabilities. It will leverage other funding sources from the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act and local HUD Community Development Block Grant funds. NCORR awarded the project $7,425,000 to complete the $11,016,500 total cost. “I want to thank my team for securing this historic $7.4 million in funds from the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency,” said Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery. “We look forward to building (30) thirty single family homes and securing a brighter future through homeownership for these Lumbee families.” Lumbee Tribal Administrator Ricky Harris said the funding will allow the tribe to tremendously grow efforts to assist families with housing. “This year we celebrated construction of our 250th home and we currently have single-family home construction underway at several sites across the Lumbee Tribal Territory,” said Harris. “This funding will allow us to expand on our efforts with construction of new homes for families.” The second AHDF grant recipient, Scotland County, will use the $9,656,244 award to finance the I. Ellis Johnson Multifamily Housing site which will create 55 rental units. The project also plans to use funding from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency through its Supportive Housing American Rescue Plan program and bank loans to complete the project in partnership with the Southeastern Community Action Partnership. The Town of Maysville in Jones County is the third awardee and plans to use the $9,725,000 in award funding to build White Oak Landing Apartments. The town will partner with Carolina Statewide Development, LLC, to build 40 units of affordable multifamily housing. The fourth awardee, Pamlico County, will receive $6,688,212 to develop Pamlico Grove apartments, a 56-unit development, 29 of which will be funded by the AHDF grant. The housing project, which will be built by Mills Property Development, LLC, will utilize federal tax credits and bank loans to complete the $13,575,566 total project cost. The final recipient of long-term affordable housing funds is the Town of Beulaville, in Duplin County, which will receive $9,706,000. The town will work with developer Carolina Statewide Development, LLC, to build 40 multifamily rental units in an area where few rental housing options exist. Eligible counties include those that were federally- and state-identified as most impacted and distressed (MID) due to Hurricane Matthew and/or Hurricane Florence. For a list of counties, see the online map: Most Impacted and Distressed Counties. The Affordable Housing Development Fund Program is supported by North Carolina’s HUD Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery funding for hurricanes Matthew and Florence and Tropical Storm Fred. It is one of multiple housing programs overseen by NCORR through its Community Development Office, which also administers the Multifamily Development Fund, Public Housing Restoration Fund and Infrastructure Program. In addition to disaster recovery and affordable housing, the office manages programs that support resiliency, mitigation, strategic buyout, infrastructure and local government grants and loans.