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Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and community of Mr. Ambrose Locklear, Jr. Mr. Ambrose passed away on Sunday. He was a member of our Lumbee Tribe Four Winds Elders Group in the Saddletree Community. He also served previously as a board member of Lumbee River Electric Membership Corporation. He was a friend and servant to his community. Mr. Ambrose Locklear was a member of the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Mr. Ambrose Locklear, Jr., 81, departed this life peacefully on Sunday, January 29, 2023, in the care of First Health Hospice House. He was born on April 21, 1941, to Virgie & Ambrose Locklear, Sr. in Lumberton, NC. He was preceded in death by both his parents; sisters, Embley Tyler, Catherine Lowery, Jolene Strickland, Mae Annice Locklear and Betty Locklear; brothers, Billy Locklear, Jerl Locklear, and Judston “Buddy” Locklear. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; daughters, Robbie Locklear, her partner, Chris Pauciello, Connie Dwiggins, her husband, Chris Dwiggins, Bonnie Locklear, her partner, Candice Rose; grandchildren, Madeleine Zoll, Mackenzie Harland, and Tucker Harland; sisters, Molly Jacobs, and Christine Bullard; and a host of nieces and nephews. Mr. Ambrose was retired from the Robeson County Health Department after 31 years of service. He was an active member at Mt. Olive Baptist Church, a former LREMC board member, and a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend.

Chairman’s Monthly Report | January 2023 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina People of the Dark Water Dear Lumbee People, As we celebrate the beginning of the New Year, let’s also take a moment to remember the Lumbee Tribe’s 2022 accomplishments. I began my term with a focus on communication, process improvements, and outreach. We put into place a quarterly newsletter and I began writing monthly reports. Your tribal government committed to getting out into the communities and sharing information with our people. There also have been much needed improvements to a number of programs to better serve you. I am proud of these accomplishments and look forward to continuing our growth and progress in 2023. As December came to an end, our team worked closely with our Congressional Delegation, and lobbying team to pass the “Lumbee Bill” prior to Congress closing out their 117th session. We fell short in our efforts, but that will not hinder our movements going forward. As many of you know, in 1956 the United States Congress passed and President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Lumbee Act, acknowledging the Lumbee as an American Indian Tribe but denying us services. The 1956 Lumbee Act passed during a period known as “Indian Termination” when the United States was trying to “get out of the Indian business” and worked to terminate their relationships with individual tribes. Our proposed bill, once passed, will undo the termination language that has plagued our people for almost seven decades. I will continue to explore every option when it comes to reaching our goal of full federal recognition. Each year our opponents spend millions of dollars, straight from their casinos, to block our efforts. They use their money to influence decision-makers and push propaganda that call into question our rights as a tribe. We must fight back in a way that doesn’t lower us to their standards, but provides us with the leverage we need to tell our story and secure our tribe the full federal recognition we deserve. I will be visiting Washington, DC soon to begin the next steps into this new congressional term. On January 18th, we celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Hayes Pond. On that night, our Lumbee warriors came together to run the Ku Klux Klan out of Maxton and away from Lumbee Country. This year, I had the honor to do a live zoom interview with Dr. Jim Jones and Mr. Jack Lowery about that fateful night. Jack Lowery was an undergraduate student at UNC-Pembroke and Jones was a medical student at Wake Forest University, when they joined the fight to send the KKK running back to where they came from. This zoom was recorded and can be found on our Lumbee Tribe website; I encourage you to share it with family and friends. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Chairman. I love you all, John L. Lowery

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Student Housing Voucher Program is accepting applications for the Spring Semester. This program will supplement housing cost for income eligible Lumbee Undergraduate and Graduate College students attending a (4) Four-Year University/College within the State of N.C. Applications are due Friday, February 3, 2023. For more information and the Student Housing Vouchers Program checklist visit https://www.lumbeetribe.com/the-student-housing-voucher...

On April 27, 2023, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will honor all Lumbee High School and College Students, who are potential 2023 graduates in the Lumbee Cords of Honor Ceremony. These cords represent this important milestone in the life of our Lumbee Students. The cords comprise the colors of the Lumbee Tribal Seal and the Medicine Wheel. This symbolism represents the four directions, four seasons as well as our sacred path. As your life moves into future directions, we wish you success and honor your accomplishments. Education is a core value of the Lumbee People. We know it is our path to success. You crossed this milestone. We want to celebrate your journey. The application, which is available at www.lumbeetribe.com must be fully completed, signed by a school counselor or college advisor and returned by March 31, 2023 by 5:00pm to the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Please email or hand deliver your application to the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Housing Complex at 6984 NC Hwy 711 in Pembroke. (Attn: Cords of Honor)Or Email to : cordsofhonor@lumbeetribe.com Students must be actively enrolled. Enrollment Office information - 910.668.6099 or 910.521.7861 or email the Enrollment office at enrollment@lumbeetribe.com Online Application: https://forms.gle/SRvG4HcKFT3aQJXFA

Congratulations to our very own Kevin Melvin (Lumbee Tribal Historic Preservation Officer) and the “Life by the River” Project team who successfully launched the canoe “called Wisdom” from the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center this weekend. The 18 feet long dugout canoe took 8 months to finish and was created using the burnout method our ancestors would have used hundreds of years ago. “Life by the River” is a program by the Museum of the Southeast American Indian that focuses on North Carolina's Native People's connection in relationship with their ancestral waters. The canoe project was one of the components of the project led by Kevin Melvin. The project was a community collaborative as people were invited to help build the canoe. Eventually the canoe will travel across the state. The goal is to put it in each tribes' ancestral waters, whether that is a river, stream, lake or Carolina bay. The project started as an internship for Kelvin Melvin’s graduate school program at UNC Wilmington. The team found the large Loblolly Pine tree with the help of the North Carolina Nature Conservancy. The tree was cut, moved to the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, where it was burned and dug out by teams of volunteers each week since May. This weekend the team moved the canoe to the edge of the Cultural Center Lake. After some final sanding, they set it on fire one more time. The fire helps with the sanding and seals up the inside of the canoe. It was then sunk into the lake where it will remain until May. Since the canoe had been sitting out in the elements for months, it had begun to crack. The water submersion will help preserve it. After the launch this weekend, Kelvin Melvin canoed around the lake for a few moments. Lumbee ancestors would have used this type of canoe for fishing, transportation and maneuvering the river systems. The dugout canoe is only one part of the “Life by the River” Project. The program goal is to revive the canoe tradition with songs and ceremonies and the different things that go along with our traditional RIPERIAN way of life. The museum staff and community plan to bring the canoe up in May. The inaugural launch programming and ceremony is scheduled for May 13th. The canoe will eventually be preserved and put in the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at UNCP. Visit the museum's website for more information about "Life by the River" Project.

Congratulations to the Pembroke Elementary Junior Beta Club members who attended the State Convention at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC this week. You represented your community with great honor! The students were able to bond as a club through a variety of activities as well as compete in various competitions throughout the convention. Students that represented the club through competition in the Elementary Division were: Kamryn Bullard - Performing Arts Solo Dance, Language Arts Academics Online Camden Collins - Spelling Bee Online, Mathematics Academics Online Haileyana Strickland - Social Studies Academics Online Harmonee Chavis - Science Academics Online Tekawa Hunt - Hand Drawn Anime Sakiyah Bullard - Fiber Arts Jada Freeman - Painting Jeremiah Cintron - Drawing Katen Chavis - Color Photography Baileigh Malcolm - Black and White Photography Deana Revels - Jewelry Although it was their first year attending and competing, the students brought home 3 Champion Titles, 2 Second Place Titles, and a Fourth Place Title back to the Pembroke Elementary BeeHive. These students have qualified for Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky on June 21 - 23, 2023. Great job Pembroke Elementary School Beta Club as well as all of the students who attended the conference!!!

2022 was a year of great accomplishments for the Lumbee Tribe.

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina sends our deepest condolences to the Occaneechi Tribe following the passing this week of former Tribal Chairman John Blackfeather Jeffries. He served as the Occaneechi Tribal Chairman from 1995-2000 and on the Tribal Council until 2020. Tribal Elder and Past Chairman John Jeffries passed away on January 24th, 2023. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, tribe and community.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Lumbee Tribe of N.C. honors the memory of the six million Jewish victims and the legacy of the survivors. Families and organizations across the globe take time to remember this genocide of millions. Lumbee Tribal member Jessie Oxendine was a soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division when he and his regiment played a key role in the liberation of the Jewish prisoners at the Wobbelin, Germany Nazi concentration camp. He was the youngest of 4 brothers who served. We are thankful for the willingness of our Lumbee Veterans who fight for freedom. His 5 - part story was recorded by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Click this link to see his story. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn607953

For Immediate Release The Lumbee Tribe Highlights Accomplishments for 2022 as Chairman John L. Lowery and the Tribal Council Celebrate a Year of Progress Pembroke, NC (January 26, 2023) - The Lumbee Tribe assisted more than 20,000 Tribal citizens in 2022. Over the past year, Chairman Lowery also updated several programs to allow services to be available for more families. Four major changes included lowering the interest rate to 1% for new homeowners to purchase or build a home, removal of the Asset Requirement for those seeking housing rehab, which mainly helps our elders, expanded the Down Payment Assistance program to those out of territory, and enhanced the Tribal Enrollment Processes for updating citizens. “As I began my first year as Chairman, we hit the ground running,” said Chairman Lowery. “I am thankful for all our staff's hard work and the efforts of the Tribal Council, to touch the lives of our Lumbee Citizens. Our accomplishments in 2022 laid the foundation for continuous growth and progress in 2023. Our work has just begun!” See the attached press release with the list of highlights of 2022 or to see the full list of accomplishments visit the Lumbee Tribe Website at https://www.lumbeetribe.com/.../6ca8af...

Thank you to Dr. Jim Jones and Mr. Jack Lowery for sharing their wonderful memories of the Battle of Hayes Pond in this live segment with Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery. The information was very eye opening about the events surrounding the battle which drove the KKK out of Robeson County on January 18, 1958. It was also exciting to see detailed accounts of the planning for the battle and even interactions with law enforcement. We truly are thankful for every family who stood up for hate on that cold day in January, 65 years ago. Their determination made a difference for our communities and for our Lumbee children. Lumbee families, we hope you will take the time to encourage all of your family members, but especially your children to watch this video! Thank you to everyone who logged on around the nation. We will have at least one additional video coming out next week.

As we continue to reflect and celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the historic Battle of Hayes Pond, a very special gift was delivered to Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery this afternoon from the Kerns family. Jimmy, Jacob, and Kayla Kerns gifted a copy of the January 27, 1958 edition of the Life Magazine, which covered the Battle of Hayes Pond and shared it across the world. Jimmy said he purchased the copy at an antique dealer, but he has one copy that he kept for the past 30 years. #lumbeehero#LumbeeTribe#lumbeewarriors