Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L Lowery's Weekly Federal Recognition Update May 11, 2026
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Nikki Bass of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Federal Acknowledgement Office (FAO) recently visited our tribe. Her visit was to review our enrollment processes and to discuss with us next steps related to the transition of our tribe into full federal recognition. Ms. Bass met with our enrollment department employees and talked with them about our enrollment ordinances and policies. She was impressed by our digitalized process and complimented our department on having good procedures in place. We look forward to continuing our work with Nikki and her team at the BIA. Last week, our team held an Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) session with attorneys, judges, and social workers from across the four-county territory. This training session was to bring everyone up on to speed on the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act and what obligations the counties, the state, and the tribe have towards the protection of our children. With our tribe being so large we, unfortunately, have a lot of children in the foster system and our partners and local court officials need to be working together to ensure the Indian Child Welfare Act is followed. Recently, we set up a meeting with our local health care providers to hear directly from them regarding the health care needs within our tribal communities. This meeting really showed the engagement of our providers, and we were happy with their input and the guidance they provided us. Our tribe is blessed with an abundance of health care workers, and we must work with them as we move forward with Indian Health Services in the future. The Lumbee Tribe’s Election Board has set a date for the constitution amendment vote allowing gaming. That date will be Tuesday, June 23rd. In accordance with Tribal law, the tribal enrollment office will close at 5pm on May 22nd as enrollment must be closed a month prior to the election. For those wanting to update their enrollment using the online portal, you will have until 5 pm tomorrow, May 12th so you will receive your card by May 22nd. This timeline allows our staff the time needed to process your paperwork and have your card ready for pickup by May 22nd. However, our enrollment office will be open for in-person updates till May 22nd. I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday, May 16, 2026 on the campus of UNC Pembroke as we celebrate our full federal recognition. Festivities begin at nine. See you soon!
