Lumbee Tribal Chairman Lowery Shares Year of Celebration Events
- dscott839
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
We are excited to share that, in collaboration with our local partners, instead of hosting just one major celebration, we will host a series of events throughout 2026 highlighting our Federal Recognition, with our large celebration taking place on May 16th on the campus of UNC-Pembroke.
Our first event on February 5th, will be in partnership with our good friends at LRDA as they host their monthly “The People’s Table.” The evening will feature performances by a number of our local Gospel Groups at the LRDA complex and will be the first event of this wonderful year.
Our next event, which is by invite only, is being hosted by Governor Josh Stein at the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh on February 24. We are deeply honored by this opportunity and look forward to celebrating with the Governor as he welcomes our friends and family in the triangle area.
On March 28th, the Lumbee Tribe will host a Wild Game Festival, Community Powwow, and Social gathering at our Culture Center. The Wild Game Festival will begin at 11:00 am followed by the Community Powwow beginning at 2 pm. We will have a bonfire and traditional social dances from 6:00 - 9:00 pm that evening.
On May 1st, we will host our first annual Gene Locklear Youth Scholarship Golf Tournament. This tournament, hosted by Mr. Gene himself will bring golfers and athletic celebrities together to raise money for the Lumbee Tribes Youth Scholarship program.
Our Grand celebration will take place on May 16th on the Campus of UNC-Pembroke, in collaboration with Chancellor Cummings and his great staff. This all-day event will include dignitaries, friends from across the nation, vendors, food, entertainment, culture presentations, and much more, and will conclude with a fireworks show that night.
We will then move into our Lumbee Homecoming and this summer, with the date to still be finalized, we will host our 4th annual Lumbee Gala, where we look forward to stepping out in style and celebrating together at the gala. We will then move into Dance of the Harvest Moon Powwow, followed by our Lumbee Fall Festival, Fish Fry, and 5k, and will conclude the year by commemorating the one-year anniversary of our Full Federal Recognition on December 18th, 2026.
We are looking forward to a yearlong celebration, and we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to engage and enjoy these different events. So, if you can’t make one event, there will be another one coming around soon enough. I look forward to seeing you all this year and celebrating our full federal recognition. Thank you to all of our partners and friends who are working to make this year, one of celebration and joy.
