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- By John L. Lowery
Guest Opinion. For nearly 140 years, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has been petitioning the United States government for full and unconditional recognition as a Federally recognized Indian tribe. An injustice the Lumbee people do not want to see carried on any longer. The time is now to bring the Lumbee into the full guarantees of government-to-government relations promised by the United States Constitution. The Lumbee Fairness Act will modify the Lumbee Act, passed in 1956 during the era of “Indian Termination”, and place our Tribe on equal footing with other federally recognized tribes and end our status as second-class Native people.
Recently, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) spoke on the floor of the United States Senate about the importance of passing the Lumbee Fairness Act. Senator Tillis, a strong advocate for the Lumbee people, continues to work tirelessly to right this centuries old wrong. This will finally bring to an end Termination Era policy and grant our tribe the full federal recognition that we deserve and have long been denied.
The Lumbee Tribe, Senator Tillis, and our many allies on the Hill, continue to fight against a multi million dollar fueled opposition led by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians EBCI, owner of several casinos in North Carolina and nearby states like Virginia. The Eastern Band’s highly paid lobbyists profit mightily while the Eastern Band leadership complain incessantly about the housing dollars the Lumbee are eligible to receive from the Federal government.
Sadly, the Eastern Band is waging a public relations assault against Senator Tillis, slandering and smearing him in an effort to stop his advocacy for the Lumbee. These tactics will not work. These are the same tactics they used before in their attempt to block the Catawba Nation from receiving land-into-trust in North Carolina. They smeared the Catawba Nation, Senator Tillis, and former Senator Richard Burr, in their failed attempt to stop the forward progress of the Catawba people. Catawba Chief Brian Harris stated, “The EBCI fought against the Catawba at the federal level and they continue to fight against the Lumbee Tribe in a despicable manner. The EBCI will go as low as they can to block other tribal nations from achieving success and it is time for them to stop these actions and stop being the bully of Indian Country.”
Senator Tillis, like the Lumbee people, will not back down in the face of these assaults and a well funded lobbying campaign. The Lumbee people have stood up against colonialism, the Confederate Home Guard, the Ku Klux Klan, and our fight continues as we stand up against Eastern Band leaders and their superiority complex.
Our tribal nation commends Senator Tillis, Senator Budd, our House friends, and tribal allies, who continue to stand firm, while the EBCI leadership peddle falsehoods and lies, and waste money better spent on the well-being of their people.
The Lumbee do not have millions of casino dollars to give politicians and lobbyists, but we do have the truth, courage, and the moral fortitude to stand firm. The Lumbee will not allow our people to be pushed in the corner by those who suffer from a superiority complex.
Have no illusions, the Eastern Band’s leadership feels they are superior to Lumbee and act as if they have some perceived moral high ground because their legislative recognition was prior to ours or because their history is more widely known. They are mistaken on all accounts and history will paint them as wrong once the ink dries on this time period in our lives!
John L. Lowery is the tribal chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
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