A revised national defense spending agreement released this week would give full federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
Congress is expected to vote in the coming days or weeks on the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, a $900 billion compromise between the U.S House and Senate.
John Lowery, chairman of the Lumbee tribe and a member of the N.C. House, praised the move on Monday, when the text of the bill was released.
“We move forward with hope and determination, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends in Congress and the White House to secure final passage,” Lowery said in a statement posted on social media. “I remain deeply involved every step of the way, helping unite and focus all of our allies as we push toward this long-awaited victory.”
The Lumbee, whose 55,000 members make up the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River, have been seeking full federal recognition for more than a century. North Carolina recognized the tribe, which has its headquarters in Robeson County, in 1885. Congress granted the tribe partial recognition in 1956 but denied the full designation that would bring millions of dollars a year to the impoverished community and allow the tribe to operate casinos.
This isn’t the first time the tribe has come close to full federal recognition. The U.S. House has passed legislation several times, most recently in September, when the Lumbee Fairness Act was tacked onto the chamber’s version of the defense spending bill. But the Lumbee measure has continually stalled in the Senate and been left out of compromise omnibus spending bills—until now.
Soon after President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January, he directed the Department of the Interior to outline potential paths for the tribe to gain the designation. In response, the department told the tribe to keep urging Congress to pass legislation, which the Lumbee people have been doing for decades. (Tribes can also go through bureaucratic channels to become federally recognized.)
Trump has gained popularity in Robeson County, once a Democratic stronghold in southeastern North Carolina. Like in many rural communities over the past decade, voters have switched their support to GOP candidates who they say better align with their socially conservative ideals.
Some lawmakers—including Republican Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis of North Carolina—say the designation is long overdue. Frustrated by the Senate’s failure to pass the Lumbee Fairness Act, Tillis tried last year to block recognition of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site in South Dakota, where some Sioux tribal members oppose Lumbee recognition. He also tried to block federal judicial nominees in Mississippi last month because he wanted Sen. Roger Wicker to vote in favor of the Lumbee.
In October, Tillis urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ cannabis operation in Western North Carolina, where the tribe has a casino.
The only tribe in North Carolina with full federal recognition, the Eastern Band says Congress should not pass the Lumbee Fairness Act. They say the Lumbee people, who descend from several tribes whose members settled along the Lumber River to avoid European newcomers and mingled with white and Black settlers, lack a shared history and identity.
Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band, said in a statement Monday that his tribe was “deeply disappointed and alarmed” that Congress included Lumbee recognition in the defense bill.
“A national defense bill is not the appropriate place to consider federal recognition, particularly for a group that has not met the historical and legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations,” Hicks said.
Jim Terry, a spokesman for the Eastern Band, said federal investigators have not contacted the tribe.
Republican Rep. Mark Harris, who represents part of Robeson County, said in a statement that full recognition of the Lumbee tribe was “closer than ever.” He is among the tribe’s supporters who say the Lumbee people’s unique and diverse history does not disqualify them from federal recognition.
“Now is the time—let’s get it over the finish line!” Harris said.
