A group of Siouan descendants say they should be given a shot at federal recognition before the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

The descendants accuse the Lumbees of stealing their history. But the Lumbee Tribe says the Siouans and the Lumbees are one and the same.

Lumbee chairman Jimmy Goins also accuses the group of working with the Eastern Band of Cherokees to undermine the tribe's federal recognition bill. The Eastern Band questions the Lumbee's legitimacy and says the tribe should have to apply for recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Federal law currently prohibits that. One bill would recognize the tribe outright while another would lift the BIA restriction.

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Siouan kin contest Lumbee recognition (The Fayetteville Observer 4/24)