Editorial: Lumbee federal recognition efforts off to a shaky start

Monday, January 10, 2011  

"It should be a no-brainer to expect the Lumbee tribe will try once more to gain full federal recognition.

The latest effort failed in the Congress just concluded. So within hours of his swearing-in to the new Congress, Rep. Mike McIntyre re-filed his recognition bill, which came closer to passage last year than any effort in decades.

This, surprisingly, isn't sitting well with tribal leaders. And perhaps with good reason: McIntyre never consulted them.

Lumbee Chairman Purnell Swett was unhappy that McIntyre filed the bill without asking. And he also was miffed because it was "a previous bill done by another administration."

Swett has been chairman for just more than a year and may have something else in mind. It was his administration that sacked longtime advocate Arlinda Locklear and hired a gambling consultant to push the bill through Congress. The last-minute addition of gambling to the agenda is one reason why the bill stalled in the Senate and ultimately failed."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Missteps - Lumbee recognition effort off to a bumpy beginning. (The Fayetteville Observer 1/9)

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