Witness list for Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on Lumbee Fairness Act

Indianz.Com > News > Witness list for Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on Lumbee Fairness Act

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held its most recent hearing on October 29, 2025, focusing on the impacts of the federal government shutdown and the reduction of the federal workforce on Native communities. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Indianz.Com

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is holding a legislative hearing to consider federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe.

The tribe, based in North Carolina, has been seeking acknowledgment as an Indian tribe since the late 1800s. A federal law, enacted in 1956 during the termination era, is seen as preventing the Lumbees from engaging in a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

S.107, the Lumbee Fairness Act, rescinds the 1956 law. The bill also ensures the federal government can place land-into-trust for the tribe in North Carolina, with land in Robeson County to be considered as the tribe’s “reservation.”

The hearing on S.107 takes place at 2:30pm Eastern in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The witness list follows:

PANEL 1
The Honorable Thom Tillis
Senator
North Carolina

PANEL 2
The Honorable John Lowery [PDF: Testimony]
Chairman
Lumbee Tribe
Pembroke, North Carolina

Ms. Arlinda Locklear [PDF: Testimony]
Tribal Attorney
Washington, DC

The Honorable Michell Hicks [PDF: Testimony | Exhibits]
Principal Chief
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee, North Carolina

The Honorable Ben Barnes [PDF: Testimony]
Chief
Shawnee Tribe
Miami, Oklahoma

PANEL 3
Department of the Interior [PDF: Testimony]
Written Statement Only

A web of the hearing will be available at indian.senate.gov.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice

Legislative Hearing on S.107, the Lumbee Fairness Act (November 5, 2025)