{"id":137131,"date":"2025-04-22T20:38:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T01:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=137131"},"modified":"2025-04-24T12:18:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:18:45","slug":"very-welcoming-and-enthusiastic-lumbee-tribe-awaits-word-from-washington-about-federal-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/04\/22\/very-welcoming-and-enthusiastic-lumbee-tribe-awaits-word-from-washington-about-federal-status\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Very welcoming and enthusiastic’: Lumbee Tribe awaits word from Washington about federal status"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Department<\/a>
The main building of the Department of the Interior is located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
‘Very welcoming and enthusiastic’: Lumbee Tribe awaits word from Washington about federal status<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, April 22, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Lumbee Tribe<\/a> is awaiting word from the nation’s capital about its long-running quest for federal recognition.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Lumbees<\/a> are a state-recognized group<\/a> from North Carolina<\/a>. They have been seeking a formal government-to-government relationship<\/a> with the United States for more than a century.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“As Chairman, I stand on the shoulders of so many of our ancestors who began this journey in the 1800’s and I take their memories and hard work with me every day,” John L. Lowery, the tribe’s leader, said in an update to Lumbee citizens<\/a> last week.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAccording to Lowery, the Department of the Interior<\/a> (DOI) is preparing a “report” about avenues for extending federal recognition to the Lumbees.\r\nHe said he had two “consultation meetings” with officials from the cabinet-level agency in March, following an initial meeting that took place on February 11.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“The DOI officials have been very welcoming and enthusiastic while consulting with us,” Lowery said in the update.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe activity at DOI was set in motion by President Donald Trump. In a memorandum on January 23<\/a>, he ordered the Secretary of the Interior to come up with a “plan to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full Federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms, including the right to receive full Federal benefits.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI love the Lumbee Tribe,\u201d Trump said as he signed the document at the White House<\/a>, just three days after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAt the time, former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum<\/a> had not yet been confirmed as Secretary of the Interior<\/a>, a cabinet-level position. Nonetheless, Trump gave him 90 days to come up with the plan for assisting the Lumbees — a deadline that arrives on April 23, Chairman Lowery pointed out in his update.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“I look forward to the DOI\u2019s report and working with them and Trump Administration\r\nofficials to finally get our tribe across this goal line,” Lowery said.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n