{"id":328993,"date":"2025-12-08T20:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T02:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=328993"},"modified":"2025-12-11T18:19:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T00:19:13","slug":"defense-bill-snubs-indian-country-in-favor-of-lumbee-federal-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/12\/08\/defense-bill-snubs-indian-country-in-favor-of-lumbee-federal-recognition\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense bill snubs Indian Country in favor of Lumbee federal recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Lumbee<\/a>
Representatives of the Lumbee Tribe attend a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs legislative hearing on S.107, the Lumbee Fairness Act, in Washington, D.C., on November 5, 2025. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Defense bill snubs Indian Country in favor of Lumbee federal recognition<\/div>\r\n
Monday, December 8, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCORRECTION:
\r\nThe current version of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act is S.761<\/a>. The bill was introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a> (R-Alaska) on February 26, 2025. An earlier version of this story described and linked to a prior version of the bill.<\/strong>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIndian Country is on the losing end of the stick with the release of a must-pass defense bill that was negotiated behind closed doors.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nTribes and their advocates anticipated the inclusion of several pro-tribal provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026<\/a>. But they learned on Sunday that none of the measures — including one to address the genocidal Indian boarding school era<\/a> — made it into the final package.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn fact, the only provision of interest in the defense bill, commonly known as the NDAA<\/a>, reflects one of President Donald Trump’s priorities. A controversial measure to extend federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe<\/a> in North Carolina can be found in the 3,086-page package — an achievement being credited to the involvement of the White House.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“The Lumbee Fairness Act is now included in the final National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA) draft heading to votes in the House and Senate in the next two weeks,” Lumbee Chairman John Lowery said on Sunday night<\/a>, shortly after the text of the measure was released.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“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 continued. “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.”\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Keep the prayers going up as we know the enemy will continue to fight our efforts,” Lowery said, without explicitly stating the identity of the apparent “enemy.”\r\n

<\/p>\r\n