FAYETTEVILLE (AP) ó A North Carolina Indian tribe that has sought federal recognition for years now has support from the federal agency that oversees tribal matters, which the petitioners say may signal a shift under the new president.
Lumbee leaders attended a congressional Indian affairs committee hearing Wednesday in Washington on a bill that would give the tribe federal recognition, which would include federal funds, The Fayetteville Observer reported Thursday. The bill was proposed by Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-NC, who lives in Lumberton, and now is supported by the Interior Department.
McIntyre told committee members that some have raised concerns about whether the Lumbee people are true Indians. He said those statements were “a weak attempt to try and confuse the issue of federal recognition. … The only tribe in America left in legal limbo is the Lumbee.”
Federal status for the tribe would bring it millions of dollars for housing, health care, education and development. The Lumbee tribe is the largest east of the Mississippi and most of its 55,000 members live in the Robeson County area.
Federal officials recognized the tribe in 1956 but didn’t provide benefits.
Although Interior has opposed recognition in the past, an agency official said approving a law to recognize the tribe now was the right thing to do.
George Skibine, an Interior Department deputy assistant secretary, told the hearing his department’s change in attitude on the Lumbees was a matter of equity and good conscience. He said Congress should recognize the tribe by law.
Interior officials opposed similar legislation two years ago and said the tribe should seek relief by going through the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ administrative process.
“I think the Democrats in the House are pretty well supportive of this,” said tribal lawyer Arlinda Locklear. “But there are Democrats in the Senate who may have wavered a little bit. My hope is that this is going to help us there.”
Locklear said Interior Department support signals Democrats that President Obama supports the idea. The hearing was the sixth time in six years that tribal leaders have testified to Congress.
“It was a historical day,” said tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins. “We have waited 120 years for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to say we support the Lumbee tribe in the federal recognition effort. It brought people to tears, and I became very emotional.”
Goins said the bill may go to the House for a vote in June.