In an emotional week marked by tears, celebration, and a sense of justice finally served, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has at last received full federal recognition after a 137-year struggle. The milestone, reached in December 2025, marks the end of a journey that began in 1888 when the tribe first petitioned Congress for acknowledgment as a sovereign Native American community. The measure, signed into law by President Trump on December 18, 2025, grants the Lumbee Tribe access to federal resources and the same status enjoyed by 574 other federally recognized tribes across the United States.
For the Lumbee people—numbering approximately 55,000 and residing primarily in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland Counties in southeastern North Carolina—this moment is nothing short of historic. Dozens of tribal members, including Chairman John L. Lowery, gathered in Washington, D.C., to witness the culmination of generations' worth of advocacy. As reported by NPR, Chairman Lowery was visibly moved, shedding tears as the legislation was signed. "I'm so thankful today for everyone who has helped us along this way—everyone from our ancestors from the late 1880s all the way up to today. So many people have been a part of this fight," Lowery said in a video posted to the tribe's social media accounts.
The path to recognition was anything but straightforward. The Lumbee Tribe received only partial federal recognition in 1956, a status that left them ineligible for many of the benefits and protections afforded to other tribes. Over the decades, the tribe’s requests for full recognition were met with bureaucratic hurdles, political debates, and opposition from other Native groups. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the previously sole federally recognized tribe in North Carolina, opposed the Lumbee’s recognition, arguing that the Lumbee circumvented the established federal eligibility procedures that require extensive historical and genealogical evidence. Despite such opposition, bipartisan support for the Lumbee Fairness Act grew in Congress, with North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis calling the measure “long overdue.”
Recognition finally arrived as part of the $900 billion annual military spending package, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate passed on December 17, 2025. Many Lumbee people watched from the Senate gallery as the bill passed, the moment marking a victory generations in the making. According to Beritaja, President Trump’s signature on the measure was the final step after he had earlier directed the Interior Department to create a scheme to assist tribes in obtaining recognition.
With federal recognition comes a host of tangible benefits. The tribe now has access to federal funding for housing, education, health care, and child care—resources that have long been out of reach. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will be able to take land into trust for the tribe, strengthening their self-governance and economic development prospects. Perhaps most significant, as Chairman Lowery emphasized during a news conference on December 20, is access to Indian Health Services (IHS). “I do believe the biggest benefits we will receive as a tribe is Indian Health Services,” Lowery said, as reported by WBTW News13. “For our people who do not have health care insurance or our people who have high health care insurance, they will be able to work with Indian Health Services to get services provided to them.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal government would spend about $250 million over four years providing health benefits to Lumbee members through IHS. This is a substantial investment in a community where many lack affordable health coverage. However, the tribe will not receive BIA or IHS funding for at least three fiscal years—a result of negotiations and the time required for consultations with the Secretaries of the Interior and Health and Human Services. “We will not receive BIA or HIS funding for at least three fiscal years. That was part of our negotiations, something we had to agree to,” Lowery explained. “That was our language, we worked that language. And at the same time, it usually takes our consultations with those secretaries two to three years, so we’re not going to receive funding anyway until all of the consultations are done.”
The recognition also means land protections and the ability to pursue economic opportunities that were previously out of reach. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein welcomed the news, noting in a statement that “full federal recognition will allow members access to the federal health care, education, housing, child care, and disaster relief benefits afforded other federally recognized tribes. These benefits will in turn create economic opportunities for the Tribe and the surrounding community.” Former educator Doloris Jones, speaking to WBTW News13, expressed hope for the future: “This opens a lot of opportunities, a lot of opportunities for the future students. Their parents can rest assured that they can go to higher education without the parents having to sacrifice money that is needed for the household.”
The Lumbee are now the 575th federally recognized tribe in the United States, a status that carries not just practical benefits but deep symbolic meaning. “I know with every fiber of my being that our ancestors are smiling down on us today,” Lowery said in a statement as the bill headed to the president’s desk. “After decades of waiting, praying, and fighting, our Tribe has finally crossed a barrier that once seemed impossible to overcome.”
Yet, the journey for many tribes seeking federal recognition continues. More than a dozen other tribes from various states are still petitioning the Interior Department, a process that can take decades and requires meeting stringent criteria regarding anthropological, genealogical, and historical evidence. The Office of Federal Acknowledgement evaluates whether a petitioner has existed as a distinct community from 1900 to the present, among other requirements.
Looking ahead, the Lumbee Tribe plans to celebrate this victory with a formal event expected to be announced in early 2026. For now, the tribe’s leaders and members are taking stock of a hard-fought battle finally won, reflecting on the generations who never saw this day and the new opportunities now available to their descendants. As the Lumbee Tribe moves forward, their story stands as a testament to perseverance, community, and the long road to justice in America.
