RALEIGH — A Donald Trump campaign promise to North Carolina’s Lumbee Indian Tribe is now a reality following the Senate giving final approvals to this year’s National Defense Reauthorization Act, which includes the Lumbee Fairness Act among its many provisions.
The U.S. House passed the $900.6 billion National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 312-112 on Dec. 10. Only one North Carolina House member, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (D-Hillsborough), voted no.
The Senate gave its first approval on Dec. 15 and finalized the NDAA’s passage two days later. The legislation was sent to the president’s desk and was signed on Dec. 18.
“Today, I write with a full heart: the United States Congress has passed the Lumbee Fairness Act. After decades of struggle, advocacy, and prayer, we are now just one step away from the full federal recognition our people have long deserved,” Lumbee Chairman and North Carolina statehouse Rep. John Lowery (R-Robeson) wrote in a social media post.
Lowery thanked North Carolina’s U.S. House and Senate members, in particularly mentioning Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, as well as Congressman David Rouzer (R-Wilmington), who issued a separate video statement on X.
“To our ancestors who began this fight, and to every Lumbee child today — this victory is for you,” wrote Lowery. “Let’s finish strong and keep the prayers going up.”
“For 137 years, the Lumbee Tribe have been fighting for federal recognition, and today the federal government has finally honored that promise,” Tillis said in a statement. “President Trump traveled to Robeson County and pledged to get federal recognition done. He kept that promise and showed extraordinary leadership.”
“With the Senate passage of the NDAA, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will now achieve full federal recognition and access to every federal benefit they have earned and deserve,” said Tillis.
Budd echoed Tillis’s sentiments on the long-deserved nature of the Lumbee full recognition, and credited Lowery’s leadership, and elected officials who backed the tribe.
“Under the leadership of Chairman John Lowery, the Lumbee Tribe has had strong advocates in President Trump and his administration and in Representatives Rouzer and Harris who introduced the Lumbee Fairness Act in the House,” said Budd. “I am grateful to have played a role in securing this major victory for such an important group of North Carolinians.”
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump’s campaign promises included securing full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe. After taking office, Trump issued a presidential memorandum supporting full federal recognition that directed the secretary of the Interior to create and execute a plan to make it a reality.
The 2026 NDAA is more than 3,000 pages long and draws from two pieces of legislation, one being Senate Bill 2296 and the other, House Resolution 3838, which is the House version passed by that body Sept. 10.
North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris (R-Indian Trail) had applauded the addition of the act into the NDAA.
“For decades, the Lumbee People have sought full federal recognition — and today, we are closer than ever to making it a reality,” Harris said in a statement. “We have used every tool at our disposal to secure recognition in this year’s NDAA. I’m deeply grateful to President Trump for his longstanding championship of the Lumbee Tribe and for working across both chambers of Congress to deliver the full federal recognition and rights our people deserve. Now is the time — let’s get it over the finish line!”
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Michell Hicks, in a lengthy statement issued on Facebook, said the Lumbee Fairness Act’s inclusion is “unprecedented.”
“This decision, if allowed to move forward in this form, is unprecedented,” Hicks wrote. “If allowed to proceed, it will permanently alter the legal and cultural structures of Indian Country.”
Hicks also claimed the “Lumbee group have not been federally recognized” and were attempting to “bypass established federal acknowledgment process by attaching their recognition bill to a must-pass NDAA.”
Additionally, Hicks’ statement claimed the Lumbee had not met any standards for federal recognition, a claim he also made during a Nov. 5 hearing by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on the matter.
During that hearing, Tillis gave remarks in support of full recognition of the tribe, while Hicks and the chief of the Shawnee Tribe opposed Congressional recognition, instead pushing for an administrative course of action that could take decades. Members from both sides of the political aisle on the committee expressed preference for congressional approval as a course of action.
Following the inclusion of the legislation for the tribe’s recognition in the NDAA, Lowery took to Facebook praising the announcement.
“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,” Lowery wrote in a Dec. 7 Facebook post.
“We move forward with hope and determination, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends in Congress and the White House to secure final passage,” wrote Lowery. “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.
Full federal recognition for the 55,000-member Lumbee Tribe will mean additional education resources and health care funding in the Robeson County area, where many Lumbees call home.
There is also speculation the Lumbees could vie for building their own casino resort along the I-95 corridor, which would rival Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Harrah’s is located in the western part of North Carolina within the Qualla Boundary land trust in Cherokee.
