Southern North Carolina’s Lumbee tribe is now only a signature away from federal recognition, 137 years after they began seeking it.
A reservation can now be created in Robeson County, unlocking the potential for legal casinos and marijuana sales in the eastern part of the state.
Federal recognition also unlocks millions of dollars in resources for the tribe’s members, reportedly around 55,000 and 60,000 people.
Until now, in North Carolina, the feds had only granted that right to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Catawba Nation, who run casinos in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Cherokee have for decades lobbied against Lumbee recognition, questioning their legitimacy and hiring a genealogist to investigate their past.
