The Lumbee Tribe is preparing to gain federal recognition through a defense bill

After decades of political maneuvering through Congress and government agencies, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina may finally gain federal recognition through the National Defense Authorization Act that the House of Representatives plans to vote on this week.

If the legislation passes, the Senate could vote on final passage next week.

The Lumbee’s efforts to gain federal recognition — which would come with federal funding, access to resources such as the Indian Health Service and the ability to place lands in trust — have been controversial for many years in both Indian Country and Washington. But their cause has been championed by President Donald Trump, who promised during his election campaign last year to recognize the Lumbee people as a tribal nation.

The issue of federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe has been debated in Congress for more than thirty years. But the political opportunity she represented in the last election could be what pushed her over the finish line, said Kevin Washburn, a former assistant secretary of state for Indian affairs at the Interior Department and a professor at UC Berkeley School of Law.

“It comes every four years because North Carolina is a battleground state, and Lumbee represents tens of thousands of people,” Washburn said.

The Lumbee Tribe has nearly 60,000 members, and both Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris have promised federal recognition for Lumbee County during the 2024 campaign. Trump won North Carolina by more than 3 points. Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to develop a plan for federal recognition of Lumbee.

Washburn said this is the first time the White House or presidential candidates have gotten involved in the issue of federal recognition.

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The interior plan was sent to the White House in April. The administration denied requests for her release but said it advised Lumby to continue trying to obtain federal recognition through Congress.

The Lumbee were recognized by Congress in 1956, but this legislation denied them access to the same federal resources as tribal nations. As a result, their recognition request was denied consideration in the 1980s, and the Lumbee tried to persuade Congress to recognize them in the decades that followed. The Office of Federal Recognition is the federal agency that screens applications, although dozens of tribes have also gained recognition through legislation.

“Only Congress can resolve this uncertainty once and for all,” Lumbee Tribe Chief John Lowry said in testimony last month before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “It is long past time to correct the injustice you have inflicted on our tribe and our people.”

But others, including several tribal leaders, say the Lumbee’s historical claims have changed several times over the past century, and that they have never been able to prove they are descended from a tribal nation.

“The NDAA is not the place to consider federal recognition, especially for a group that has not met the historical and legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations,” said Michel Hicks, president of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The National Defense Authorization Act is typically a bipartisan bill that sets out the country’s defense policies. But this year’s vote has taken on a new political dynamic as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces increasing scrutiny over military strikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela.