Lumbee

Lumbee
Total population
More than 60,000 (2025)
Regions with significant populations
United States
(North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee)
Languages
Main: English,
American Indian English
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Tuscarora, Hatteras Indians, Cheraw, African Americans, English Americans, Scottish Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans

The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water,[2] are a mixed-race community primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, which claims to be descended from myriad Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited the region.[3][4]

The Lumbee are shown to have connections with other tri-racial isolate groups such as the Melungeons, using historical documents.[5]

The Lumbee take their name from the Lumber River, which winds through Robeson County. Pembroke, North Carolina, in Robeson County, is their economic, cultural, and political center. According to the 2000 United States census report, 89% of the population of the town of Pembroke identified as Lumbee; 40% of Robeson County's population identified as Lumbee. The Lumbee Tribe was recognized by North Carolina in 1885. In 1956, the U.S. Congress passed the Lumbee Act, which recognized the Lumbees as being American Indians but denied them the benefits of a federally recognized tribe.

The three federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the United States have vehemently opposed the federal recognition of the Lumbee as a Native American tribe.[6][7]

In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance the tribe's recognition.[8]

  1. ^ Bennett, Geoff; Midura, Kyle (24 January 2025). "North Carolina's Lumbee Tribe gets Trump's endorsement for federal recognition" (Interview with John Lowery). PBS News. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  2. ^ Bell, Ronny; Boucher, Nathan (February 3, 2025). "NC Lumbee are closer to federal recognition. Our health depends on it". News and Observer. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  3. ^ Warren, Debby (2019-10-29). "Convolutions of Race and Identity: The Lumbee Struggle for Sovereignty". Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  4. ^ Anonymous (2022-05-12). "Black/Indian relations: an overview of the scholarship". Digital Scholarship and Initiatives. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  5. ^ Anonymous (2022-05-12). "Looking at legends: Lumbee and Melungeon: applied genealogy and the origins of tri-racial isolate settlements". Digital Scholarship and Initiatives. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  6. ^ "Eastern Cherokee Chief blasts Lumbee bill; tribal leader calls it 'superiority complex'". BPR. 2024-12-19. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  7. ^ "Cherokee, Choctaw tribes tell Congress recognizing Lumbee tribe would be 'devastating'". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
  8. ^ "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Directs Administration to Advance Lumbee Tribe Recognition". The White House. 23 January 2025.

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