The strange history of the tribe courted by Donald Trump
For almost a century and a half, the federal government denied the Lumbee, the largest tribe east of the Mississippi, recognition. Now, nearly everyone in Washington is trying to give it to them. 'I love the Lumbee tribe,' President Donald Trump said on his third full day in office, as he signed a memorandum ordering the secretary of the interior to, within 90 days, submit a plan to help the Lumbee gain full federal recognition. The president isn't the only one showing the Lumbee love. Last October, while campaigning on behalf of Kamala Harris in North Carolina, Bill Clinton made a swing through Pembroke, the seat of the tribal government. Donald Trump junior was nearby holding a rally filled with 'Lumbees for Trump' signs. During the campaign both presidential candidates called John Lowery, the Lumbee tribal chairman, to promise full federal recognition. Also last year, the House of Representatives passed the Lumbee Fairness Act, which would extend recognition to the tribe, 311 to 96, only to see it stall in the Senate.
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