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Washington Post
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Lumbee tribe of North Carolina sees politics snarl recognition by Washington
Since the 1980s, the Lumbee Tribe has lobbied Congress to acknowledge it as a sovereign nation. There was renewed hope last year when both major party candidates in the presidential election promised to intervene on behalf of the Lumbee . In his first week in office, President Donald Trump appeared to be making good on his endorsement . He issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to create a plan for federal recognition, a move Lumbee Chairman John Lowery called a 'significant step forward.' But several months later, it remains unclear if Trump will take further action.
Toronto Star
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Lumbee tribe of North Carolina sees politics snarl recognition by Washington
Since the 1980s, the Lumbee Tribe has lobbied Congress to acknowledge it as a sovereign nation. There was renewed hope last year when both major party candidates in the presidential election promised to intervene on behalf of the Lumbee. In his first week in office, President Donald Trump appeared to be making good on his endorsement. He issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to create a plan for federal recognition, a move Lumbee Chairman John Lowery called a 'significant step forward.' But several months later, it remains unclear if Trump will take further action.
Associated Press
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Lumbee tribe of North Carolina sees politics snarl recognition by Washington
Since the 1980s, the Lumbee Tribe has lobbied Congress to acknowledge it as a sovereign nation. There was renewed hope last year when both major party candidates in the presidential election promised to intervene on behalf of the Lumbee. In his first week in office, President Donald Trump appeared to be making good on his endorsement. He issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to create a plan for federal recognition, a move Lumbee Chairman John Lowery called a 'significant step forward.' But several months later, it remains unclear if Trump will take further action. The plan was submitted to the White House in April, according to the Interior Department. However, a White House official told The Associated Press last week that the Lumbee will have to achieve its goal through legislation — which the Interior Department also confirmed. 'We anticipate the tribe will work with Congress on a path forward to be formally recognized,' Interior spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said in a statement. Federal acknowledgement comes with a bevy of resources owed to tribal nations through treaty rights and acts of Congress, including health care through the Indian Health Service, access to certain federal grants, and the ability to create a land base such as reservations through the land-to-trust process. Many of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. have been acknowledged through legislation. Dozens more have been recognized through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement, which determines if applicants have a documented history of political and social existence as a tribe. Critics of the Lumbee Tribe, including several tribal nations, argue that it has not been able to prove its historic and genealogical claims and it should do so through the formal federal process. The tribe is recognized by the state of North Carolina. 'The gaps in the Lumbee's claims are staggering,' said Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Michell Hicks. He said the Lumbee have yet to show who they descend from and that recognizing them through legislation would open the door for fraudulent groups to gain federal acknowledgement. 'Congress wouldn't be recognizing a tribe, it would be manufacturing one,' he said. Lowery argues that the Lumbee can prove who they descend from but that the application and vetting process through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement is too long and arduous and could take decades complete. He has been working closely with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina to pass a bill that would federally recognize the Lumbee Tribe. 'For anyone, from any tribe, to somehow think that a tribe that receives federal recognition via legislation is somehow circumventing the process,' Lowery said, 'is being disingenuous.' The Lumbee Tribe applied for recognition in 1987. But Arlinda Locklear, a Lumbee attorney who has worked on the issue for decades, said staff at the Office of Federal Acknowledgement offered conflicting opinions because a 1956 congressional act acknowledged the Lumbee exist but denied them access to federal resources. She said they asked the office to issue a formal opinion regarding the 1956 bill. 'If we're not eligible then tell us at the beginning so we can ask for it from Congress,' she said. The Office of Federal Acknowledgement determined the Lumbee Tribe was ineligible for recognition, but that decision was reversed in 2016 by Interior's Office of the Solicitor. Despite being allowed to reapply since 2016, both Locklear and Lowery said that process remains too lengthy and have opted instead to urge Congress to pass legislation. That could prove difficult in the current climate, as Trump and Republicans lawmakers are slashing federal spending. In 2011, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that recognizing the Lumbee Tribe and providing the necessary federal resources would cost the U.S. more than $840 million in the first four years. A 2022 CBO estimate put that number at more than $360 million. This month, a Brookings Institution report found that the Trump administration's directive to freeze federal grants could disrupt $24 billion that go to tribes. Tillis, the author of the bill, has also been the subject of the Trump's ire recently, after he voted against the president's tax bill in June. Trump threatened to campaign against him, and Tillis said he would not seek reelection. His bill, the Lumbee Fairness Act, was referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in January. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who chairs the committee, said she will work with Tillis on the bill. David Wilkins, a Lumbee author and professor at the University of Richmond, has advocated for federal recognition for decades. But, he said the Lumbee face opposition across Indian Country, and he's concerned that gaining it with Trump's endorsement will add to that. 'The way he's battering Indian Country with his cuts or with his layoffs,' Wilkins said. 'If we do slip through because Trump convinces his Secretary of Interior to either expedite the acknowledgement process or get Congress to find a move on the Lumbee bill and get it through, I worry about how that's going to be received in Indian Country.'
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Yorkshire Balloon Fiesta 2025 refused Knavesmire site by tourist chiefs
The organiser of the Yorkshire Balloon Fiesta has said he is "gutted" after being denied permission to hold the event in YorkThis year's spectacle was due take place on the city's Knavesmire on the last weekend of John Lowery said Make It York had refused permission for what was one of the biggest events in the city's calendar, citing traffic management and licensing as Lowery said: "We've got a history of doing that work and proving that we've done highways and environmental health." The BBC has approached Make it York for a comment. The festival, which began in 2017, had been held at York Racecourse before it switched to Castle Howard in 2023. The event did not take place in Lowery said they were eager to return to the Knavesmire and, despite gaining permission from the racecourse, were refused by Make It tourist organisation manages the land on behalf of City of York Council."We were told that it would have to go out to an expression of interest after four months. Once the expression of interest came in February, we applied. Yesterday we found out that we were unsuccessful and there would be no event," Mr Lowery said."I'm gutted. As a York person, for me there's no better feeling than being on that stage and seeing thousands of people happy and enjoying themselves."Mr Lowery said they had tried to keep prices down and had previously worked with food banks to offer free tickets."A lot of people can't afford to go to these festivals and concerts so it's a real shame that something affordable can't happen in the city," he said. Mr Lowery said with regards to concerns about traffic and licensing, the team behind the event had "been there, we've done all that"."We spent £25,000 the last time we were there doing traffic. We've never had any trouble with traffic for the last two years."We feel as though we would have met X, Y, and Z if we were asked to do X, Y, and Z."The organiser said it was now too late to find an alternate venue for 2025 but was hopeful for next year."We won't give up," he added. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Land deal returns nearly 1,400 acres ‘rich with cultural significance' to Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
PEMBROKE, N.C. (WBTW) — Nearly 1,400 acres of sacred ancestral lands are being handed over to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina in a land deal announced Monday by a national conservation group. 'We are excited to reconnect with this land, which we've not been able to access for a very long time. Our people are outdoors people, and the ability to steward this land for Lumbee and visitors alike is truly special,' Tribal Chairman John Lowery said in a statement. New York-based Open Space Institute acquired the 1,382-acre Camp Island property with funding support from a private family foundation and a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant facilitated by Ducks Unlimited. OSI then donated the property 'rich with cultural significance and natural resources' to the tribe. The nonprofit said Camp Island represents the first opportunity to establish a large, protected natural area under Lumbee stewardship. According to 2020 Census figures, roughly 116,000 Robeson County residents self-identify as American Indian — the highest concentration of that demographic in any county east of the Mississippi River. The Camp Island grounds are special among the Lumbees as a cultural site where significant indigenous artifacts have been found. In addition to its tribal significance, officials said keeping the land away from private development will have environmental benefits as well, since several blackwater samps on site drain directly into the Lumber River. 'We're excited to join forces with OSI and the Lumbee Tribe to funda project that holds tremendous value for wetlands, wildlife and the community,' said Emily Purcell, who runs Ducks Unlimited's southeastern conservation programs. Camp Island's history traces back to pre-colonial times and once housed a pro-British loyalist encampment. In the 1850s, escaped slaves set up a small community on the grounds. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
