Tribal Chairman, Mr. Purnell Swett

All executive powers, including implementation of and compliance with annual budgets, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shall reside in a Tribal Chairperson, who shall cause all laws of the Tribe to be faithfully executed.

The Tribal Chairman is Mr. Purnell Swett. To speak with the Tribal Chairman or schedule an appointment contact Belinda Brewer at 910.522.2221or Email Belinda Brewer.

The Tribal Chair shall nominate a Tribal Administrator, subject to confirmation by the Tribal Council or its designee(s).The current Tribal Administrator is Dr. Rose Marie Lowry-Townsend

Chairman Purnell Swett Bio

                  Chairman Purnell Swett is an individual whose background attests to his personal belief of being a dedicated administrator who believes in bringing ideals “to life.”
                  His education extends from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where he acquired a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Science and History.  Chairman Swett then decided to continue his education at the Western Carolina University, obtaining his Master’s of Arts Education with a concentration in School Administration. He has also completed post-graduate studies from the North Carolina Institute of Law, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. With a relentless passion for knowledge and education, Chairman Swett also studied with the American Association of School Administration. Not only so, he studied Government Policy, and Educational Research and Evaluation with the Nova University.  
                  Thereafter, Chairman Swett took his education and put it to use by serving over the course of 11 years as a high school math and science teacher, principal of an elementary school and then elevated to assistant superintendent.  While assistant superintendent he brought an “ideal to life” by implementing one of North Carolina’s first kindergarten programs. As he climbed the ladder of success, from 1971 to 1974, Chairman Swett held such positions as Chief of Program Operations, Program Manager and Acting Deputy Commissioner all within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare Office of Indian Education in Washington, D.C.  While in these positions he was responsible for developing policies to distribute $40 million in grants for 1,100 local school systems with American Indian students, Indian tribes and Indian organizations.  In 1974, he had the opportunity to deliver his dissertation on “Multicultural Dimensions in Education” at the Harvard University apart from his address at the Sixth Annual Conference of the National Indian Education Association.
                  In 1975, he returned to the school system where he served until 1977 as the Associate Superintendent over the Robeson County Board of Education and then became the Superintendent from 1977 until 1989. While performing his duties of providing a quality education to 14,500 students, employing a staff of 1,600 and controlling an annual budget of $55 million; he used his resources during a rapid growth period to increase the number of county schools meeting the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges’ requirements by 200%, the number of teachers with graduate degrees by 100% and teachers with advanced education specialist degrees by 200%.  Chairman Swett implemented a standardized curriculum program, expanded educational services available to low income, migrant, remedial and handicapped students. Continuing to bring “ideals to life,” he then developed one of North Carolina’s first computer education programs by establishing computer labs in each school and training teachers. He brought about an automated student accounting system and administered a fully automated student lunch accounting system.
                  Expanding his horizons, Chairman Swett went to work with the Department of Education at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and the US Department of Education from 1990 until 1993 where he continued advancing all major aspects of Indian Vocational Education. Returning to his passion, in January of 1993 as Superintendent of Robeson County Schools he continued to incorporate his experience from local, state and national levels until December of 1997.
Present day Chairman Swett is serving the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as the newly inaugurated Tribal Chairman. He will serve a term of three years and will be eligible to serve an additional three years if he so chooses to run and win in the 2012 election race.

The Three Branches of the Lumbee Government

Executive, Chairman/Chief

Legislative, Elected Council Representatives

Judicial, Appointed Court Justices

The Constitution of The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

PREAMBLE, In accordance with the inherent power of self-governance of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina("Tribe"), the Tribe adopts this Constitution for the purposes of establishing a tribal government....

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