Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Receives Apology After Misinformation Was Distributed at the National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention
Pembroke, NC (November 6, 2024) – On Sunday, October 27, 2024, a delegation representing the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina arrived at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Annual Convention to unwelcome news. Earlier that day the NCAI Executive Committee decided that it would suspend the membership of 14 Tribal Members from renewing their memberships for the 2024-2025 membership year as a result of the recommendations of the Membership Integrity, Education, and Healing Taskforce. All 14 of those Tribal Members were State-recognized. The Lumbee Delegation, along with our partners, led the way in receiving an explanation from NCAI leadership. While we do understand the need for Membership Integrity, NCAI’s stated reason for the membership review lacked the Education and Healing components that had been promised as part of the Taskforce.
This need for Education and Healing was brought to the forefront on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 as the NCAI membership found slanderous flyers at every seat, a product produced, by the “so called” United Indian Tribes of Oklahoma group. This material provided a false summation of the legislative impacts of the Lumbee Fairness Act and a link to a website with a grossly misleading “summary” of Lumbee history. NCAI issued both a public denouncement of the action on the stage at the end of that morning’s general session, but also a written apology to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina denouncing the flyer as a violation of the NCAI Code of Conduct. The Lumbee Tribe is currently reviewing legal options against the “so called” United Indian Tribes of Oklahoma group for their defamation of character against us. We will not stand for these slanderous actions toward our Tribal Nation!
The Lumbee Tribe has been a member of NCAI for decades. Lumbee Tribal members have proudly stood with and served Indian Country and will continue to do so. We are thankful to our close friends and allies from the many federal and state tribes who continue to work together against these oppressive and divisive behaviors.
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