Vice President Kamala Harris Calls Lumbee Tribal Chairman. The Call by the Vice President Follows Former President Trumps Recent Statement as Both Candidates Seek Lumbee Votes
Pembroke, NC (October 23, 2024) – On Friday, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina drew the interest of the candidates in the race for the US President. During a visit to Pembroke, former President Bill Clinton met with Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery at the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at UNC Pembroke following a meeting with Lumbee Democrats. Shortly after the meeting with Bill Clinton, Vice President Kamala Harris called Chairman Lowery to discuss full federal recognition for the Lumbee People. This issue is both familiar to Harris and Trump as both gave support in October of 2020. “It was a good meeting with former President Clinton as we discussed the issues before congress. I also had a good conversation with Donald Trump, Jr., where I conveyed the same thoughts with him,” said Lowery. “It is time that both parties uphold their promises to us, and it's time to put action behind their words.”
On Friday, while former President Clinton met with Lumbee leaders in Pembroke, Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. joined Tulsi Gabbard and U.S. Senator of Oklahoma Markwayne Mullin, in the Prospect Community to hold a rally less that 10 miles from Pembroke. Hundreds of people poured onto a Lumbee owned farm for the event. “This campaign event was in the heart of Lumbee Tribal territory,” said Lumbee Tribal Administrator Ricky Harris. “As we get closer to election day, we anticipate that the campaigns will continue to target North Carolina and try to garner support from the American Indian community at large.”
The key issue on the table is full federal recognition. The Lumbee Fairness Act legislation was introduced into the senate in 2023. This bill extends federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and makes its citizens eligible for the services and benefits provided to other federally recognized tribes. The legislation will undue the injustice of the Lumbee Act, which President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law in 1956. With the first legislation, the United States Congress simultaneously acknowledged the Lumbee as an American Indian Nation and denied the Lumbee services and benefits based on their Indian status.
With the presidential election just two weeks away, Lumbee Leaders say it is nice that the candidates acknowledge the voting power of the largest American Indian Tribe East on the East Coast, but the Lumbee People can’t be seen as a pawn on the road to the White House.
Tribal Chairman Lowery said the time for action is at hand. “Senator Tillis and other NC Lawmakers are working hard on the Lumbee Fairness Act,” said Lowery. “Our people will be excited to see this issue finally corrected in the newly elected presidential administration.”
