Overview

• The Lumbee Tribe, recognized by North Carolina since 1885, has long sought federal recognition, which would grant access to critical benefits and resources.
• Trump's executive order instructs the Interior Department to collaborate with Lumbee leadership and propose a pathway toward recognition within 90 days.
• Federal recognition would provide the Lumbee Tribe with healthcare through the Indian Health Service, land protections, and access to federal programs.
• Efforts to recognize the tribe through Congress have repeatedly passed the House but stalled in the Senate, with some opposition from other tribes citing procedural concerns.
• The Lumbee Tribe, the largest Indigenous group east of the Mississippi River, traces its ancestry to survivors of multiple tribal nations and has over 60,000 members.