Lumbee
The Lumbee are a Native American tribe primarily located in North Carolina, with a population of approximately 55,000 as of 2024. They are recognized for their unique cultural heritage, which is rooted in a complex history that includes influences from various Indigenous groups and European settlers. The Lumbee speak a Siouan language, although the exact origins of their language remain unclear, reflecting the tribe's intricate historical narrative.
Culturally, the Lumbee have a rich tradition that encompasses music, dance, and storytelling, which play vital roles in their community and identity. Despite their significant population and cultural contributions, the Lumbee have faced challenges regarding federal recognition, which has impacted their social and political standing. The tribe continues to advocate for their rights and cultural preservation, offering insight into their ongoing efforts to maintain their heritage in a modern context. Overall, the Lumbee exemplify resilience and a commitment to their cultural identity, making them an important part of the broader tapestry of Native American tribes in the United States.
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Lumbee
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Southeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Siouan, but origins were unclear
- PRIMARY LOCATION: North Carolina
- POPULATION SIZE: 55,000 (2024: North Carolina Department of Administration)
The origins of the Lumbee Indigenous people are obscure. When they first attracted the serious attention of their White neighbors in the 1800s, they were already English-speaking small farmers living largely in Robeson County, North Carolina. At one time, it was believed that they descended from Croatan Indigenous peoples who had absorbed the survivors of Sir Walter Raleigh’s “lost colony” called . Some Lumbee members have claimed descent from the and Tuscarora. Most likely, however, they are descendants of Siouan-speaking who inhabited southeastern North Carolina in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. General use of the name Lumbee (from the Lumber River) dates only from 1953; previously, the Lumbees were referred to as Croatans, Indians of Robeson County, or, derisively, as “Scuffletonians.”
The Lumbee people have struggled to preserve their cultural identity. In 1835, North Carolina classified them as “free people of color.” (Many White Carolinians believed them to be as much African as Indigenous in background.) When the state attempted to draft Lumbee members as laborers during the Civil War, armed resistance led by Henry Berry Lowry resulted. After the war, North Carolina began to recognize the Lumbee as Indigenous people, establishing schools and a college for them. Under the of racial segregation, North Carolina Indigenous people occupied a third category, distinct from White and Black people. In 1888, the tribe petitioned Congress for formal recognition and federal assistance. It was not until 1956, with the passing of the Lumbee Act, that the nation was recognized. However, federal benefits and official federal recognition were not included in the Act.
The Lumbee's assertion of Indigenous identity continued in the twentieth century. In 1958, the Lumbee gained national attention when they forcibly broke up a Ku Klux Klan rally. In 1968, the Lumbee Regional Development Association was organized, serving as an Indigenous government as well as an economic development agency. Rural poverty remained a major problem, prompting many to move to cities, especially Baltimore. The Lumbee also became increasingly active in pan-Indigenous Americans activities. Federal recognition became a goal. (The Lumbee had no treaty relationship with the US government.) While an act of Congress did take formal notice of the Lumbee as an Indigenous nation, a 1987 petition for full federal recognition was not successful. After many more attempts at federal recognition over the next several decades, in June 2009, the US House of Representatives voted in favor of recognition for the Lumbee and formally acknowledged that the nation was of various Indigenous descent. However, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina continued to pursue full federal recognition in the twenty-first century under the Lumbee Fairness Act. In addition to their ongoing fight for federal recognition, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina worked to preserve their culture and traditions through celebrations, powwows, and educational programs. They also provided vital social services to their community and pursued economic development projects.
Bibliography
Curtis, Edward S., et al. The Northern American Indian: Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States and Alaska. Vol I. Christopher Cardozo Fine Art, 2014.
Dennis, Yvonne Wakim, and Arlene B. Hirschfelder. Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation. Charlesbridge, 2014.
"History and Culture." The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, www.lumbeetribe.com/history-and-culture. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Levy, Sidney. "A Fight for Recognition: The Lumbee Tribe in Maryland." Maryland Center for History and Culture, www.mdhistory.org/a-fight-for-recognition-the-lumbee-tribe-in-maryland. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Livingston, Walker. "After More than 100 Years, Lumbee Tribe Still Seeking Federal Recognition." The Daily Tar Heel, 27 Apr. 2023, www.dailytarheel.com/article/2023/04/city-north-carolina-lumbee-fairness-act. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Lowery, Malinda Maynor. Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation, U of North Carolina P, 2010.
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"NC Tribal Communities." NC DOA, www.doa.nc.gov/divisions/american-indian-affairs/tribes. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Stilling, Glenn Ellen Starr. "Lumbee Indians." Encyclopedia of North Carolina, edited by William S. Powell, University of North Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 699-703.
Wood, Sara, et al. "As We Cooked, As We Lived: Lumbee Foodways." Southern Cultures, vol. 21, no. 1, 2015, pp. 84–91, doi.org/10.1353/scu.2015.0001. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.