Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

The Lumbee Tribe celebrated the inauguration of the new tribal chairwoman, Sharon Hunt, on Tuesday June 14, 2011. Hunt is the first woman to hold this high position.

Hunt was first sworn in at a smaller ceremony on May 23, 2011. As tribal vice chairperson, it was her responsibility to take over the office after the previous tribal chairman, Purnell Swett, resigned.

Swett resigned the same week that the tribe was issued a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The HUD report found the tribe to be out of compliance in its spending of federal housing funds.

According to  the Lumbee Constitution, she will hold the office until a special election can be called to elect a chairperson to finish out the remainder of Swett's three-year term, which began in January 2010.

"My goal is to begin the process of rebuilding our tribal government, community by community, member by member," Hunt said in her inauguration speech. "Our biggest challenge is to restore confidence in the government."