Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

This article summarizes a state bill, S 218 - “Clarifying state recognition - Lumbee Indians,” which has cleared the North Carolina House and Senate and is now awaiting signature by the governor. Within 10 days of receiving the bill, the governor can sign it into law, veto it, or take no action on it (in which case the bill becomes law).

The bill’s primary sponsor is Danny Earl Britt, Republican, who represents Robeson County in the North Carolina Senate.

Britt explains that the bill “clarifies the definition of the Lumbee Tribe, treating them as a governmental entity and allowing them to make application for certain governmental grants for education and health care which currently they cannot apply for.” The bill also removes some restrictive covenants on the land that the Lumbee Tribe purchased for the Cultural Center, and it allows the tribe to officially call the land the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center. The bill will allow the tribe to apply for federal park grants to expand and operate the Cultural Center.