So you want to be a federally recognized Indian tribe? There are just seven steps that you will need to complete. They are: 1) Be continually recognized as Indians by outsiders since 1900; 2) Be a distinct community since historical times (i.e. have a clear and distinct historical record); 3) Be a political entity since historical times (i.e. be a sovereign nation for a length of time); 4) Provide a paper trail in government documents; 5) be descended from a historical Indian tribe; 6) No member of your group can be a member of another Federally recognized tribe; and 7) You can't be subject to any legislation forbidding the Federal relationship. Since 1978, 81 tribes have applied for Federal recognition. Of those 81, only 16 have gained recognition, 24 were denied recognition, and the remainder fine themselves stuck in various parts of the process. That is, of course, unless you are the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina.
The Lumbee have been through the Bureau of Indian Affairs process 11 times. That's right not once or twice, but 11 times the Lumbee have met the criteria outlined by the BIA for Federal recognition. In the past, since the Lumbee suffered under the policies of Termination, the Secretary of the Interior has stated that Congress must finish what Congress has started and denied the Lumbee's application. That was the stumbling block for the Lumbee until today.
When running for president, Senator Barack Obama openly supported recognition for the Lumbee. Today, Congress took up the issue in H.R. 31 (click on post title to read the full bill) sponsored by Democratic Congressman McIntyre from North Carolina. The bill would provide discretionary money to the Lumbee and the nation agreed to not seek a gaming operation at any time. This isn't about a reservation. It's not about a casino. This is about historical atrocities and the ability of a people to survive hundreds of years of violence and neglect. Rising to oppose the bill was Rep. Hastings a Republican from Washington who stated that recognition of the Lumbee would cost the tax payers too much money. The Lumbee with 54,000 members would become the third largest tribe in the United States. Hastings and the Republicans were defeated in their efforts to stop the recognition, but then in a procedural move, Hastings offered an amendment. Hastings' amendment would force the Secretary of the Interior to "verify" the rolls of the Lumbee nation to ensure that all members were indeed descended from historical Indian tribes. Hastings' amendment was a direct result on Indian sovereignty. All Indians tribes have the right to determine their membership, the Secretary of the Interior verifies NO tribal rolls. The amendment went up for a vote and in a near party-line vote, the amendment was defeated 224 to 197.
Voting then was called on the passage of H.R. 31. In a 240 to 179 vote, H.R. 31 passed and the House of Representatives agrees to give Federal recognition to the Lumbee nation. The Lumbee people are now one step closer to obtaining the recognition they deserve and can finally see the end of a 100 year plea! Let's watch this one closely as it goes to the Senate.
Also today, H.R. 1385 providing Federal recognition to 6 tribes of Virginia Indians was approved. The bill did not see the fight that H.R. 31 did. The Senate will now take up both bills. Watch closely folks there could be some "new" tribes joining the mix!
