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555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
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Raleigh Office:
310 New Bern Avenue
Suite 122
Raleigh, NC 27601
Ph: 919.856.4630
Toll Free: 866.420.6083
Fax: 919.856.4053
Salisbury Office:
225 North Main Street
Suite 304
Salisbury, NC 28144
Ph: 704.633.5011
Toll Free: 866.420.6084
Fax: 704.633.2937
Western Office:
401 North Main Street
Suite 200
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Ph: 828.698.3747
Fax: 828.698.1267
Eastern Office:
306 South Evans Street
Greenville, NC 27835
Ph: 252.329.1093
Fax: 252.329.1097
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Speeches
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TESTIMONY ON LUMBEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT ACT
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs |
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September 17th, 2003 - Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing today. You have provided such strong leadership on issues concerning our Native Americans. You have truly been a visionary in this area, and all have benefited from your commitment, your perseverance, and your dedication. Thank you for all that you do.
And let me thank ranking member, Senator Inouye. You have been a champion as well, working for the betterment of your own state’s native people, and improving the lives of all Native Americans. I am deeply grateful to you both. It’s a privilege to serve with you in the United States Senate!
And I certainly want to thank the members of the Lumbee Tribe, who traveled here in the face of Hurricane Isabel!
We meet today to focus on an issue that I made a top priority once I arrived in the Senate – the terrible injustice that has been done to the Lumbee Indians. Full federal recognition for this Tribe has been unfairly denied for decades. We have a chance, Mr. Chairman, to right this wrong in the United States Senate.
I am passionate about this matter – the subject of the first legislation I submitted as a United States Senator, the bill before us today. In visiting with the Lumbees and the residents of Robeson County, where most Lumbees live, one occasion in particular stands out in my mind – a rally with Congressman Mike McIntyre, for whom I have great admiration – earlier this year that brought together the whole community with the common goal of getting the Lumbees the recognition they rightfully deserve. I am so impressed with the determination of the Lumbees. They are a people of great pride, and I am in awe of their steadfastness on this issue, even after years of disappointments. Spending time with them has invigorated me in my effort to end this injustice.
Mr. Chairman, for more than a century, the Lumbees have been recognized as American Indians; North Carolina formally recognized the Tribe in 1885. And it was just 3 years later, in 1888, that the Tribe began what would become a long quest for recognition and assistance from the federal government.
There have been numerous studies by the United States Department of Interior, beginning as early as 1913, then again in 1914 and yet again in 1933. Each time, it has been determined that the Lumbee are indeed, an Indian Tribe.
And there are more than a half dozen instances when legislation was introduced, legislation which remained inactive or was passed by only one body. Finally, in 1956,
Congress passed the Lumbee Bill which recognized the Tribe. But there was a caveat, which brings us to this hearing today. That legislation denied the Tribe the benefits and privileges that every other federally recognized Tribe enjoys.
This discrimination must end. The Lumbees deserve full recognition for their Tribe – not a partial nod that ignores the history and the efforts of so many ancestors.
I introduced S. 420 as my first bill in the United States Senate because it is the right thing to do – it is the fair thing to do. This legislation will reverse that 1956 decision by Congress denying full recognition. And passage will allow the Tribe to receive much-needed assistance in areas like education, health care and economic development funding.
I know there are those who have argued – and will do so again today – that the Lumbees should go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal recognition. That process is reserved for Tribes whose legitimacy must be established. That is not the case with the Lumbees. In fact, the legitimacy of this Tribe has been established time and time again, dating back to the late 1800s.
The federal government has already spent the money and concluded that the Lumbees are an Indian Tribe descended from the historic Cheraw Indians. There is no need to waste the
Tribe or the government’s time and money again.
And Congress has never passed a special statute to send a Tribe to the administrative process.
It has also been documented, by the General Accounting Office, that getting through the Bureau of Indian Affairs can take years. If I may quote from that 2001 GAO report, “Because of weaknesses in the recognition process, the basis for BIA’s tribal recognition decisions, is not always clear and the length of time involved can be substantial.” That report says it may take up to 15 years to resolve completed petitions. 15 years! The Lumbees have already waited far too long. It is wrong to impose yet another lengthy delay on this Tribe. It’s been over 100 years, Mr. Chairman – Let’s not make them wait another 15 years!
Let us do what is fair and right to resolve this injustice. This Tribe, with 53,000 members, is the largest Tribe east of the Mississippi and the largest non-federally recognized Tribe in America. The Lumbees have contributed so much, not just to North Carolina’s heritage, but to our entire nation. They deserve full recognition now.
For weeks, I have heard about the excitement building among the Lumbees because of the opportunity to come here and make their case once again. I spoke earlier of the Lumbees' dedication to this issue, and how their passion continues to inspire me. Among us today is Emma Lee Locklear whose grandfather, Hezekiah Locklear, signed the petition for Lumbee recognition in 1888. Emma is here to continue the family’s tradition of fighting for the rights of Lumbees. And I’m determined to fight with her, for what is right.
I urge this committee to act now. Pass S. 420, so that Emma’s work and that of her grandfather so many years ago, will not have been in vain.
Congressman Mike McIntyre, is a dear friends and colleague from North Carolina, who is a sponsor of the Lumbee Bill in the House. Mike has been such a champion of the Lumbee cause and has done an outstanding job in bringing all the parties together. I am so very pleased to work with him.
And following Congressman McIntyre, and Congressman Faleomavaega, you will hear from three additional individuals who are truly dedicated to the cause of the Lumbees.
Milton Hunt has become a dear friend through our work on recognition for the Lumbees. He is chairman of the Tribe and Mayor of Pembroke, and has led the way in rallying the entire community around full recognition for the Lumbees.
Arlinda Locklear is an attorney with Patton Boggs and is a nationally recognized expert in the area of Indian Tribes. She became the first Native American woman to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1984 and is a member of the Lumbee Tribe.
And Dr. Jack Campisi is an expert on Lumbee issues after having spent long hours researching the Lumbees while living among them, right there in Robeson County. He is a professor at Wellesley College and has done extensive research on tribal communities. They will answer any technical questions which you may have.
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: television clip