In a statement last week, Richard Sneed, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), issued a statement criticizing U.S. House passage of the Lumbee Recognition Act—and also slammed the Lumbee tribe, which he called “illegitimate.”
“The group calling themselves the ‘Lumbee Indians’ has changed their story many times claiming affiliation with multiple unrelated tribes but have refused to allow proper examination of any of their claims,” Sneed wrote. “Instead, they’ve played politics. If this bill becomes law, it will create a pathway for dozens of other illegitimate groups to successfully follow suit. We join over 40 other tribal nations in urging the Senate to reject this assault on sovereignty.”
Passage of the bill could lead to full federal recognition of the North Carolina-based tribe, open the door to millions of dollars in benefits, and possibly clear the way for a Lumbee casino.
The Cherokee say the Lumbee must submit to verification by the Office of Federal Acknowledgement, which has experts and procedures in place to evaluate Native American history.
In a similar letter last year, Sneed wrote, “Tribal recognition should not be granted when so much doubt and uncertainty remain over the Lumbees’ lineage and genealogy. It is dangerous to pass legislation that short-circuits an established process designed to protect Native American history and identity. That is exactly what H.R. 1964 does and we urge the Senate to reject this bill.”
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is the only federally recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina.
“We are Cherokee not because we woke up one day and decided to be,” Sneed said. “We are Cherokee because we always have been, from time immemorial. As the elected leader of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, I represent a nation of citizens who are the direct descendants of those who survived one of the most calculated genocides in the history of mankind, the Trail of Tears. When a group of people falsely claim our identity, whether it’s to gain fame, financial gain or federal recognition, it is our duty and responsibility to defend the identity our grandmothers and grandfathers.”
EBCI operates the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, and Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Murphy, North Carolina.
According to the Smoky Mountain News, the Lumbee have been a state-recognized Indian tribe since 1885, but despite repeated efforts they have failed to attain full federal recognition. A search of Congress’s website turns up no fewer than 42 bills and resolutions supporting federal recognition for the Lumbee, the first of which was filed in 1974.
N.C. Senator Richard Burr has introduced a companion bill to H.R. 1964. In a 2019 editorial in the Charlotte Observer, he wrote, “The Lumbees are the largest American Indian tribe in the Eastern United States, and they’ve sought federal recognition since the 1880s. The federal government finally acknowledged them as a tribe in 1950s, but denied them the full benefits and services that other tribes receive.”
Meanwhile, the House passed another bill that has raised the ire of the Cherokees. The House approved H.R. 1619, the Catawba Indian Nations Act that would allow the tribe to operate a casino in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The vote was 361-55.
The tribe has built a temporary facility but needs federal permission to operate it for long. The casino has 500 slot machines and hopes to add another 500.
Although the bill was sponsored by U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and several other representatives from the area, the congressman representing the district where the Catawba reservation lies, Rep. Ralph Norman, voted against it.
Clyburn stated, “This bi-partisan legislation is a very significant step toward rectifying historic injustices that have been perpetrated against the Catawba Indian Nation. The enactment of this legislation is critical to helping the Catawba Indian Nation secure economic self-sufficient.”
The tribe has been laboring to get authorization for the casino for most of a decade. What’s stopping it is a 1993 compact that prevents gaming in South Carolina.
Another stumbling block is a lawsuit by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which claim the Kings Mountain land is their indigenous homeland.
The Department of the Interior placed 17 acres into trust for the Catawba Nation in March 2020. In the review the department, confirmed that the tribe’s aboriginal homeland included six counties in the state. Clyburn’s bill would “reaffirm” that decision, said Clyburn.
The bill still needs to be approved by the U.S. Senate and then signed by President Biden.
The Catawba Nation’s Chief Bill Harris thanked the House for the vote: “On behalf of all Catawba citizens, I want to thank the U.S. House of Representatives for passage of this bill, the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act, which reaffirms the Interior Department’s action recognizing the Catawba Nation’s historical and ancestral ties to North Carolina.”
He added, “These are the lands of not just our ancestors, but also the hundreds of Catawba citizens residing there today. This bipartisan legislation is an important step toward rectifying historic injustice perpetrated against the Catawba Nation.”
The Cherokee tribe’s website called the Catawba plan “a plain example of reservation shopping, the practice of casino developers pairing a willing Indian tribe with a city or county open to a casino and seeking to have the federal government create a new reservation outside the willing tribe’s aboriginal territory.
