Trump signs Lumbee Fairness Act, providing North Carolina Native American tribe with full federal recognition – One America News Network

OAN Staff Blake Wolf
5:36 PM – Friday, December 19, 2025

President Donald Trump signed the Lumbee Fairness Act into law on Thursday, officially providing the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina full federal recognition.

Congress has considered the move for over 30 years, only coming to fruition after President Trump signed a memorandum in January directing the Secretary of Interior to draft a plan to assist the tribe in obtaining federal recognition.

The Lumbee Tribe first requested federal recognition in the 1980s, which was declined by the Office of Federal Acknowledgement within the Interior Department. The office pointed toward a 1956 Congressional act that acknowledged the Lumbee Tribe while still withholding federal benefits.

The decision was later reversed in 2016, creating a renewed push for full federal recognition.

“Passage of the Lumbee Fairness Act affords the Lumbee people the full benefits and services long afforded to other federally recognized tribes. I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to make this a reality,” stated House Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.).

Other tribes, such as the Eastern Band of Cherokee, opposed the move, fearing funding loss while claiming that the Lumbee were not eligible for federal recognition due to inter-racial marriages, which would violate the single-tribe lineage required for federal recognition.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) criticized the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for opposing federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe, labeling the group as a “casino cartel.”

“For 137 years, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina fought for the full federal recognition they were promised, and today that promise has finally been fulfilled,” Tillis stated.

“President Donald Trump pledged to get this done, and he kept that promise. By signing the Lumbee Fairness Act into law, a historic injustice has been corrected, and the Lumbee people can finally access the full federal benefits they have long earned and deserve,” he added.

President Trump previously promised to grant the Lumbee Tribe federal recognition while on the campaign trail in 2024.

“Many Presidents have promised to deliver full federal recognition to the great Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Only President Trump actually delivered,” the official Rapid Response X account wrote in an X post on Friday.

“The history of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina long predates the history of the State of North Carolina itself,” added North Carolina Governor Josh Stein (D-N.C.).

“The state has long recognized the Lumbee Tribe. Full federal recognition will allow members access to the federal health care, education, housing, child care, and disaster relief benefits afforded other federally recognized tribes. These benefits will in turn create economic opportunities for the Tribe and the surrounding community. I applaud this long-delayed recognition, which will reap benefits for the Lumbee and North Carolina.”