Lumbee Fairness Act has passed the Senate. What does this mean?

By Amber Holland (Lumbee)

The passage of the Lumbee Fairness Act in the Senate marks a critical and historic step toward the formalization of a  government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. If signed into law, Lumbee citizens and the Tribe would be eligible for certain federal services, funding, and programs. Importantly, it also means that the Tribe could more fully exercise its sovereignty and self-governance. What that would look like is yet to be seen, but the door would be open for Lumbee leaders, beholden to the will of the people, to expand its governmental services, engage in economic development activities, and increase protections for natural and cultural resources. 

The Lumbee would be the 575th tribe to gain full federal recognition and there are a number of model tribal codes and incredibly successful tribal programs, as well as decades of judicial precedent the Tribe could examine moving forward. I hope the Tribe would look to other tribes for guidance on how to best utilize its resources and what pitfalls to avoid. However, I am most excited to see how the Lumbee would uniquely exercise their sovereignty. For instance, Lumbee ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and work ethic are already evident throughout Robeson County. Should the Tribe develop its own business codes, the sky would be the limit for the individual Lumbee entrepreneur and tribally-owned entities.