The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has lengthy stood as a proud and resilient Indigenous group, acknowledged for its distinctive cultural identification and ongoing battle for federal recognition. Nonetheless, a lesser-known however equally vital facet of their historical past is their deep-rooted connection to African People.
The Lumbee persons are descendants of Europeans and freed/enslaved Africans, forming a wealthy and sophisticated heritage that challenges standard narratives about race and identification in America. This mixing of cultures created a novel ethnic group that, whereas self-identifying as Indigenous, carries vital African ancestry.
Early beginnings: A cultural crossroads
In 1756, the Normal Meeting handed a legislation imposing a tax on all free Negroes, Mulattos, and Mestizos.” This required them to pay a tax based mostly on their racial classification. This capitation tax remained in place till 1865, requiring them to pay it for 109 years.
On April 20, 1794, free African People in Marlboro County, South Carolina, petitioned the legislature to repeal this discriminatory tax. Signers included Richard Evins (Evans), Nathaniel Conbie (Cumbo), George Collins, Cudworth Oxendine, William Swett and plenty of others. Some who supported the petition, akin to Joseph Bass and Levi Gibson, have been thought of white.
Scuffletown, later generally known as Pembroke, North Carolina, turned a refuge for these people fleeing South Carolina’s oppressive tax on free individuals of shade.
African American folklore additionally hyperlinks the Lumbee group to the Underground Railroad. One oral custom tells of mixed-race youngsters, the results of relationships between enslaved ladies and their enslavers, who have been despatched by the railroad till they arrived in Scuffletown. Their presence there was reportedly as a consequence of slave mistresses looking for to rid themselves of reminders of their husbands’ indiscretions.
In the course of the 1860s and 1870s, a infamous outlaw group terrorized Robeson County, garnering nationwide consideration. Newspapers and needed advertisements described them as “Negroes.” Their chief, Henry Berry Lowry, gave an interview whereas imprisoned in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1889, wherein he described his ancestry as a mixture of Portuguese and African as an alternative of Indian.
Census data from the identical period recognized Lumbee ancestors as “mulattos.” Within the 1800s US census, a “mulatto” was outlined as somebody of combined African and European ancestry, usually thought of to have at the least some seen hint of African descent, and was first formally added as a class within the 1850 census; census takers have been instructed to categorize people as mulatto based mostly on their look, primarily judging their “diploma of black blood” by visible statement.
Resistance and identification in a segregated south
All through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Lumbees confronted systemic racism and exclusion. Their ambiguous racial classification made it tough for them to navigate a segregated society. Whereas some Lumbee sought to distance themselves from their Black ancestry to realize social and authorized recognition as an Indigenous group, others embraced their multiracial heritage.
Throughout Reconstruction and the Jim Crow period, Lumbee individuals resisted racial discrimination and efforts to power them into Black faculties and establishments. By the Eighties, that they had turn out to be a major voting bloc that sought to keep away from classification as “Negro.”
The idea of Indian identification as distinct from African People gained traction in 1885 when North Carolina Democrats sought to impose Jim Crow legal guidelines. Hamilton McMillan, a Democrat from Robeson County, ran for the Normal Meeting and sought Lumbee votes by promising them a college and a historic identification.
McMillan capitalized on the resentment amongst free African People, who disliked being compelled into the identical faculties as previously enslaved individuals. He helped cross a legislation permitting them to determine their very own separate faculties. To bolster their identification, McMillan revised an present historic narrative about Virginia Dare and the “Misplaced Colony” of Roanoke, claiming that the colonists had combined with pleasant Indigenous individuals, forming the ancestors of these residing in colonial Robeson County. He named them “Croatan Indians.”
The Indian schedule within the 1800s census was a particular part of the census that included further questions on American Indians. The schedule was added to the final census and was normally situated on the finish of the county. There have been no Indians listed in Robeson County till 1900 – after McMillian’s revisionist historical past.
White residents ridiculed the title, calling them “Cros” after Jim Crow, prompting the group to rename themselves “Cherokee Indians of Robeson County” in 1913, “Siouan Indians of Lumber River” in 1934-1935, and eventually, “Lumbee Indians” in 1956, when the U.S. Congress granted them restricted recognition. The latter title adjustments have been partly as a consequence of opposition from federally acknowledged Cherokee and Sioux tribes, who lobbied in opposition to Lumbee efforts to make use of these names – and in later years have fought in opposition to their full federal recognition.
Within the Nineteen Thirties, the U.S. authorities tried to categorise people racially utilizing exams such because the “comb check.” If a comb handed easily by an individual’s hair, they might qualify as Indian; if not, they have been categorised as Negro. This follow divided many households alongside racial strains.
The battle for federal recognition and racial politics
When securing recognition underneath the Lumbee Act of 1956, the tribe agreed to not pursue monetary advantages related to federal recognition. Nonetheless, in 1969, they renewed their efforts to acquire full federal standing.
A serious level of competition of their battle for recognition has been their mixed-race ancestry. Some opponents have used their African lineage to problem their Indigenous identification, reinforcing outdated concepts about racial purity in Native American identification. Traditionally, payments recognizing the Lumbee have handed within the Home however stalled within the Senate, reportedly as a consequence of whispers that they’re “African American.”
In the course of the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections, Donald Trump’s marketing campaign acknowledged the importance of Lumbee votes, aggressively courting the 55,000 members of the tribe. On January 23, 2025, President Trump issued a memo titled “Federal Recognition for the Lumbee Tribe.” Whereas it gave the looks of progress, it didn’t change the elemental want for congressional approval. The manager order was largely symbolic.
Regardless of these political maneuvers, the Lumbees proceed to claim their sovereignty, emphasizing that Indigenous identification is rooted in group, tradition, and self-determination somewhat than racial purity.
Within the period of DNA testing, youthful Lumbee generations typically categorical confusion when their outcomes present no hint of Indigenous ancestry. This underscores the complexities of racial identification and the way it’s outlined past genetics.
A legacy of energy and unity
At the moment, the Lumbees rejoice their wealthy heritage. Their historical past exemplifies the resilience of mixed-race communities which have thrived regardless of systemic efforts to erase or delegitimize their identities. Recognizing the Black presence in Lumbee historical past gives a fuller understanding of America’s racial complexity and honors all those that formed this enduring legacy.
Robeson County and Pembroke at present
Regardless of their wealthy cultural heritage, Robeson County and the city of Pembroke proceed to face vital financial and social challenges. The county stays one of the crucial impoverished areas in North Carolina, with excessive unemployment charges, restricted entry to high quality healthcare, and chronic academic disparities. Many Lumbee households battle with generational poverty, and financial alternatives stay scarce, forcing many younger individuals to depart in the hunt for higher prospects.
Pembroke, as the center of Lumbee tradition, is dwelling to the College of North Carolina at Pembroke, which serves as a beacon of academic development for the group. Nonetheless, the financial advantages of the college haven’t absolutely translated into widespread monetary stability for residents. The city has additionally confronted points with infrastructure growth, small enterprise help, and crime, which proceed to have an effect on its total development and prosperity.
Group leaders and advocates are working to handle these challenges by initiatives aimed toward financial revitalization, cultural preservation, and improved entry to training and healthcare. Whereas progress has been sluggish, there’s a continued effort to construct a brighter future for Lumbee individuals and the broader Robeson County group.
The Lumbee story: A testomony to Black and indigenous interconnectedness
At a time when discussions of racial and ethnic identification are extra related than ever, the Lumbee story serves as a strong reminder of the interconnectedness of Black and Indigenous histories in the USA. Their journey is one in all survival, resistance, adaptation, and delight in a heritage that defies simple categorization.
