Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Arlinda Locklear, former legal counsel for the Lumbee Tribe, who worked extensively with the Lumbee in their fight for federal recognition, gave a lecture at UNC--Chapel Hill on April 28, 2010, to a group of students. The full lecture is provided on YouTube in nine video segments. The first segment covers the history behind the tribe's fight for recognition in Washington.

Part 1:

Locklear begins her lecture by briefing the students on the history of the Croatan Indians and their quest for recognition from the United States government, specifically from their state, North Carolina. Thus, she begins by discussing state recognition, "even though," as she says, "the subject of this discussion is federal recognition..."

Locklear breaks down her introduction into a timeframe. She begins in the year 1885, when North Carolina passed legislation giving recognition to the Croatan Indians, who, Locklear states, are the ancestors of the Lumbee Indians. Locklear says this state recognition established two things for the Croatan Indians. First, the Croatan Indians gained the right to their own school system, meaning they were in control of the education of their youth in every manner. Second, in 1887, the Croatan Indians started an Indian Normal School, where they could train teachers to teach Indians. Unfortunately, the Croatan Indians did not have the necessary funds to run such a school. So, in 1888, 54 tribal leaders of the Croatan Indians sent a petition to Congress asking for money to help them with their new school system. Locklear mentions that this was the first time that federal aid was requested by the Croatan Indians. In 1891, the Secretary of the Interior of the U.S. government wrote to the Croatans, saying that, regretfully, the U.S. government could not help. Locklear said this message from the Secretary of the Interior was the beginning of a theme that her people would hear for 125 years, "and today, 125 years later," Locklear told the room full of students, "we're still asking them."