Unknown author. "Collapse - Gambling gambit killed Lumbee recognition bill" Fayetteville Observer. January 2, 2011.
Arlinda Locklear, a Maryland lawyer, has been a longtime leader of the Lumbee's attempt to gain full federal recognition. The funding that would come with full federal recognition would aid in the reversal of the tribe's depressing economic, educational, and health care situation.
In 2010, Locklear was taken off the Lumbee tribal recognition bill. She was replaced by a gambling consultant from Las Vegas. The tribal leaders were trying to get around prior legislation that said there would be no casinos on the reservation.
The recognition bill had passed the House and a key Senate committee; it had bipartisan support in the Senate and President Obama's backing. It could have become law, were it not for the last-minute curve ball tossed by a few tribal leaders.
The tribe will start from scratch during the next Congress session.