Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

The Lumbee Tribe's staff has committed a misstep that may hurt efforts to obtain full federal recognition. A consultant was paid more than $30,000 to write a 10-page handbook for the Lumbee Tribe Boys and Girls Clubs. Rose Marie Lowry-Townsend, the consultant, was later hired as tribal administrator. Lowry-Townsend was paid for more than 275 hours' work on the booklet, at $110 an hour. The booklet contains many grammatical and typographical errors. Steve Morris, regional service director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, says he's "never heard of anyone paying $30,000 for a handbook. If a club needs a handbook, we can give free samples."