Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

On Wednesday, June 7, a celebration was held at Old Main on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 1956 Lumbee Act. This celebration will be followed by other events, such as a march from Old Main to the North Carolina Indian Cultural Center on Saturday, June 10. A rally will be held at the Cultural Center at 1 p.m.

The 1956 Lumbee Act recognized the Lumbee Indians as Indians but contains "termination language" making them ineligible for services normally performed by the federal government for Indians. The tribe has continued its efforts since then to obtain true federal recognition. The latest effort was the introduction of bills in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate in March, 2005. Those bills remain idle in committees, however.

Lawrence Locklear, a speaker at Wednesday's celebration, urged those in attendance to contact their elected representatives and urge them to support the federal recognition bills.