Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Three weeks after being elected Lumbee Tribal Chairman, Harvey Godwin came through on his campaign promise to have a more efficient administration. Godwin removed 15 positions at The Turtle, the government headquarters, leaving just 105 jobs in total.

The main job for the tribe is to delegate the $12 million a year from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing, veteran services, the elderly, the youth, and the needy. Other administrations have been criticized for having bloated governments, with more paid jobs than necessary taking away from the rest of the population.

Tribal clerk Bill Hunt, assets manager Cynthia Hunt, and public relations director Gary Strickland, along with his assistant, were among those who lost their jobs. Because of the departure of Strickland and his assistant, the Public Relations department will now be helmed by Godwin himself, with help from other staff and volunteers. Godwin has stated he has no plans to replace the jobs of those who lost them.

Godwin also ordered that all the tribe’s Supreme Court opinions and Tribal Council ordinances be posted to the Lumbee website, in order to be honest and open with the public.