Godwin's trip makes history

Record Number: 
SHIL018
Citation: 

Shiles, Bob. “Godwin’s DC trip makes history – Uses time to push federal recognition.” The Robesonian (Lumberton, NC) January 17, 2016.

Annotation: 

Harvey Godwin Jr, chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, was invited to attend the State of the Union address just five days after being sworn in to the position.

Godwin, the fist Lumbee chairman ever to be invited to the event, went with Rep. Richard Hudson to see President Barack Obama give the address for the final time. While there, Godwin went to many events and lobbied on behalf of full federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe.

Even though the Lumbee tribe has more than 55,000 members, making it the largest American Indian tribe that is east of the Mississippi River, they are the only tribe in the nation that has been federally recognized but not granted the financial benefits other tribes received. This surprised many members of Congress.

Hudson, who is in charge of District 8, which covers most of Robeson County, has had a history of working for the recognition of the Lumbee people. He was part of a group that introduced the Lumbee Recognition Act in the U.S. House. He has also worked with Rep. Mike McIntyre to shepherd the Lumbee Recognition Act through the House on two separate occasions.

First Appeared in 1994 Book?: 
no
Publication Type: 
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