Due to their lack of evidence of Native American ancestry and other conventional Indigenous cultural markers such as a unique language, Lumbee people are often confronted with doubts concerning the validity of their claims to Indigenous status. Some white and black residents of Robeson County have expressed doubts about their origins, asserting that the Lumbee are descendants of white and black people who do not want to be viewed as black due to discrimination based on skin tone. Some federally recognized tribes have endorsed the extension of recognition to the Lumbee, while others have opposed it, accusing the Lumbee of making fraudulent claims to Indigenous ancestry.
Several tribes from the Western United States also promulgate the belief that the Lumbee are a mixed, mostly African-descent group. Some Lumbee report that they do not show any Native American ancestry on commercial genealogical DNA tests. Historian Malinda Maynor Lowery, a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, criticized the usefulness of such tests, stating that the testing companies lack base samples of the Lumbee's Indigenous ancestors' DNA with which the results can be compared. Some Lumbee report that the doubts about their status have caused emotional and psychological harm in their community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumbee
https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/comments/otl9n7/do_you_believe_that_the_lumbee_indians_actually/
The Lumbees have no origin story as a people. As a whole tribe, they have falsely claimed to be many different things over the years. When proven wrong, then they changed their story to a new falsehood only to be refuted again.
IIRC: For example, they claimed to be "Croatans" & to be the so-called lost tribe from Roanoke & called themselves that. Then they actually claimed they were as a whole tribe Cherokee which is when the US FRTribes of the Cherokee said, "Oh, No you're not." They said at 1 pt. they a Siouan tribe (which is not an actual tribe).
All of these Lumbees never participated in any of the NDN Censuses. I find it somewhat self-serving/biased for their own self-interested benefit they did want not to be considered as "Black" in a segregated South & that they now arbitrarily retro-actively ascribe their ancestors as "full-bloods" (from voluntary US Decennial self-identification) like Heather Nakai recently did in her lawsuit about supposedly NDN Preference discrimination (when by US law, all these Lumbees AGREED when being Recognized in 1956 that they would not be entitled to any NDN benefits.)
They definitely are NOT an actual real, distinct, historically authentic unique NDN/Native Tribe with their OWN language, customs, & traditions which PRE-DATE European arrival like the rest of the us/573 US FRT. So-called Lumbees never signed a treaty w/the US Govt. nor any Colonial agreement. They never had any sovereign rights to any land as a AI/AN tribe.
These so-called "Lumbees" were already federally recognized; you can read the full text of the 1956 Act from the link on this page . For decades now, they have been trying to worm their way into getting NDN Benefits; it seems like every year a new bill is introduced re: "Lumbee Recognition" that many folks in the dominant society are confused/don't know that they are/were recognized already.
They have so much marketing spin/marketing re-positioning of themselves that I've wondered if their Lumbee govt. gives out "talking pts." to their members on disputing facts/rebuttals when anyone raises objections.
E.g. Fact is they have no language. This is requirement in the BIA Federal Acknowledgement Process which they would fail. ....So they now falsely assert & twist reality to say their "local dialect" is a language. That's BS. From a linguistic standpt., it isn't. Other cultural customs/traditions they currently follow actually were "appropriated" & "borrowed" from other tribes in a pan-NDN fashion.
In their political marketing campaign to get NDN Benefits, they allege they are 2nd class citizens & discriminated against because they're part Black. Fact is there are plenty of other US FRT East Coast Tribes who have significant Black populations in their membership & NO other NDN Tribe ever went on record & objected to these other "Black NDN Tribes" being recognized. Per USET, 25 tribes have objected to Lumbees getting NDN Benefits by political US Congressional means.
When other NDN Tribes & Natives object to them getting benefits thru a political Congressional Act vs. going thru the BIA process, they claim it's "NDN crab syndrome" & they have cast aspersions specifically against the EBCI about $. Again no one ever objected to the Little Shell Band being federally recognized last yr, or to the 6 VA Tribes 2 yrs. (?) ago. To me, it has nothing to do about the $ & supposedly getting a smaller piece of the pie. In my family & tribe, we celebrate every tribe who qualifies, deserves & is recognized w/US FRT status. For the record, my tribe has not publicly commented/weighed on whether Lumbees deserve NDN Benefits. But I get downvoted here for bringing up historical facts.
Their latest marketing messaging spin tactic appears to illogically fault 1956 timing that they were "recognized during the height of Termination" (verbatim repeatedly used in biased pro-Lumbee liberal media articles/press) in a distorted "whoa is me" sympathy appeal that they deserve NDN benefits today. As an enrolled member of a tribe that WAS actually terminated in 1955, this makes no sense at all!
Having nothing to do w/"NDN benefits", the US Govt. declared my tribe didn't legally or physically exist after signing 7 US treaties & undisputedly, continuously living in the same area for 10,000+ yrs, but these so-called "group with a made-up name of Lumbee" folks did??! The fact they were recognized during that time demonstrates their deft US political manipulation/maneuvering & clout in NC .
Over 300+ real, authentic, legitimate, unique tribes w/signed treaties have been terminated by the US Govt. & only 100+ have been restored to date IIRC per NARF. (Fortunately, my tribe was the 1st to be restored from being terminated.) If the Lumbees want to complain about the timing of their recognition w/o NDN Benefits, I think they ought to defer & support all the other tribes who were terminated, have NO recognition at all & have yet to be restored before themselves.
TL;DR: Bringing up the topic of & raising questions about so-called Lumbees NDN origins & whether they deserve full recognition w/benefits is a contentious issue among many NDN/Native Tribes. Lumbees politically lobby that they deserve NDN Benefits; while an unprecedented 25 USET tribes have officially opposed any further recognition of them by the US Govt & have insisted that Lumbees go thru established BIA OFA process. I'm not trying to gatekeep in my comments here; only bringing up facts AFAIK them to honestly be.
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