- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Economic Development
After more than a century of advocacy, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina secured full federal recognition in late December, when Congress included the Lumbee Fairness Act in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. With President Donald Trump’s signature, the Lumbee became the 575th federally recognized tribe in the U.S., opening access to federal programs administered by agencies including the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service.
For Lumbee leadership, recognition marks the start of a new phase focused on economic development, land stewardship and expanded tribal services. Chairman John Lowery said the change allows the tribe to pursue federal grants and programs that had been long out of reach, while also strengthening its position in areas such as federal contracting, agriculture and other economic sectors that support long-term community stability.
The tribe enters the moment with a running start. It has operated Lumbee Tribal Enterprises as a federal contracting entity since 2014 and spun up an Economic Development and Tourism Department in 2025, laying groundwork for Native business and tourism opportunities. Lowery said the tribe is now focused on using economic development to broaden opportunity for tribal citizens and translate recognition into tangible improvements across the community.
Lowery discussed how federal recognition fits into the tribe’s development strategy in an early January conversation with Tribal Business News.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
With federal recognition now in place, how does that change the tribe’s economic outlook?
From the tribe's perspective, it creates opportunities to apply for grants that we had not been able to apply for before, to take advantage of economic development opportunities that we hadn't had opportunities with before.
As we navigate the federal recognition process implementation, we'll learn more. We don't necessarily know all that is available to us out there, but there have been many times when we've come across opportunities that were limited to those that had full federal recognition. I think it's going to be positive.
Does the tribe plan to pursue land-into-trust applications or expand its real estate for economic development?
I look to have discussions with the tribal council about the next best steps are about land in trust. Tribes historically move quickly to put land in trusts because of the tax benefits that come with that for future economic development. For example, the tribal complex, it belongs to the people, it belongs to the tribe. We would want to put this in trust to preserve it for always, for those next seven generations - and it would help reduce costs, because it’ll be tax exempt.
How does federal recognition affect the tribe’s participation in federal contracting, including the 8(a) program?
It’s about growth. The Lumbee tribe went into that program in 2014 with its first company, Lumbee Tribe Enterprises. We’re currently doing business with multiple 8(a) companies under our belt under the Lumbee Tribe Holdings umbrella.
We want companies under that umbrella to continue to graduate successfully from the program and stay operational, but we also continue to grow more companies and hire tribal members who eventually work in those companies.
Beyond contracting, what are the tribe’s main economic priorities right now?
We have a new Agriculture and Natural Resources Department which is working with our farmers. We want to see our farmers and ranchers building wealth in our community. That's a population of people that we genuinely want to see succeed. We want to see them certified, we want to see them getting opportunities, and we want to see them grow. They are also providing healthy foods for our community. We are going after grants that help us with capacity building in our community.
We have also created a Health and Human Services Department and that's an area that could eventually become an economic engine for us as well.
The tribe recently created the Economic Development & Tourism Department. What was the thinking behind that?
This has the potential to open the door for great opportunity at our Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center as far as cultural tourism. The state of N.C. is working on the Wire Pasture Project which will be a part of the Lumber River State Park. This property is directly behind our cultural center and is expected to open this year. There could be all kinds of opportunities there with canoeing, cultural tours, nature watching and other avenues of tourism.
