Lumbee Indians

Lumbee

Official logo of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
Total population
55,000
Regions with significant populations
United States ( North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee)
Languages
English, Lumbee (formerly)
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Tuscarora, Coharie, Waccamaw Siouan

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state recognized tribe of approximately 55,000 enrolled members, most of them living in Robeson and the adjacent counties in southeastern North Carolina. The Lumbee Tribe was recognized by the US Congress in 1956 but was not given access to federal funds set aside for Indian tribes. According to the 2000 US Census report, the population of the town of Pembroke, North Carolina, is 89% Lumbee Indian and that of the county is nearly 40% Lumbee.

The Lumbee are one of eight state-recognized Native American tribes in North Carolina; they have been recognized by the state since 1885. They participate at the state level in many ways, including in the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. They also participate in such national organizations as the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Education Association.

Archaeological evidence shows that Native American cultures have long occupied present-day Robeson County. Artifacts have been collected from Paleo-Indian times through early, middle, and late Archaic, early, middle, and late Woodland times, and into the historic period. According to Stanley Knick, the evidence of diverse cultural influences in prehistory is a characteristic of the region, and repeated among Indians of diverse cultures during the historical period after European colonization.

Beginning in the middle Archaic period between 6,000–8,000 years ago, relatively unusual artifacts such as an Eva-like basal-notched projectile points began to appear. The presence of stone and, later, ceramic artifacts suggests cultural exchange from elsewhere, which continued through the archaeological record. Artifacts more commonly found in Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia, on the outer Coastal Plain as well as in the Piedmont and the mountains, have been found alongside local artifacts more typical of prehistoric Indians in Robeson County. This suggests that the region has for thousands of years been a zone of cultural interaction.

The earliest document showing Indian communities in the area of the Lumber River is a map prepared in 1725 by John Herbert, the commissioner of Indian trade for the Wineau Factory on the Black River. Herbert identifies the four Siouan-speaking communities as the Saraw, Pee dee, Scavano, and Wacoma. Modern-day Lumbee claim connection to these settlements, but none was located within the boundaries of present-day Robeson County.