Monday, April 13, 2026 3:04 PM
Image aggregated from The Assembly NC.
Five days before Congress passed a mega bill in December that included full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the tribe’s for-profit entity, Lumbee Holdings, bought a large tract of land along Interstate 95 in Robeson County.
Then, on December 17–the day of the historic U.S. Senate vote–Lumbee Holdings bought more land. The group paid $6.8 million for the two properties, which together span about 240 acres near the South Carolina border, and quickly transferred them to the tribe.
For many Lumbee people, the days leading up to Christmas were a time to revel in the federal recognition, which they had been seeking for 137 years.