Governor tells Lumbees he will pursue federal recognition for them

May 26--PEMBROKE -- Gov. Roy Cooper promised Lumbee tribal members in Robeson County he will continue to push the federal government to fully recognize them as an independent American Indian tribe.

During a speech at the tribe's second annual Lumbee Nation Economic Summit, held at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Cooper also said he is working with North Carolina's congressional lawmakers to bring more disaster aid to North Carolina. Much of the state continues to suffer after-effects from October's Hurricane Matthew.

Cooper described nearby Lumberton as "ground zero" in the disaster.

"And perhaps the devastation of Hurricane Matthew can provide an additional push" for federal recognition for the Lumbees, he said. "Because we know that response would have been better and funding would have been greater had the Lumbee tribe had the recognition that they have deserved, that you have deserved, all along."

Federal agencies provide disaster assistance to recognized tribes, Cooper's office said Thursday afternoon, plus the Bureau of Indian Affairs offers infrastructure money.

Congress granted partial recognition to the Lumbees in the 1950s but excluded them from receiving federal benefits granted to other American Indian tribes.

A Democrat, Cooper said he and North Carolina's Republican lawmakers in Washington are working together both for full Lumbee recognition and more disaster relief.

Cooper was disappointed this spring when he asked for $929 million in assistance and North Carolina was approved for only $6.1 million.

Congress approved $300 million in aid in December. The storm caused an estimated $4.8 billion in damage and killed 28 people.

North Carolina leaders are reaching out to the Trump administration and saying "you have to help this area of the state," Cooper said.

"I invited the president to come down and look for himself to see the devastation that was caused," Cooper said.

Cooper said that as a Presbyterian, he tries to find a good outcome in bad situations. "The something good is that this hurricane and its devastating effects put a spotlight on problems that already existed," he said, such as poverty, a lack of good jobs and a lack of affordable housing.

"What we have to do is not only work for hurricane relief, but work for long-term structural changes that can help people not only in the Lumbee tribe, but all over rural North Carolina," Cooper said.

Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3512.

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