United States | The Lumbee

The strange history of the tribe courted by Donald Trump

North Carolina’s Lumbee look to the president in their battle with the Cherokee

Group of Native Americans dancers belonging to the Lumbee tribe stand in traditional outfits on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland.
Pow wowPhotograph: Getty Images
|PEMBROKE, NORTH CAROLINA|4 min read

For almost a century and a half, the federal government denied the Lumbee, the largest tribe east of the Mississippi, recognition. Now, nearly everyone in Washington is trying to give it to them. “I love the Lumbee tribe,” President Donald Trump said on his third full day in office, as he signed a memorandum ordering the secretary of the interior to, within 90 days, submit a plan to help the Lumbee gain full federal recognition.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The lightness of Lumbee-ing”

From the June 21st 2025 edition

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