North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe Gains Long-Sought Federal Recognition — Casino Next?

• The Lumbee Tribe secured federal recognition after more than a century
• Recognition grants sovereignty, land trust rights, and casino eligibility
• Casino interest exists, but tribe remains publicly cautious

North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe is one presidential signature away from federal recognition. A provision to recognize the 60K-strong tribe was tagged onto the National Defense Authorization Act, passed by Congress on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump will sign the $901 billion defense spending package into law, the White House has confirmed. Trump has in the past declared his support for Lumbee recognition – in a key swing state like North Carolina, 60K votes could come in handy.

The Lumbee have pursued recognition for 130 years. This status means that a tribe is recognized as a sovereign government, granting it access to federal programs, legal status, and rights such as the ability to place land in trust and operate casinos.

Will the Lumbee Build a Casino?

The tribe has been tight-lipped about whether this could lead to the creation of South Carolina’s fourth casino, preferring to focus public statements on the other benefits of full sovereignty rights.

It’s going to be a very, very emotional time for us. It’s going to be a time to rejoice and a time to be happy,” Lumbee Tribe member Charles Graham told the Associated Press. “We’ll be able to stand on our principles in terms of who we are, where we’ve been, our sovereignty, and we can speak to that with a lot of pride.”

The Lumbee’s interest in a casino was most recently evident in 2023, when a bill to authorize four new commercial gaming venues in North Carolina, including one for the Lumbee, was introduced but didn’t pass.

Currently, the state has three casinos: two operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and one owned by the Catawba Indian Nation.

If a casino were to be built on the Interstate 95 corridor, it would be the only gaming venue on that corridor between New Jersey and Florida, making it well-positioned to capture regional and through-traffic.

Lumbee Critics

Some of the more vocal opponents of Lumbee recognition included other tribes, such as the EBCI, who argue that the Lumbee haven’t sufficiently demonstrated a verifiable, continuous descent from a specific historic tribe – a key standard used for federal recognition. Critics note the tribe has previously used different names, including the Cherokee Indians of Robeson County.

The Lumbee say their ancestors were from the Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan language families, and note they have been recognized by the state of North Carolina since 1885.