Lumbee Indians Deserve to have Full Federal Recognition as an American Indian TribeWhen asked about his position and stern opposition to the Lumbee Tribe, Walter Jones provided an astonishingly telling reply which expressed his support of the Cherokee Tribe. Congressman Jones was quoted as saying “What you would have (in recognizing the Lumbee Tribe) is the Las Vegas of the East," said Rep. Walter Jones, a Farmville Republican. "There's no question it would be a serious problem." In other words Congressman Jones said he is opposing the federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe based on something that they “might” do which is totally unrelated to the preservation of a legitimate American Indian Tribe, but which is very connected to the Congressman’s own religion and beliefs and again serves the interest of another Tribe, The Cherokee Tribe of North Carolina who exercise the very things Congressman Jones is apparently against. A Tribe who the Congressman has accepted money from.
Formal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe would open a door to tools and means for preserving the tribe and its cultural and geographical heritage, just as many other Tribes in America now enjoy. Federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe would provide the legal status necessary to preserve the uniquely Lumbee institutions, such as Indian schools that are key to the future, identity and survival as a Tribe and as a people. Indian lands are not only sacred to the Indians who live on them, they are sacred to all of us as Americans who desire to preserve our past.Comment: Heather Locklear is of Scottish and Lumbee descent.
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