PEMBROKE — After the rejection of a bid for state recognition in September by the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, a confederacy of Tuscarora tribes in Robeson County plan an appeal within two weeks.
The denial of a seat at the table with 11 other state recognized tribes was no surprise to Tamra Lowry, who is leading the effort on behalf of three Tuscarora groups located across Robeson County.
“We continued to send genealogical and historical data to the commission right up to the hearing on Sept. 14,” Lowry said. “At this point, our lawyers are preparing an appeal before the 30-day deadline on Oct. 14.”
Indian Affairs Commission Director Greg Richardson was not available for comment, and the commission’s website had no information.
The cards appeared to be stacked against the Tuscaroras, who began the work to gain state recognition in 1980.
The Lumbee Tribal Council passed a resolution opposing the Tuscaroras’ recognition bid in February. The resolution states that the Tuscaroras are part of a history of “splinter” factions inside Lumbee sovereign territory.
“The United States government recognized the Lumbee as a Tribe in 1956, and included Robeson and surrounding counties as its territory,” the resolution reads in part. Further, the resolution states that the Tuscaroras have not functioned with a tribal government “throughout history.”
Lowry calls the claim of sovereign territory misleading at best.
“They have no sovereign territory,” she said.
With three members on the 21-member state commission and its chairman, the Lumbees are the largest and most powerful tribe in North Carolina and at the commission.
“We were told the Lumbee delegation would not vote on our petition,” Lowry said, noting that the Lumbee resolution prejudged the outcome before hearing the evidence. “They have influence, regardless.”
The Tuscarora’s 50-page petition links American Indians in Southeast North Carolina to the Tuscarora Tribe dating back to the 18th century. The powerful tribe, which is now headquartered in New York, was defeated in a major war, and scattered into the Carolinas.
Tuscarora remnants migrated south through Virginia and eastern North Carolina. Indian hero Henry Berry Lowrie claimed Tuscarora ancestry.
Lumbee historians generally agree that the Tuscarora are one of several tribes that settled along the Lumbee River. The larger Tuscarora Tribe of New York does not recognize groups that splintered away from the main branch of the tribe, despite maintaining some contacts with them.
Lowry believes the evidence compiled in the application deserves recognition. In a July hearing that lasted nearly four hours, the commission decided against the Tuscaroras.
“We want a voice in state Indian affairs and to participate in cultural affairs with the 11 state-recognized Indian tribes,” Lowry said. “Casinos may be an issue. It all comes down to money.”
If the Tuscaroras in New York recognized the North Carolina branch, it may have legal standing to build a casino here, Lowry said. Realistically, that is not part of the tribe’s thinking.
State recognition would give the Tuscaroras, who number several thousand in and around Robeson County, standing for grants and other programs that other tribes appear not to be willing to share.
Meanwhile, she and the Tuscarora will carry on with their efforts to win state recognition through the Commission of Indian Affairs and through the courts if necessary, Lowry said.
