WASHINGTON — Biden for President launched on Thursday its North Carolina Tribal Leadership Council, which includes members of the Lumbee Tribe.

The council is part of the campaign’s goal to engage diverse coalitions needed to flip Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot in North Carolina. From now until Election Day, the Leadership Council will raise awareness in North Carolina’s tribal community about the Biden-Harris agenda and to ensure tribal voters know about the three ways to vote in this election.

The announcement of the North Carolina Tribal Leadership Council coincides with Native Women’s Equal Pay Day 2020, which recognizes the approximate day into 2020 that a tribal woman has to work to earn, on average, what their white male counterparts made in 2019. For every dollar a man makes, American Indian women earn 57 cents.

The 13-member council is co-chaired by local Lumbee Tribe members Alexis Raeana Jones and Kara Brewer. Other members include Aminah Ghaffar and Virgil Oxendine, Lumbee members; Catherine Cavalier, Occaneechi Saponi Tribe member; Tagan Crowe, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians member; Jason Keck, Choctaw member; Kimberly Knight and Elliott Lynch, Afro indigenous; Alexa Lawrence, Ohio Saponi member; James Mowdy, Choctaw; Amelia Oxendine, Haliwa Saponi member; and Patrick Suarez, Meherrin member.

A Biden-Harris administration is committed to closing that gap through policies such as the Paycheck Fairness Act, which expands and builds on protections created during the Obama-Biden Administration, according to the campaign.

“The strength of the Indigenous woman is a trait that transcends all tribes,” Brewer said. “Our mothers, daughters and sisters have faced enormous challenges, but we live in a nation that still does not value the contribution of our labor. Joe Biden will be a president who does.”

Brewer said tribal leaders are showing support for the candidate that will advocate for American Indian women.

“Whether it’s his commitment to equal pay, or his career-long support for domestic violence survivors in the tribal community, policies supported by the vice president are exactly why the tribal community must work each day to send Joe Biden to the White House,” Brewer said.

Jones said President Trump’s “failure to contain the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on Indian Country.”

“Our people are dying, and President Trump bears the blame for the pain countless Native families have endured because of his failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jones said. “Joe Biden has spent his career working to foster tribal sovereignty and prosperity. His steady leadership and decisive action is what we need to ensure the health and safety of our tribes.

“With Election Day nearly a month away, we are doing all we can to mobilize North Carolina’s tribal community for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

On Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., Biden for President North Carolina will host a virtual Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Roundtable featuring U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield and state Rep. Charles Graham. Roundtable participants will discuss the unique challenges tribal communities face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Biden’s commitment to support the American Indian community.