Jan. 23 (UPI) — The largest Indigenous tribe east of the Mississippi River is on its way to federal recognition and full tribal benefits after President Donald Trump’s order Thursday.
The federal order means members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will now receive full federal benefits, something that was lacking in previous government recognitions.
“The State of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee Tribe in 1885, and in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the 1956 Lumbee Act, which recognized the Lumbee but denied them some federal benefits,” a fact sheet released by the White House said.
It takes an act of Congress, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement process, or a federal court decision to gain status as a fully recognized tribe.
The secretary of the Interior will decide the best route to make that happen, according to the release. Federal recognition makes health care accessible from the Indian Health Services, grants tribes governmental autonomy, land protections, and access to other federal programs.
Trump has nominated former N.D. Gov. Doug Burgum for the post. He cleared the last hurdle before facing a confirmation when his nomination was advanced 18-2 by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday.
Trump said during the campaign that he planned to direct the Lumbee Tribe to receive full federal recognition and the White House release said he was making good on that promise.
“Today, I’m officially announcing that, if I am elected in November, I will sign legislation granting the great Lumbee Tribe federal recognition that it deserves,” Trump said in September, fewer than two weeks before the election.
The Lumbee Tribe designation was one of several executive orders the new president signed on Thursday, which also included actions designed to bolster AI and the cryptocurrency business in the country.
“We’re going to make a lot of money for the country,” Trump said, supporting the efforts of his new so-called “crypto czar” David Sacks, according to PBS
Trump also pardoned anti-abortion activists who were arrested for blocking the entrances to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., in 2020.
“They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said while signing the pardons for what he called “peaceful pro-life protesters.”
He also signed orders seeking to declassify federal records regarding the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. The order for Kennedy directs the classified records to be released in fewer than two weeks.
