Lumbee
Sign in to saveAlso known as Lumbee Tribe, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water, are a mixed-race people group of the Americas, some of whom comprise the federally recognized Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, the Lumbee claim to be descended from numerous Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited the region and have been shown to have connections with other tri-racial isolate groups, such as the Melungeons and Louisiana Redbones.
Key facts
- Ethnic group.group
- Lumbee
- Ethnic group.image
- File:KelvinSampson.RobertJosephCruz.RJCPictures.jpg
- Ethnic group.caption
- Kelvin Sampson, a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
- Ethnic group.total
- More than 60,000
- Ethnic group.total_year
- 2025
- Ethnic group.regions
- Eastern United States(North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee)
- Ethnic group.region1
- North Carolina
- Ethnic group.region2
- Virginia
- Ethnic group.region3
- South Carolina
- Ethnic group.langs
- Main: English,American Indian English
- Ethnic group.religions
- Christianity
- Ethnic group.related
- Melungeons, Lousiana Redbones, Dominickers, Carmelites, Chestnut Ridge people, Free Black people, Atlantic Creoles, Free people of color, Cheraw, African Americans, English Americans, Scottish Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans
- Language.name
- Lumbee English
- Language.familycolor
- Indo-European
- Language.fam2
- Germanic
- Language.fam3
- West Germanic
- Language.fam4
- North Sea Germanic
- Language.fam5
- Anglo–Frisian
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Population
- 55000
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Lumbee
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~57 min read
Article
44 sectionsContents
- History
- 18th century
- Antebellum
- Civil War
- Lowry War
- State recognition as "Croatan Indians"
- Separate Indian school system
- Early efforts to gain federal recognition
- Federally commissioned reports
- Indian New Deal
- Lumbee Act
- Ku Klux Klan conflict
- Petitioning for full federal recognition
- 2020 presidential election
- Recognition process
- Senate hearing on the Lumbee Fairness Act
- NDAA bill and Federal recognition
- Theories of origins
- Native American descent
- Lost Colony of Roanoke
- Cherokee descent
- Cheraw descent
- Descent from multiple tribes
- Free Black descent
- Authenticity and doubts of origins
- Culture and traditions
- Surnames
- Language
- Lumbee Homecoming
- Communities
- Lumbee patchwork
- Cuisine
- Religion
- Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
- Unrecognized organizations
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Works cited
- Books
- Journal articles
- Primary sources
- Further reading
- External links
The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water, are a mixed-race people group of the Americas, some of whom comprise the federally recognized Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, the Lumbee claim to be descended from numerous Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited the region and have been shown to have connections with other tri-racial isolate groups, such as the Melungeons and Louisiana Redbones.
The Lumbee take their name from the Lumber River, which winds through Robeson County. Pembroke, North Carolina, in Robeson County, is their economic, cultural, and political center. According to the 2000 United States census report, 89% of the population of the town of Pembroke identified as Lumbee; 40% of Robeson County's population identified as Lumbee. The Lumbee Tribe was recognized by North Carolina in 1885. In 1956, the U.S. Congress passed the Lumbee Act, which recognized the Lumbees as being American Indians but denied them the benefits of a federally recognized tribe.