It was entering a community accustomed to defending it.

The Lumbee Act Of 1956

Two years before Hayes Pond, Congress passed the Lumbee Act of 1956.

The law recognized the name “Lumbee Indians of North Carolina,” but it did not provide the full federal relationship normally associated with tribal recognition.

The act specifically denied access to federal services available to many other federally recognized tribes.

That created a strange legal position.

Congress acknowledged the people as Indian, but withheld the practical consequences of full recognition.

For Lumbee leaders, the law was both an achievement and a limitation.

The tribe had gained national recognition of its chosen name.

But the struggle was not over.