Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my deep opposition to circumvention of the merit-based process, and instead, grant Federal recognition to the Lumbee community through political means. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have the representatives of the Eastern Band with us in the gallery today. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are the descendants of those that fought to stay in their traditional homelands in the face of forcible Federal removal efforts. Some Cherokee, including a man named Junaluska, made the forced journey and then walked back to the mountains of western North Carolina to return home. It must be noted that the Lumbee community has no standing treaties with the Federal Government, no reservation land, and no common language. As Members of Congress, one of our most sacred duties is making sure that laws are drafted and implemented in an objective and an equal manner. For over 40 years, the Department of the Interior has carried out a merit-based process, as set out by Congress and administered by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, the OFA, to make determinations on Federal recognition of Tribes. If the administration or Congress allows the Lumbee to bypass the OFA, it sends a clear message that other groups with dubious claims for Tribal recognition can also avoid the deliberation and scrutiny that the OFA petition process is designed to provide. We need the OFA process to protect Indian Country and the public.…”