"The Lumbee Indians are among the earliest North Carolinians."
"This is a very important bill for the Lumbee Indian Tribe in North Carolina."
"The Lumbees have a longstanding history of functioning like an Indian tribe and being recognized as such by State and local authorities."
"I urge the Committee to work on this bill, to approve this important legislation without delay."
"It is long past time for the Lumbee to receive the full federal recognition they deserve."
"Federal recognition is about more than federal resources and creating economic development opportunities for this community. It is about tribal identity and fairness."
"that has such a detrimental impact to small business."
"This is a very important meeting and I think everybody here, and I hope the nation, understands how we feel that this is a manufactured crisis that does not need to take place."
"I appreciate this hearing."
"It seems like the information that I have been reading was that there was warning before the site was to open..."
"I think what you have stated too is how important the provision is in this bill, after 50 years of the screenings, that we really do need to have these long-term studies done, and followup on the chil..."