Despite all of the bad publicity we get, I am still proud to tell people I am Lumbee. The tribal council or the tribal office do not make me Lumbee. I am Lumbee because of my grandparents, and great grands and so on. I am proud of my history. Yes we have had a lot of bad publicity lately, but we are still a strong successful people. Every group of people has "embarrassments" amongst them.
A lot of things have taken place at the tribal offices that are wrong. Just ask any former employee and I am sure they can give you an earful. Does that mean every person who works there is a crook? No. There are good people that work for the tribe. Some of those people are not happy with their jobs because of the wrongs that they see going on. Some of these people have no other options because their family depends on the income they receive as a tribal employee. Some of the tribes employees are not happy with things, but they stay because they hope that in the midst of all of the chaos, they will be able to make a difference. They have a desire to see our people receive the help they need. Many former employees will tell you that they couldn't deal with the politics anymore. I have seen many good people thrown under the bus as a result of these tribal politics. Many of the tribal employees have no control over the things that happen. They simply follow the instructions given to them.
We are a people of survivors. We have more professionals (doctors, lawyers, professors) within our membership than any other tribe. Our people founded UNC-P. Our grandparents and great-grandparents accomplished so much through hard work.
It's time for us to start taking an active part in our tribal government. Hold your representative responsible for the decisions they make while representing you. Vote people into positions that deserve them.
Am I proud of the way certain people are behaving and handling our funds? NO. Am I proud to be a Lumbee? Yes, I always have been and I always will be.
