Remarks of Chairman Rahall at Hearing on Lumbee Recognition Act and Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

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Remarks of Chairman Rahall at Hearing on Lumbee Recognition Act and Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

The Committee will come to order. We have with us several Native Americans and other individuals from Virginia who have come here this morning to give and listen to testimony of great import. I know the Virginia community has been hit the hardest by the horror at Virginia Tech, but I assure you that it has touched us all deeply. I want to begin this morning with a moment of silence for the students, faculty, and families of Virginia Tech. Thank you.

The Committee is meeting to hold a hearing on two bills this morning, one pertaining to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and another concerning six Tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Frankly, I am embarrassed to be here this morning, facing the good people of the Lumbee Tribe yet again.

When 240 of us voted for Federal recognition during the 102nd Congress, that should have resolved the question of Lumbee status. When we voted again in favor of similar legislation in the 103rd Congress, that certainly should have meant that the United States had finally taken a stand and done the right thing by acknowledging a trust relationship with the Lumbee Tribe. But it was not to be. I personally have sat through several hearings on legislation of this nature over the course of several Congresses.

Every time this Indian Tribe gets close to its goal of recognition by the Federal government, there is always somebody ready to knock them down.

The Lumbee Tribe has been trapped inside a cruel carnival that never ends. They have been on a roller coaster of exciting highs always followed by devastating lows. And just like a roller coaster ride - the treatment of the Lumbee Tribe is starting to make me sick.

Before this day is over, we will, no doubt, have those who say the Lumbee should go through the Federal administrative acknowledgment process. You know what that is - that is the never-ending regulatory maze filled with distorted mirrors, rubber rooms, and trick doors that this committee has examined in the past.

In the face of adversity, the determination and sheer stamina of the Lumbee serve as testament to their strong belief in who they are as a people. They have endured rejection by Congress, hostility by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and have even been snubbed in their quest by neighboring Indian Tribes.

All the Lumbee want is the respect of being acknowledged for who they are - an American Indian Tribe.

I want to commend our colleague, Mike McIntyre, for picking up the mantle for the Lumbee people. I also want to salute Senator Elizabeth Dole for her efforts in this matter. This is not the first time Senator Dole has appeared before this Committee on behalf of the Lumbee Tribe. It is my hope, however, that this will be the last time she finds need to do so.

As to the Virginia Tribes, and the bill being advanced by my good friend Jim Moran - as we approach the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, it is passing strange to say the least that the very Native Americans who greeted the English settlers are still are not federally recognized Indian Tribes today.

The members of these tribes have faced decades of deliberate discrimination from policies aimed at stripping them of their identities. They were targeted, and subjected to having their race designation changed on their birth certificates and other legal documents.

Yet they have endured, and all six tribes that are the subject of H.R. 1294 are recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

There is new leadership in this Committee, this is a new Congress. Let us now seriously go about the business of rectifying wrongs, to the Lumbee and to the Virginia Tribes.

Thank you.

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