Lumbee legacy: A STAFFING-COMPANY OWNER MAY TIP THE BALANCE IN THE LUMBEES' STRUGGLE FOR FEDERAL RECOGNITION AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

• Author: Moffett, Margaret

Like 18 local tribal leaders before him, Lumbee Nation Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. has worn out a path between Robeson County and Washington, D.C.

When Godwin is there, which is often, he's usually on Capitol Hill, testifying before House and Senate committees, lobbying legislators in their offices, advocating--no, pleading--for one small but significant act: Federal recognition for the Lumbees, the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River with 65,000 ethnic Lumbees.

With a stroke of a pen, millions of federal dollars could flow into southeastern North Carolina--particularly Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties--for education and health care. More important, Godwin says, it would bring "pride for our people in not being considered 'less than.'"

"We should be entitled to sit at the same table, not just be half-recognized."

Unlike the other 18 leaders, he might just pull it off. "It's going to happen before the 2020 election," says Godwin, 65, owner of a Lumberton employment agency who is midway through a second, and final, three-year term as tribal chairman.

How can he be so sure* After all, the Lumbees have been seeking federal recognition since 1888. (North Carolina recognized the tribe three years earlier.)

There's a bill winding its way through Congress, sponsored by U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, with a companion bill from Republican Sen. Richard Burr. But there have been many bills over the years, and even more attempts that never made it that far. This time, Godwin says, the Lumbees are leveraging their power as one of the state's largest voting blocs, noting an official membership roll of 35,000, plus another 30,000 people who were members at some point in their lives but are no longer official. Other backers include U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, who represents Robeson County. Both are Republicans.

"We can swing an election either way, and North Carolina is a swing state," says the soft-spoken, lifelong Robeson County resident, his salt-and-pepper hair pulled into a tight ponytail. "We can swing a congressional election in our own district. We can swing a gubernatorial election. A presidential election."

If the Lumbee Recognition Act (H.R. 1964) does pass this year, observers say it will be because Godwin has built a broader coalition than previous tribal chiefs. A registered Democrat, he has formed a political and personal bond with influential leaders. In an op-ed for The Charlotte Observer last year, Sen. Burr accused the North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which vehemently opposes Lumbee recognition, of "bullying" the Lumbees and other North Carolina tribes.

That's the kind of loyalty Godwin inspires, says Murchson "Bo" Biggs of Lumberton, a Republican active in state politics and a fellow Rotary Club member. "His popularity and his ability to increase support from all political parties and all races has furthered the Lumbee national recognition cause," says Biggs, secretary-treasurer of his family's real estate company, K.M. Biggs.

Donnie Douglas, editor of The Robesordan newspaper in Lumberton and a longtime observer of Lumbee politics, says Godwin doesn't fit the mold of previous chairmen. "He is a genuine alternative to the good ol' boy tribal network," Douglas says. "He's thoughtful and, in some ways, single-minded [about recognition]." Douglas isn't sure if the Lumbees will win recognition by the Nov. 3 election. "But," he says, "I do know that Harvey believes it."

The Lumbee Nation tribal...