Lumbee

Member of an American Indian people who live in Robeson County, North Carolina. They are named after Lumber River (which they call Lumbee). They claim descendancy from several local Siouan- and Algonquian-speaking peoples but no trace of their original language or religion remains. Even in 1732, when the first land grants were made, the only language spoken was English and they are now mainly Baptists. However, they retain a strong sense of historic identity. Although they were recognized as American Indians by the federal government in 1956 and are the ninth-largest American Indian group in the USA, numbering about 51,900 (2000), they lack full federal status.

In 1885 North Carolina recognized the Lumbee as American Indians and provided funds for education with which the Lumbee developed Pembroke State College.