Indian By Birth

“We’ve always known who we are. It’s all of you who are trying to identify us.” Lumbee Artist

Very true. Many don’t see us as Indigenous when in fact we are. Our origins are a blend of mostly remaining tribal members from deceased Indigenous tribes due to the genocide of American Indigenous people, Black Africans, Afro Caribbean’s, Europeans, and Iberians mainly therefore actual Indigenous blood quantum varies from family to family. Not so unlike Melungeons who are not federally recognized as a tribe due to our mixed ethnic background, some Lumbee tribal members still do not like to admit our African heritage which often times stemmed from runaway slaves or free persons of color that assimilated into the tribe either for refuge from slave catchers or just a community to become apart of without the discrimination of the outside.