Lumbee Tribe of N.C. seeks new legal pathways to pursue hospitality opportunities
By Staff Report, posted Jul 2, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com
On June 25, 2026, the Tribal Council of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina held an emergency meeting at the request of council members. The Council heard from tribal citizens during the public comments portion of the meeting and discussed the outcome of the June 23, 2026, special election regarding a proposed amendment to the Tribe’s Constitution.
The amendment, if passed, would have allowed the changes to the Lumbee Constitution to allow the tribe to move forward with gaming operations. According to NCNewsline, the amendment failed with about 62% of Tribe members voting no.
The Tribal Council debated potential Council action and received legal advice from its General Counsel.
The Tribal Council considered and approved the following motion by a vote of 17-1, after all discussions concluded:
“In light of the unclear language contained in our Constitution and for similar reasons, I move we direct the General Counsel to take any/all steps, based on his best professional judgment, to explore any/all legal pathways that would allow this Nation’s 575th federally recognized Tribe – the Lumbee Tribe of NC – in pursuit of its sovereign and earned right to pursue Hospitality and Entertainment opportunities, to include gaming.”
After the motion passed, the Council discussed different strategies that could be used to engage the Tribal community, including holding public hearings and establishing a mechanism by which tribal citizens could submit written comments, if the Council decided to move forward with any further consideration of the gaming matter.
After the meeting, Speaker Alex Baker gave the following statement:
“The recent result of the proposed amendment means the Tribe does not currently have a clear path forward on gaming. But it does not mean our work stops. It means we must listen, learn, and rebuild trust where trust was strained.” Baker emphasized, “My fellow Council members and I have a duty to explore economic development opportunities on behalf of our tribal citizens. And we expect our General Counsel to lay out potential legal pathways to move forward, to include engaging the Tribal Supreme Court, if necessary, to help bring about some much-needed clarity to the wording in our most sacred governing document — our Constitution.”
Baker went on to say, “Tribal Council members are actively engaged in meaningful consultation and discussions with their constituents and the broader community over where things stand today.”
He closed by commenting, “Our Tribe is resilient and strong. As this country’s most recently fully recognized American Indian Tribe, we are exercising our sovereignty by debating and considering pathways forward that will lay the foundation for the generations that will follow, and I am honored to work with my fellow Council members, Chairman John Lowery, and most importantly, our tribal citizens, as we chart our God-given destiny.”
The Tribe’s unofficial election results were posted on the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Facebook page on June 23.
Tribal Chairman John L. Lowrey, who had been an advocate for the amendment for the potential economic impact, shared his own statement on his Facebook page on the same day, stating in a post:
“Tonight, a majority of the Lumbee people have spoken, and they have said no to progress and have decided to stay with the status quo or simply staying with the way things are. As a federally recognized Indian tribe, we had the opportunity, like so many of our brother and sister tribes, to exercise our sovereign rights to the fullest and generate billions of dollars to assist our tribal members and lift this entire region. This decision by the majority of Lumbee voters is historic and ensures we will not move forward with gaming. I will honor the wishes of the majority, and I will not bring this issue forward again over the remaining 18 months of my tenure.”
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