In an interview with Policy Watch earlier this month, Sneed - a usually genial and even-keeled Marine Corps veteran - sounded tired, exasperated. We call on the Senate to reject this legislation and allow the Lumbee claims to be examined through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement in the Department of the Interior.” “History and facts must guide the process, not politics. “The use of congressional authority to ignore and avoid investigation of such serious questions about the Lumbees’ authenticity is an outrageous injustice to all federally recognized Tribes,” said Richard Sneed, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, in a statement Tuesday.

They said questions remain about the origins and authenticity of the Lumbee, who have at various points claimed descent from four different tribes. Reaction from other tribes - particularly the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians - was swift and negative. House of Representatives unanimously approved the Lumbee Recognition Act, bringing the North Carolina tribe closer to the federal recognition it has sought for more than a century. The Catawba and the Lumbee could change those odds. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians operates two casinos in North Carolina – the only legal such operations in the state.