A bill that includes full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is now waiting for President Trump's signature.
The U.S. Senate passed an annual defense spending bill Wednesday. It includes a provision that grants the Lumbee recognition, opening up federal benefits for the tribe.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina read the final vote tally - 77 in favor and 20 opposed - wearing a bolo tie and eagle feather pin. Tillis and North Carolina's other Senator, Ted Budd, along with President Trump have all supported federal recognition for the Lumbee, which have been seeking the status since 1888.
"This is 137 years of what I think was injustice that was righted today," Tillis said in a press conference Wednesday. "And when the president signs it into law tomorrow, the Lumbee will get the recognition they've deserved for over a century."
There are some tribal leaders opposed like the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the only federally recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina.
After the bill's passage in the U.S. House last week, Principal Chief Michell Hicks repeated past sentiments, saying the Lumbee are bypassing the standard federal acknowledgement process that requires historical evidence of their Native identity.
