Lumbee

A group of Native American people from Robeson County, North Carolina. With 53,000+ tribally enrolled members, the Lumbee are the 9th largest tribe in America and the largest tribe East of the Mississippi. Their origins are lost in history, although many believe that the Lumbee originate from the Croatan Indians of John White's "Lost Colony" of 1609. They were recognized as Indians in the Lumbee Act of 1956, but were denied any benefits as a "recognized tribe". They are fighting in Congress for those rights. They were put in the national lime-light with the "Battle at Hayes Pond". They defeated 500 Ku Klux Klansman at Maxton, North Carolina after many racially ignited speeches were given by the Southern leader of the KKK, Jim "Catfish" Cole.