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Section 04
When Lumbee people see a wrong, we organize to correct it. We have done it before. We are doing it again.
A proud tradition of grassroots resistance
The Lumbee people have a long and documented history of organizing when their rights, heritage or dignity are threatened — and winning. From the Battle of Hayes Pond to Save Old Main, from the secret Lewin Deal to the Gaming Amendment of 2026, the pattern is the same: the community sees a wrong, stands up, speaks out, and prevails.
On January 18, 1958, the Ku Klux Klan — led by South Carolina Grand Dragon James "Catfish" Cole — announced a rally near Maxton, North Carolina, to intimidate the Lumbee community. Cole predicted 5,000 Klansmen would attend. He planned to put the Lumbees "in their place."
The Lumbees had a different plan. Several hundred Lumbees, many armed, arrived and encircled the group. After an altercation in which the single light in the field was destroyed, the Lumbees began firing their weapons and most of the Klansmen fled. Cole hid in a swamp. The Lumbees seized the KKK banner and carried it to Pembroke to celebrate.
After that night, the Klan never held another public gathering in Robeson County. The event triggered national media coverage of the Lumbee and their long struggle for justice, recognition, and respect. The New York Times and Life Magazine covered the story worldwide.
The lesson: When the Lumbee community unites and stands its ground, it wins — even against overwhelming opposition. The story was covered by The New York Times, Life Magazine, and news outlets worldwide. Read the full history at NCpedia → · NC Dept of Natural & Cultural Resources →
In 1972, university officials at Pembroke State University voted to demolish Old Main — the first brick building on campus, built in 1923, and the historic heart of Lumbee education and identity. Some Lumbees, including various alumni, supported the decision, believing the building was no longer of use. Others felt the building represented Lumbee heritage and social progress, and formed the Save Old Main Committee, led by Janie Maynor Locklear. A petition was circulated to preserve the structure and gained 7,000 signatures.
The petition drive drew national attention. Daniel Dial told a reporter for The Robesonian, "People sign it weeping. People want to sign it, beg to sign it." The campaign attracted coverage from newspapers across the country. The building was saved — and is today listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The lesson: When Lumbee people believe something is worth fighting for — their heritage, their institutions, their future — they organize, they persist, and they win. Read the full Save Old Main history at UNC Libraries →
In early 2010, the Lumbee Tribe was closer than ever to achieving federal recognition. After 122 years of fighting, Arlinda Locklear — who had represented the tribe pro bono for over two decades — told community members that recognition had the best chance it had ever had. President Obama had publicly expressed support.
Then, in a surprise move at an unpublicized meeting, Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins and several council members secretly signed a contract with Lewin International — a Las Vegas gaming company — without consulting tribal members.
If Lewin International successfully lobbied Congress to pass Lumbee recognition with gaming rights:
• Lewin would have the exclusive right to build and operate the Lumbee casino
• Lewin would be the exclusive lobbyist for the tribe — even tribal representatives could not speak to third parties on their own behalf
• If the tribe did not allow Lewin to operate the casino, the tribe would owe Lewin $35 million
Tribal members had no idea this contract had been signed in their name.
Tribal members were outraged. Beth Jacobs — a Lumbee tribal member — helped found the Lumbee Sovereignty Coalition, a grassroots watchdog group that organized community meetings, called for transparency, and demanded the contract be voided.
Arlinda Locklear — who had spent over two decades fighting for recognition, mostly for free — was pushed out as the tribe's legal representative and replaced by Lewin International's lobbyists.
The community response was overwhelming. When the Tribal Chairman gave his State of the Tribe address, around 100 people attended a simultaneous ceremony honoring Arlinda Locklear — four times as many as attended the chairman's speech.
The Lewin contract was voided in June 2010 after sustained community pressure made it clear that tribal members would not accept a secret gaming deal made without their knowledge or consent. The tribal council members who voted for the contract faced a reckoning at the polls that November.
Contract signed in unpublicized meeting without member knowledge
Las Vegas gaming company given exclusive rights to tribal casino
Arlinda Locklear pushed out after over two decades of pro bono work
Paid $6.8M for land that was purchased for $3.2M days earlier. Who made the $3.6M profit?
Mystery Wyoming company pockets $3.6M profit from tribal funds — same land, same week, no explanation
Amendment gives chairman control of gaming contracts and oversight
At Hayes Pond in 1958... Save Old Main in 1972... the Lewin Deal in 2010... The pattern is the same every time: an outside force or an unaccountable leadership makes a decision that affects the Lumbee people without consulting them. The community organizes. And the people prevail!!
The original Lumbee Sovereignty Coalition was a grassroots group of tribal members who had no formal position on gaming — they simply believed that their leaders must be transparent and accountable to the membership. They organized community meetings. They called for the recall of tribal council members who voted for the Lewin contract. They spoke to reporters. They showed up.
And they won.
We are launching the Lumbees United for Accountability for the same purpose in 2026. No position on gaming. No partisan agenda. Just a commitment to the principle that 67,500 Lumbee people deserve honest, transparent, accountable leadership — especially now, at this historic moment when our tribe finally has the recognition our ancestors fought for since 1888.
Our people have done this before and won. In 2010, the community organized and stopped a bad deal. In 2026, the community can do it again. Vote NO on June 23. Demand Better!! Send the amendment back for a fairer version.
Lumbees United for Accountability is not an anti-gaming coalition. Our members hold a range of views on gaming. What unites us is this:
The Lumbee people deserve a referendum or better amendment on gaming — with real oversight and real transparency and a real balance of power, not the currently proposed concentration of power.
Voting NO does not stop gaming. It forces a referendum or a better amendment — one with independent oversight, transparent revenue reporting, and a balance of power.
If gaming eventually passes, revenues must be directed to tribal services for members — healthcare, education, housing, infrastructure and elder care — not to outsiders, insiders or a Wyoming shell company.
Vote NO. Demand Better!!