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Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation
With more than 50,000 enrolled members, North Carolina's Lumbee Indians are the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River. Malinda Maynor Lowery, a Lumbee herself, describes how, between Reconstruction and the 1950s, the Lumbee crafted and maintained a distinct identity in an era defined by racial segregation in the South and paternalistic policies for Indians throughout the nation. They did so against the backdrop of some of the central issues in American history, including race, class, politics, and citizenship.
Lowery argues that "Indian" is a dynamic identity that, for outsiders, sometimes hinged on the presence of "Indian blood" (for federal New Deal policy makers) and sometimes on the absence of "black blood" (for southern white segregationists). Lumbee people themselves have constructed their identity in layers that tie together kin and place, race and class, tribe and nation; however, Indians have not always agreed on how to weave this fabric into a whole. Using photographs, letters, genealogy, federal and state records, and first-person family history, Lowery narrates this compelling conversation between insiders and outsiders, demonstrating how the Lumbee People challenged the boundaries of Indian, southern, and American identities.
A project of First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies; published with the assistance of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 1, 2019
This book is just so good; Lowery does an incredible job of tracing the Lumbee attempts at recognized nationhood while also holding space for all the differences in opinion in the community and a collective understanding that holds the community together. The nuance she's able to use here is just incredible, and a great model for so many others on how to pay such careful attention to so many factors within the community, and explore them while holding the tension of insider vs outsider recognition in a community (and seeing that those are not necessarily binary, but connected and separate at the same time.) Really encourage folks to read this if they want to think about the processes of Native recognition on a federal and state level, as well as understand community as a complex matter with a number of levels.
February 1, 2025
As a Lumbee myself (hello to my Locklear & Goins cousins!!) it feels amazing to have a scholar from the tribe do this hard, hard work of telling our history. It honestly explained some of the things in our community that I’ve grown up around but never known the circumstances behind. It gets into the core issues that the Lumbee faced for a long time: federal recognition and how long we fought for assistance from programs that promised to help indigenous people, but often times made our situations worse. There is a lot of information, especially names of key players, but for anyone looking to understand “The Lumbee Problem” this book explains in great detail.
June 12, 2012
Outstanding read on indigenous identity-formation in the Jim Crow South. Lowery tackles with precision the factionalism apparent among her people, yet, unlike many other works, she embraces and expertly grapples with the intent and meaning behind political divisions both in and outside of the Lumbee community.
September 29, 2022
Malinda M. Lowery’s Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South analyzes the Lumbee Native American group of Robeson, North Carolina, and its historically complicated relationship with Jim Crow segregation. One of her main arguments asserts that race “is primarily used to rank and divide the human population into groups” (xv) as result of white supremacist legislation. In turn, the Lumbee used race as a strategic method to claim their identity.
According to Lowery, the Lumbee had to conform to white supremacist logic to maintain a separate identity from African Americans. From the colonial era through Reconstruction, Lumbee have been referred to as “free persons,” “colored,” “colored free persons,” and “mulatto” (footnote on pg. 283). It wasn’t until the 1890s that the Lumbees were referred to as “Indians” in Robeson. In other words, Lowery illustrates how the Lumbee sought to distinguish themselves from African Americans to elevate and increase their social and economic opportunities in the backdrop of Jim Crow. Lowery notes that such actions reflected the Lumbees' attempt to maintain their sovereignty and survival.
To avoid erasure, the Lumbee remained adamant on segregating schools segregated. For example, in 1885 state legislature recognized the group as a “tribe.” Not only did this establish the Lumbee’s political structure but it also gave them the right to establish their own schools. This became a problem for a family whose patriarch was African American. In 1887, their children were denied access to Prospect School, a Lubmbee run school. Although the father sued the County Board of Education “the committee won the case [and affirmed] their right to control admission to Indian schools” (pg. 35). Lowery notes the issues surrounding cultural and legal conceptions of familial identity as Native American communities in general identify their familiar ties through their mothers’ side. Again, “being a ‘race’ secured the ‘tribal’ prerogative of separate schools” (pg. 27).
Lowery also demonstrates that the Lumbee showed no confusion about their identity. While they did change their name four times between 1913 and 1953 (from “Croatan” to “Cherokee” to “Siouan” to finally “Lumbee”), it was an attempt to conform to the legal requirements set by United States’ federal government. The U.S government at the beginning of the 20th century illustrated lackluster leadership and clear vision for the political standards they wanted from Native peoples. Congress passed the Burke Act in 1906 that declared Native Americans “competent and capable of managing his or her own affairs” (pg. 90). The Office of Indian Affairs, however, “sought to verify a tribal identity according to anthropological standards, particularly the presence of ‘Indian blood’” (pg. 92). The Lumbee wanted its recognition and were willing to conform to whatever to reach the criteria set by such government agencies and laws. Nevertheless, the U.S government did not give lucid direction.
According to Lowery, the Lumbee had to conform to white supremacist logic to maintain a separate identity from African Americans. From the colonial era through Reconstruction, Lumbee have been referred to as “free persons,” “colored,” “colored free persons,” and “mulatto” (footnote on pg. 283). It wasn’t until the 1890s that the Lumbees were referred to as “Indians” in Robeson. In other words, Lowery illustrates how the Lumbee sought to distinguish themselves from African Americans to elevate and increase their social and economic opportunities in the backdrop of Jim Crow. Lowery notes that such actions reflected the Lumbees' attempt to maintain their sovereignty and survival.
To avoid erasure, the Lumbee remained adamant on segregating schools segregated. For example, in 1885 state legislature recognized the group as a “tribe.” Not only did this establish the Lumbee’s political structure but it also gave them the right to establish their own schools. This became a problem for a family whose patriarch was African American. In 1887, their children were denied access to Prospect School, a Lubmbee run school. Although the father sued the County Board of Education “the committee won the case [and affirmed] their right to control admission to Indian schools” (pg. 35). Lowery notes the issues surrounding cultural and legal conceptions of familial identity as Native American communities in general identify their familiar ties through their mothers’ side. Again, “being a ‘race’ secured the ‘tribal’ prerogative of separate schools” (pg. 27).
Lowery also demonstrates that the Lumbee showed no confusion about their identity. While they did change their name four times between 1913 and 1953 (from “Croatan” to “Cherokee” to “Siouan” to finally “Lumbee”), it was an attempt to conform to the legal requirements set by United States’ federal government. The U.S government at the beginning of the 20th century illustrated lackluster leadership and clear vision for the political standards they wanted from Native peoples. Congress passed the Burke Act in 1906 that declared Native Americans “competent and capable of managing his or her own affairs” (pg. 90). The Office of Indian Affairs, however, “sought to verify a tribal identity according to anthropological standards, particularly the presence of ‘Indian blood’” (pg. 92). The Lumbee wanted its recognition and were willing to conform to whatever to reach the criteria set by such government agencies and laws. Nevertheless, the U.S government did not give lucid direction.
January 2, 2011
A great scholarly piece of work, written by an insider who relates her own family experiences into the larger questions of Native American community and identity. Growing up in Robeson County, it was sometimes hard to understand racial dynamics, and Maynor-Lowry's work does a lot to show how history played a part in why the schools were still segregated when we were going through them and why the Lumbees are still seeking federal recognition.
November 27, 2013
I bought this book for genealogical research. I found it to be informative and interesting. It covered a topic I knew scant about, and I can honestly say that it has improved by body of knowledge. Well done, Dr. Lowery!
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July 16, 2014I found this book at the McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland. It had very few details that were helpful to my research.
June 1, 2013
Excellent, through and through.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews