Lumbee Tribal chairman seeks support for domestic violence situations

RALEIGH — On the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery visited with North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, Speaker Pro Tem Phil Burger, and NC House Majority Leader Brenden Jones to discuss the importance of collecting and reporting concise, ethnic specific data relating to domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

Lowery encouraged policy makers to investigate what hinders the gathering and reporting of specific data in cases involving Indigenous people.

Another issue is that tribal territories often cross county lines and data is usually reported by those counties. That county data often doesn’t reflect Indigenous populations.

Lowery also encouraged partnerships allowing tribal communities to have full access to this data.

The Lumbee leader said this issue limits tribal communities in fully serving tribal citizens and hinders access to apply for grants to support their communities in this area by not having access to good data.

“I can tell you I have an issue, but the data is not readily available to back up these claims,” Lowery said. “Data is evidence that helps us tell our story and demonstrate the need to constantly combat domestic violence and related issues in our tribal communities.”

Lowery met with Governor Josh Stein and lawmakers in Raleigh as hundreds of Lumbee citizens and community members marched in Pembroke on Monday evening to bring recognition to the number of people who have been killed or are missing in this tribal community.

Lowery also discussed funding opportunities for the tribes in North Carolina, renovations at the Lumbee Tribe’s Cultural Center, access to the tribe’s historical artifacts, and invited the leaders to the upcoming Lumbee Day on May 20.