The largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River is heading to the polls and could make a decisive impact in North Carolina's 2024 election.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina of approximately 55,000 members reside in their ancestral homeland of Robeson County as well as the surrounding Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties in the state's rural southeast.
There are at least 26,000 registered voters who identify as Native American in Robeson County — the most of any county in the state — and more than 6,000 voters identify as Native American across the latter counties, state election data shows.
"There's a lot of voters in Robeson County, a lot of native voters, and they vote — they make sure they vote," said Gwen Locklear, a Lumbee citizen and founding member of the Triangle Native American Society.
"They could make decisions on some close races," Locklear said.
One of those close races may be the presidential election. A majority of Robeson County voters have voted for every presidential candidate who has won North Carolina since 2008.
State Board of Elections data shows that the early voting turnout rate in Robeson County was about 20% of its nearly 80,000 registered voters as of Oct. 19, the date with the latest available data. That's slightly below the 26% early voting turnout statewide.
In Robeson and Scotland counties, registered Democratic voters outpaced unaffiliated and Republican voters during the first few days of voting, following a statewide trend.
Both the campaigns for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump established active campaign offices in the diverse Robeson County, where the population is 42% Native American, 24% Black and 11% Latino.
The county shifted to the right in the 2016 general election, ending decades of strong Lumbee support for Democrats.
Lumbee political leaders previously told WUNC that part of the reason was a decline in Democratic candidate engagement in the community within the last decade.
Both presidential candidates say they support the tribe’s key issue: federal recognition for the Lumbee nation.
Most of all, Locklear says that the Indigenous voters across the eight state-recognized Native American tribes in North Carolina simply want to be seen and heard.
"It's all about education, in educating the public and (telling) those that are running for office that 'Hey, you have an Indigenous, Native American community here,'" she said. "You need to support them. You need to find out who they are. They're a big chunk of your voters and support that you need."
The tight-knit Indigenous community isn't a political monolith, and are outspoken in supporting both Democrats and Republicans, and civic engagement overall, said Jesalyn Keziah, executive director of the Triangle Native American Society and a Lumbee citizen.
"We have strong opinions on both sides that you'll see reflected in the community overall ... we really do work in a bipartisan way," said Keziah.
Strong civic engagement is important for Indigenous voters, who participate in elections within their respective tribal governments, she said.
"Democracy is Indigenous," said Keziah. "I'm talking about Native people really come together in a collective way around decision making and around what's best for really the good of the whole."
The Triangle Native American Society reminded tribal members at an Indigenous People's Day celebration on Oct. 14 in Apex that Election Day is near, informing voters through nonpartisan information booths.
"There's a lot of voters in Robeson County, a lot of native voters, and they vote — they make sure they vote."
— Gwen Locklear, a Lumbee citizen and founding member of the Triangle Native American Society
"Instead of canvassing to the broad audience, we're really trying to reach Native people specifically," said Keziah. "We have a really engaged native community here, very intertribal and we tend to really show up at each other's events. We're trying to bring those resources to where the people are. Really encouraging early voting, making sure that people know the updates on election laws, making sure that folks know they can vote with their tribal IDs."
The organization is working with the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, which is helping to get out the Native American vote in key swing states like North Carolina.
"It's important that Indians vote all over the country," said Jo Ann Chavis Locklear, Lumbee citizen and lifelong Robeson resident. "It's especially important that our Indians in our state go to the polls and vote for the people who support them."
Chavis Locklear, 76, is an old-school supporter of Democrats who wasn't part of the shift to Republican support.
Lumbee voters like her have supported Democrats for decades in blue-collar Robeson County, where citizens were supportive of historic Democratic social and economic programs.
Chavis Locklear said she's disconcerted by Trump's criminal indictments and what she said were unfulfilled promises in 2020 to support federal Lumbee recognition.
"The younger voters are being charmed away by promises," said Chavis Locklear. "(Trump) is promising them this... his son is coming here and he's promising them this. I say he's lying to you when he won't even support (Columbus Day) being named Indigenous People's Day."
Last week, campaign surrogates, namely former president Bill Clinton and Donald Trump Jr., held rallies in Lumbee communities in the final stretch before the election.
Each spoke about supporting full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe, according to The Robesonian.
