Members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina have launched a petition drive to oust chairman Purnell Swett and other council members.

The Lumbee Sovereignty Coalition says Swett and council members who voted for a controversial lobbying contract shouldn't be in office. The deal was dropped but not before generating negative media coverage that tribal members fear will hurt passage of their federal recognition bill.

"It's up to the people to decide if they feel like their leaders failed them by supporting this contract," Lawrence Locklear, a leader in the coalition, told The Fayetteville Observer.

Congress identified the Lumbees as Indians in 1956. But the law, which was passed during the termination era, said they weren't eligible for federal services.

Two other tribes that were the subject of similar acts of Congress have since been restored to federal recognition.

Get the Story:
Lumbee protest groups to circulate recall petitions (The Fayetteville Observer 6/29)

Lumbee Recognition Bills:
S.1735 | H.R.31 | H.R.839

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