Majority of Lumbees vote towards on line casino gaming modification in historic tribal vote

Lumbee tribal members overwhelmingly voted towards a constitutional modification throughout a historic tribal election on Tuesday held in Robeson County, the Lumbees’ homeland.

Almost 10,000 enrolled tribal members voted within the election throughout 21 totally different voting precincts and thru absentee voting.

The constitutional modification proposed altering the tribal structure to offer the tribal chairperson and tribal council extra energy over on line casino gaming growth.

The vote displays the division and fierce debate that emerged over tribal governance.

Lumbees United for Accountability, an opposition marketing campaign, argued the modification concentrated energy amongst tribal leaders and undermined democracy by eradicating a referendum voting system for gaming choices that’s a part of the present Lumbee structure.

Tribal management was largely in favor of approving the modification as an effort to fast-track the constructing of a proposed Lumbee Dark Water Resort and Casino on tribal land close to Interstate 95. They launched the web site lumbeeschoose.com as a part of a marketing campaign to help a ‘sure’ vote.

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina printed the unofficial voting outcomes late Tuesday:

In an announcement on social media, Lumbee Tribe Chairman John Lowery stated the vote “ensures we will not move forward with gaming.”

“A majority of the Lumbee people have spoken, and they have said no to progress and have decided to stay with the status quo or simply staying with the way things are,” stated Lowery. “As a federally recognized Indian tribe, we had the opportunity, like so many of our brother and sister tribes, to exercise our sovereign rights to the fullest and generate billions of dollars to assist our tribal members and lift this entire region.”

Lowery stated he is not going to carry “this issue forward again” for the remaining 18 months of his time in workplace as chairman.

Opposing voters have emphasised their vote is towards altering the structure slightly than opposing a tribal on line casino.

The current unamended Lumbee structure permits gaming to be pursued underneath a required a referendum vote with the required threshold of a minimal of 30% of all eligible Lumbee voters.

Tribal lawyer Arlinda Locklear, who helped her tribe safe full federal recognition final 12 months, is in favor of a on line casino however was towards the modification as a part of the Lumbees United for Accountability group.

“They basically write gaming into our constitution, and I’m not aware of any other recognized tribe that has gaming, a commercial enterprise, written into their organic governing document,” Locklear beforehand instructed WUNC News. “They would change the authority of the Tribal Council, they would change the authority of the chair, they would expand the definition of tribal territory … all because of an economic enterprise.”

Locklear helped draft the unique structure and helped the Lumbee safe their historic recognition throughout hearings in Washington, D.C.

“I view our constitution as almost a sacred tribal document, and you undertake these changes in a serious, thoughtful, conservative way,” Locklear stated.

The Tribal Council previously passed the amendment 17-2 in April to place it as much as a vote on Tuesday.