Description
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties in North Carolina. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina numbering approximately 55,000 enrolled members. The Lumbee take their name from the Lumber River, which winds through Robeson County. Pembroke, North Carolina, is their economic, cultural, and political center. According to the 2000 United States census report, 89% of the population of the town of Pembroke identified as Lumbee; 40% of Robeson County's population identified as Lumbee. Archaeological evidence reveals that the area now known as Robeson County (central to modern Lumbee territory) has been continuously occupied by Native people for at least 14,000 years.
Language
Lumbee people speak both mainstream varieties of English and a vernacular form, Lumbee English.
Culture
Southeast peoples believed that animal spirits were capable of carrying out revenge against humans. Because of this, hunting was a sacred act that involved ritual, sacrifice, and strict regulations. They also believed that plants had spiritual power, but plants were considered friendly to humans. Many cultural traditions reported by the earliest European explorers, such as the use of ceremonial mounds, the heavy reliance on corn (maize), and the importance of social stratification in some areas, were clearly developed. Women were responsible for cultivating the fields, gathering wild plant foods, cooking and preserving food, taking care of young children and elders, and manufacturing cordage, baskets, pottery, clothing, and other goods. Men assumed duties associated with war, trade, and the hunt.