Honoring History, Celebrating Community: The Lumbee Tribe in Baltimore
By Stony Run's Library Committee
Native American Heritage Month is a time for recognition, learning, and acknowledging the vibrant Indigenous communities that call this region home. Here in Baltimore, the presence and rich history of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina are deeply significant.
Taking their name from the Lumbee River in North Carolina, "they descend from an amalgamation of Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan speaking people who settled in the region in the 1700s and 1800s, forming a tribal bond as they sought to escape European disease, colonial wars, forced migration and enslavement” (Baltimore Magazine, October 2022). To many in Baltimore the Lumbee did not fit the Hollywood stereotype of the American Indian, not in physical appearance, language and accent, religion, or dress.
The Lumbee migrated to Baltimore from North Carolina after WWII. They came looking for work in the industrial boom of the 1950's and to escape poor wages and the racism in the South. They found jobs in the steel mills and in construction. They opened businesses like grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants, auto repair shops, and at least one gas station. They found jobs in many service industries. They settled in East Baltimore, in an area that included Fells Point to Butchers Hill and Broadway to Patterson Park. By the 1970s, it was estimated that the population of the Lumbee Indians in Baltimore was 7,000. In 1982, a University of Maryland Anthropologist who did field work in the community described it as “the largest group of Indians from the same tribe in an American urban area” (Baltimore Magazine 2022).
Traditional clothing, photo taken by Brian Gamble at BAIC
Due to urban renewal and upward mobility, most of the Lumbee families moved to find jobs, homes, and schools in Baltimore County, while others returned to North Carolina in the reverse migration of the 1980s. What remains of the original settlement as a center of history and community gathering is the Baltimore American Indian Center & Heritage Museum (BAIC) at 113 S Broadway in Upper Fells Point.
In 2021, President Biden issued a proclamation declaring “Columbus Day” Indigenous Peoples Day. He also appointed Deb Haaland the U.S. secretary of the Interior, making her the first Native American to serve as a cabinet Secretary and Charles Sams the Director of the National Park Service, the first Native American to serve in that role. While the state of Maryland recognized the Lumbee as a Tribe in 2021, the Federal Government has not fully recognized the Lumbee as a Tribe. Sadly, this keeps the Lumbee from receiving the full benefits of other American Indian Tribes.
As we observe Native American Heritage Month, we encourage you to learn more and engage locally. Be sure to visit the BAIC’s POW WOW on November 15th, and check out a book on Native American culture from the Stony Run Library to continue your reflection.
Traditional clothing, photo taken by Brian Gamble at BAIC