A letter from the desk of
James Hardin, Executive Director of LRDA

A letter from the desk of James Hardin, Executive Director of LRDA

 Lumbee Homecoming has always been about history. It is the celebration of a tribal history that has and never will be adequately and truthfully told to our Lumbee children in our state textbooks and classrooms. It is a celebrative history of a southeastern woodlands native people’s survival and amazing achievements since the founding of this state and nation, to modern times.

Thanks are due to the Pembroke Jaycees and the Town of Pembroke who in the late 1960s saw the need to begin Lumbee Homecoming so our ancient tribal “village” sense of family, community, pride and unity could be strengthened and carried forward for future generations of Lumbee children.

LRDA was founded in 1968, and as its staffing grew the founders of Lumbee Homecoming asked the agency to take over sponsorship of the event. This is our 42nd celebration combined! Over the past 42 years the elected leadership of the Lumbee Tribe has done an outstanding job fighting for our rights to services and funding in Raleigh and Washington, DC.

The culmination of these efforts we all have hoped and prayed would have been capped with full federal recognition by now. It seems that when we were at our nearest points of achieving full Lumbee federal recognition over the last 18 years there has been internal tribal divisiveness that has twice rose distractions that side tracked the very goal that we all are seeking. It happened with LRDA in 1992 and now the Lumbee Tribal Council in 2010.
    
Lumbee Homecoming is even about celebrating our uniqueness as a tribal body politic and our unique cultural foundations that shape also how we internally behave politically as a tribe and people. We are who we are and for good or bad its helps to shape the destiny of our Lumbee children and their futures.

 To help shape our own positive tribal self-concept as a people and to perpetuate our heritage and identity for our children’s sake, as a tribe, is what Lumbee Homecoming is all about. It also showcases our many economic, educational, social, political and cultural contributions to our county, state and nation as a people of a strong work ethic and strong spiritual values system.

We hope that you will enjoy all the events planned for this 42nd Lumbee Homecoming and revel in our rich heritage and continuously encourage the children in your world to be proud of their heritage and unique culture.