A bill to give federal recognition fails in Congress. Lumbees are told to undergo the Department of the Interior review. A second attempt to pass the federal recognition bill fails in Congress. It passes the U.S. House and a Senate committee, but fails by two votes in the full Senate. The bill s sponsor, Sen. Terry Sanford, is defeated in an election in the fall.
Nothing is done.
Yet another attempt to gain federal recognition fails in Congress. The bill passed in the House, but failed to come to a vote in the Senate, where Sen. Jesse Helms opposed it and Sen. Lauch Faircloth offered little support. Helms has maintained that he is not opposed to Lumbee recognition, but thinks the tribe should go through the Department of Interior process. Another attempt at federal recognition dies in Congress without coming to a final vote. A bill to change the process for Indian recognition and make it easier for the Lumbees to gain the status fails in the House.