SOCASTEE, S.C. (WBTW) -- In 1888, 44 Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina elders petitioned Congress for recognition, hoping to unlock federal funding to go toward educating its youth.

Among those signers was Solomon Locklear Sr., whose ancestor on Wednesday was in Washington, D.C. asking lawmakers for the same thing 137 years later.

"In many tribal traditions, Native people plan for their future for the next seven generations. In our case, we extend gratitude and honor to our last seven generations for having kept the faith, for focusing on the future, for teaching us the values that have enabled us to endure and for getting us to this moment in history, when we are so close to full federal recognition," Lumbee Tribe chairman John Lowery said at a U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heari

See Full Page