‘It's a big deal': Lumbee Tribe of NC receives an $18 million grant to support members amid pandemic

PEMBROKE — The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina was approved for $18 million in emergency rental assistance from a grant through the U.S. Treasury Department that will help members who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the tribal council.

Tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin announced the grant approval this week and said this is the largest grant received from the federal government in the tribe's history. 

"This is going to help people for a long time to come to get back up on their feet," Godwin said. "We're going to be able to serve Lumbees all across the United States, and that's a first. It's a big deal."

The grant is intended for individuals in the tribe who are in need of rental assistance or help with water and energy bills. On Feb. 4, the full tribal council voted on the budget and the grant in a virtual special meeting to be in accordance with a tribal law requirement that says all budgets must be posted for a full 30 days to provide the public with the information. After that period, the tribe can begin spending and disbursing the funds, said Tammy Manor, the tribe's administrator. 

The tribe must also receive guidance from the Treasury Department on how to operate the grant. 

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Upon receiving an email from the National Congress of American Indians about the assistance program on Jan. 6, Godwin immediately sent the information to the Tribe's grant team comprised of Tammy Maynor, Danielle McLean, the Lumbee legal and compliance officer, Housing Director Bradley Locklear, and Finance Director Sharon Bell. The four wrote the grant within six days under a quick turnaround with the Treasury Department.

"We jumped on that grant opportunity right then, not knowing that it would result in $18 million," Manor said. "We do what we always do; we've got a good team of people and we followed the steps. It was due on the 12th and we got it in late afternoon on the 11th." 

By Jan. 27, the tribe received an email that they had been approved. 

"You're looking at that like, are you serious? Did you mean 18 thousand, 18 hundred?" Manor said. "It's been quite historical but it took a lot of legwork and a lot of planning. We're used to this but not of this magnitude. We're still waiting on more information but in the mean time we can begin the preliminary planning that needs to take place."

Manor said that any Lumbee person experiencing hardship because of the pandemic can apply for rental assistance, even if they do not live within the four counties the tribe serves (Cumberland, Robeson, Scotland and Hoke counties).

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"This is open to the United States," Manor said. "If you're a Lumbee tribal member or if you're eligible for enrollment into the tribe, you can receive services."

Since the Lumbee Tribe has membership under the NAHASDA Housing Program, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996, the tribe already qualified for the emergency assistance relief grant and just had to apply, according to Godwin. They first received funding from NAHASDA for housing in 2001 and Godwin says without this, "the tribal government wouldn't even exist today."

"The most important part about this whole process is that the Department of Treasury was assigned this task from what I've been told because they can get the money to the people a little bit quicker than maybe other avenues," Godwin said. "I think what also helped was that we operate compliantly by federal law when it comes to these federal dollars and we serve the people at the same time. So, I think the Lumbee tribal government being great stewards of the American taxpayer dollar also helped qualify us for this opportunity."

Godwin says in addition to rental and utility assistance, the tribe also hopes the grant will help to continue infrastructure projects that were in the works after Hurricane Matthew hit the area in 2016. One initiative is the Dream Catcher Project, which has fifty houses in three different locations within the Lumbee tribal territory to help families who lost shelter during the disaster. They also have projects to build homes for Lumbee veterans experiencing homelessness and improving living conditions for elders in the tribe, according to Godwin.

"I'm in the fifth year of my six-year term, and during the five years we have experienced two hurricane disasters and now the pandemic," Godwin said. "We're still working projects that were in response to the recovery of hurricanes Matthew and Florence. We had $22 million worth of housing projects going on right now. All this creates economic development and job creation."

Godwin said the tribe needs to hire about 25 more people for case management and other roles for full-time positions that will help with management of the funds. Because of the extra grant added to a budget of $28 million, the Tribe is looking at about a $47 million budget for this year. 

Though he has the interests and needs of the tribe in mind, Godwin said the tribe aims to help all people in the area with providing food, school supplies, and this past year, COVID-19 testing.

"We're touching the lives of everyone, ultimately," Godwin said. "My prayer is that on the other side of COVID and what we're able to do along with our partners, and local government and everything that everybody's doing is that we improve the Lumbee way of life and the lives of Americans. We're all working together. The U.S. government is creating an avenue for us to create a better way of living for not just Lumbees but for all Americans."

The tribe has a tentative deadline until Dec. 31 to spend the grant money. 

Staff writer Kristen Johnson can be reached at kjohnson1@gannett.com or 910-486-3570.

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