The LRDA had a board of self-appointed directors and no constitution, which critics felt made it ill-equipped to genuinely represent the interest of Lumbees.

They also felt that its limited jurisdiction meant it could not satisfy the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs' recognition criterion for groups with a "continuous political authority.

[7][9] The court ultimately found that neither organization had full claim to serving as the Lumbee people's legitimate governing body since the LRDA had a long-established record of providing social services to the tribe and the LTCI's referendum had garnered significant popular support.

Within a year, the council decided to use the name "Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina" and finalized a constitution for its organization, largely based on the 1994 LTCI document.

[12] The constitution was ratified by a vote of tribal members in November 2001, 2,237 to 412, with a turnout representing less than 10 percent of the tribe's eligible voters.

[15] During the 2024 presidential election, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris courted the tribe of 55,000 to tip the swing state in their favor.

[16] For years, the Lumbee attempted to circumvent recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for being "flawed" by appealing directly to Congress instead.

[16] To this end he has blocked a land transfer from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians which contains the birthplace of Sequoyah and a bill which would ensure preservation of the site of the Wounded Knee massacre backed by the Oglala Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux who also don't support the Lumbee.

[16] The Associated Press wrote that an anonymous source within the United States Department of the Interior had said that Trump would likely not sign a "Lumbee recognition bill" and would instead expedite the process through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"[16] On January 23, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Interior to create a legal pathway for federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe.

But fears of conflict with other recognized tribes' territories in the state (in the event of further petitions for recognition) and the logistical challenges of delivering services over great distances led this article to be modified by 2003 to only encompass Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties.

Similar to the LRDA's original enrollment requirements, a person must demonstrate their direct descent from a person who was identified as Indian on several documents dating from around 1900, including censuses, tax lists, the petitioners for federal recognition in 1888, an Indian school enrollment list, and church records.

The current administration includes:[1] The tribe's legislative branch consists of 21 Elected Council Representative members from 14 districts who each serve 3-year terms.

Programs offered include: Teen Impact is a tribal-based community service club for teenage members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

The Volunteer Program of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina assists and mentors the teens who donate service hours to a community cause of their choice.

[27] In November 2022, the tribe opened a Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources to promote Lumbee farmers and local food sovereignty.