News and Events

Lumbee Tribe to be fully recognized as Native Americans

02/08/2025

When you look at our company materials, you'll see that we refer to ourselves as "a minority-owned staffing company with a personalized touch." And all those things are true. But you might be wondering about the "minority owned" part. Did you know that 3TECH founder and CEO Tim Stecher is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina?

The Lumbees, "the People of the Dark Waters" have Tribal Territory located in Southeastern North Carolina with headquarters in the city of Pembroke. They are the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River, and with more than 55,000 members are also one of the largest Native groups in the whole country.

The ancestors of the Lumbee were recognized as Indian in 1885 by the State of North Carolina, and in 1956 during what was known as "the Termination Era" when many tribes were being disbanded by the federal government, the Lumbee Act was passed. With that law, the Lumbee people entered a special agreement that acknowledged them as having Federal Recognition, but without access to federal benefits. That may change soon. On January 25, President Trump signed a memorandum asking the Department of the Interior to move towards fully recognizing the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as Native American.

Memorandum to establish full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina