A Native American woman stands outside in the late afternoon sun. The Newest Federally Recognized Tribe Wants Better Healthcare. It May Be On Its Own. By Andrew Jones July 31, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/rural-health/tribe-native-disparities-indian-health-service-federal-recognition-lumbee-north-carolina/ LUMBERTON, N.C. — Soybean fields surround Angie Lowery’s home in Robeson County, on a plot of rural land in southeastern North Carolina. Dozens of antique gas station signs, 20 feet tall, dominate her front yard. A framed re-creation of The Last Supper, Lone Ranger posters, and a 3-foot-wide tobacco harvesting basket adorn the walls of her home. A collector, Lowery over the years has amassed remnants of her region’s past.