In the United States and President Donald Trump (pictured) has reportedly thrown his considerable weight behind the long-running campaign to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

According to a report from the Associated Press news service published by CDC Gaming Reports, the North Carolina tribe received limited recognition from the federal government in the 1950s but has long been endeavoring to acquire a more secure classification that could one day lead to the building of tribal casino in Robeson County. The source detailed that 74-year-old Trump, who is currently running for re-election, has now strengthened this drive by voicing his support for a United States Senate bill that would see the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina become the country’s 575th federally-recognized Native American community.

Significant sanction:

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina reportedly has some 55,000 members primarily spread across the southeastern corner of ‘The Tar Heel State’ while Trump used a Wednesday press conference to announce his endorsement of the Lumbee Recognition Act, which could entitle the tribe to build a casino and receive millions of dollars of additional funding. North Carolina is already home to the federally-recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which runs the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel venues, while the rival Catawba Indian Nation is currently embroiled in a fight to bring an almost $300 million gambling-friendly development to a 16.5-acre plot of land near the small community of Kings Mountain.

Trump reportedly declared…

“For more than a century, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has sought federal recognition but has been met with indifference and red tape. Lumbee Nation is forgotten no more.”

Tentative take:

Harvey Godwin serves as the Chairman for the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina and reportedly declared that the support from Trump as well as North Carolina Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr does not necessarily mean that his tribe’s drive for federal recognition is now a fait accompli.

Godwin reportedly stated…

“It’s not 100% it’s going to happen as a lot of things can happen between now and the end of the year but it’s just another big step.”