The Lumbees have never been federally recognized, and so were not subject to the rules of the Dawes Act (a usual source of information on Indian tribes). It’s also important to remember that the Lumbees were not called “Lumbee” before 1953. We only acquired any kind of designation as a tribe in 1885, with N.C. state recognition as “Croatan.” Consequently, we have very few appearances in the public record as “Indians,” and never by a typical “tribal” name. Indian settlements have been sometimes historically designated by family names (such as “Locklier Town” or “Oxendineville”), but more often have been concealed by names given by outsiders (such as “Red Banks,” “Pembroke,” or “Scuffletown”). Please see Lumbee History , or Adolph Dial and David K. Eliades’ The Only Land I Know for an introductory history to the Lumbee.
Another complicating factor in Lumbee research is the fact that the area now known as Robeson County was under dispute between North and South Carolina for nearly 100 years, between the 1730s and 1815. It’s best to look for primary source documents in the state archives of both North and South Carolina, especially if you’re looking for information prior to 1790. Robeson County became a county in 1790, prior to that it was part of Bladen and Anson Counties, and many maps that charted that territory are located in South Carolina. It can also be helpful to look for references to the Little Pee Dee River, the Upper Pee Dee, the Lumber River, the Lumbee River, Drowning Creek, and various swamp names (such as Burnt Swamp, Raft Swamp, Bear Swamp, Back Swamp, etc.).