By Christopher Cole

The defining principle of Libertarians is the repudiation of the initiation of force or fraud. That moral principle defines Libertarian positions on any issue. That includes the current controversy over proposed federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of southeastern North Carolina.

In 1885, the State of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee Tribe, but the Federal government never has. That means that the Lumbees have been denied many of the perquisites given to more-familiar tribes, such as NC's own Cherokee. Now, the Lumbees have gained a champion in Senator Elizabeth Dole, who has set a personal goal of gaining federal recognition on behalf of the Lumbees, who are consituents in her home state.

The Libertarian Party is well-known for its support of the right to self-determination, so some have wondered where they stand on Lumbee sovereignty. State Chair Phil Jacobson explained, "Self-Government obviously means control of your own destiny, answerable to no one else. However, controlling one's destiny at someone else's expense is an contradiction."

In other words, Libertarians support self-determination, including paying one's own way. Afterall, to adapt an old proverb, if you want to call the tune, you have to pay the piper

Lumbee leaders have asked for the very federal subsidies which have created dependency, alcoholism, illegitimacy, and massive unemployment on other reservations. And that is where Libertarians raise an objection.

Libertarians don't require such irrelevancies as "proof" of Indian status for self-government. Everyone has that right, for whatever reasons they value. However, we reject any unearned right to other people's property, as is being promoted in the current proposal.

Jacobson added, "When the Lumbees, or any other group of North Carolinians, decide to self-finance their own self-determination, the Libertarians will be on their side, speaking up for that right."