This detailed article describes the efforts of
Joseph Brooks to help his tribe obtain federal recognition. This Homecoming
issue of Carolina Indian Voice is dedicated to his memory.
Brooks, born on January 6, 1905, was one of eleven children
born to Sandy and Effie Brooks. He graduated from what became UNC-Pembroke,
married Sally Margaret Johnson, had five children, served in the U.S.
Navy, worked for awhile in Detroit, and then returned to Robeson County
to farm in Red Banks. His first political efforts were in relation to
a bill for federal recognition of the tribe as Cherokee Indians of Robeson
County. The bill, introduced on May 9, 1932 (see The Lumbee Indians:
an annotated bibliography, item 1345), did not pass. He then did
research in Washington, D.C. on the tribe's origins, developed a relationship
with senator Josiah W. Bailey, and led an effort for federal recognition
as Cheraw Indians (see The Lumbee Indians: an annotated bibliography,
item 1346). That effort was also unsuccessful. Brooks and B.G. Graham
organized the Siouan Lodge in Robeson County and worked for passage
of a bill for federal recognition as Siouan Indians (see The Lumbee
Indians: an annotated bibliography, items 1347 and 1348). Due to
conflict within the tribe, this bill passed the House Committee on Indian
Affairs on May 23, 1934, but went no further.
Next, Brooks communicated and met with Commissioner of
Indian Affairs John Collier, Assistant Commissioner William Zimmerman,
and Indian Agent Fred Baker to obtain benefits for the tribe under the
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), passed on June 18, 1934. Largely through
his efforts, Pembroke Farms and the Red Banks Mutual Association--a
New Deal cooperative farming project--were established (see The Lumbee
Indians: an annotated bibliography, pages 143-146). Brooks also
spearheaded the testing of tribal members to determine which ones were
1/2 or more Indian blood and thus eligible for benefits under the IRA.
Of the 209 Indians tested, only 22 were deemed eligible.
Hunt summarizes her account of Brook's efforts by stating,
“He is one of the tribe's 'unsung' heroes. As with all great leaders
his detractors found it very hard to separate issues from personalities.
Nevertheless, historical documentation verifies that Joseph J. Brooks
was one of the most brilliant political strategists among the Lumbee
Nation” (p. 4).
