Lumbee Leaders Inquiry & Capstone Grade 9-12

Lumbee Leaders: Native American History & Research Project | Grades 9–12

Bring Lumbee history into your classroom through the people, institutions, and collective efforts that shaped the Tribe’s future.

This 26-page printable packet explores leadership, education, community resistance, historical preservation, and the pursuit of federal recognition. Students investigate the contributions of leaders including Henry Berry Lowry, Janie Maynor Locklear, Adolph Dial, Julian Pierce, Arlinda Locklear, and John Lowery.

Students move beyond memorizing names and dates to examine evidence, compare perspectives, and develop their own historical arguments.

What’s included:

• Four-part historical reading exploring Lumbee leadership across generations
• Timeline and leadership-comparison activities
• Primary-source analysis using laws and congressional testimony
• Activities examining conflicting evidence and source reliability
• Seminar prompts and historical argument planning
• Research planners, peer review, and reflection worksheets
• Ten-session teaching sequence, teacher answer guide, and 100-point rubric
• Linked sources for further investigation

An engaging research capstone

Students investigate at least four Lumbee leaders across three historical periods, write a 1,000–1,500-word research essay, and create a six-panel public-history exhibit. The project builds research, critical thinking, evidence-based writing, and presentation skills.

Use for: Native American Heritage Month, high-school U.S. history, North Carolina history, civics, homeschool studies, and year-round Indigenous history instruction.

This resource presents Lumbee history as an ongoing story of community and self-determination, helping students understand that tribal identity existed long before federal recognition.

Grades: 9–12

Format: 26-page PDF digital download; no physical product

Materials: Printable activities; access to additional research sources is needed for the capstone. Paper and digital exhibit options are included.