On Saturday, thousands of people turned out to celebrate the final day of Lumbee Homecoming in Pembroke NC. The celebration began a week ago. Saturday kicked off with a 5K run/walk and then the annual parade. Lumbee Tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin joined the parade lineup in addition to the Lumbee Ambassadors which included Senior Ms. Lumbee. The celebration also included the AISES Pow Wow on the campus of UNC Pembroke. The festivities will wrap up on Saturday Night with a fireworks celebration.
Also, congratulations to UNC Pembroke for winning the 2019 SunTrust Foundation Connecting Communities Award at the Peach Belt Conference's annual awards. UNCP received the honor for its American Indian Heritage Day which was held in conjunction with the football team's home contest with Mars Hill on November 3.
UNCP becomes the first school to win the honor for a third time.
Lumbee Tribe-inspired alternate jerseys were created for the event and unveiled to the Lumbee Tribal Council to a standing ovation. The jerseys were later featured on ESPN Sports center's 'Gear Up' feature. The game-worn jerseys were later auctioned off with proceeds creating a scholarship for Native Americans to attend UNCP. Replica t-shirts were also sold to help support the scholarship.