a folk hero for the Lumbee people and his exploits have a prominent place in Lumbee folklore. Background Robeson County Native Americans The Lumbee people in southeastern North Carolina originated from various Native American/Indian groups which were greatly impacted by conflicts and infectious diseases dating back to the period of European colonization. Those who survived these disruptions grouped together as homogenous communities. In 1830, the United States government began a policy of Indian removal, forcibly relocating Native American populations in the American South further west. Native Americans in Robeson County, North Carolina, were not subject to removal. Culturally, this group was not particularly distinct from proximate European Americans; they were mostly agrarian, and shared similar styles of dress, homes, and music. They also spoke English and were mostly Protestants. Their identity was rooted in kinship and shared location. Through intermarriage, they acquired some white and black ancestry. Not viewed as Native Americans by the state of North Carolina until the 1880s, these people were generally dubbed "mulattos" by locals and in federal documents throughout the mid-1800s to distinguish them from blacks. They were recognized under the name "Lumbee" in the 1950s. Discrimination and racial tensions In 1835 the Constitution of North Carolina classified the eastern Carolina Native Americans as "free persons of color". While having previously enjoyed the same political rights as white people, the Lumbees were disenfranchised by the new constitution. In 1840 the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law prohibiting free nonwhites from bearing arms without a license from the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in their county. In 1853 the North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the legality of the law in its ruling for State v. Noel Locklear, involving the case of a man convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm. White farmers in Robeson County also sought ways to obtain Lumbees' land or labor. According to Lumbee oral tradition, the "tied mule" incidents were emblematic of this. In these scenarios, a farmer would tie his mule on a Lumbee's land and release some of his cattle there, before bringing local authorities to the scene to accuse the Lumbee landowner of theft. Doubtful of a fair trial in the courts, a Lumbee would settle with the farmer by either offering him a portion of land or free labor. The legal discrimination and exploitative practices heightened racial tensions in the area. American Civil War The Lumbee