A Promise Kept, 137 Years in the Making

Ron Rabe
December 22, 2025

A Promise Kept, 137 Years in the Making

By: Teresa Nikas

From the fictional town of Cedar Valley, where characters from Quiet Echo continue to respond to real-world events.

Sometimes the longest roads lead to the most meaningful destinations.

Last Thursday, President Trump signed the Lumbee Fairness Act into law, granting full federal recognition to North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe after 137 years of fighting, waiting, and praying. Chairman John Lowery stood at the White House, tears streaming down his face, and said what so many of us would have said in his place: “Our ancestors are smiling down on us today.”

Here in Cedar Valley, we understand what it means to wait for something that matters. We know the weight of promises made and promises kept—and promises broken. The Lumbee were first recognized by North Carolina in 1885. President Eisenhower signed a bill acknowledging them in 1956, but withheld the benefits that acknowledgment should have carried. For nearly fourteen decades, they returned to Washington, generation after generation, asking for what had already been promised. Nine times the House said yes. Nine times the Senate said no.

And still they persisted.

There’s something almost biblical about this story arriving in Christmas week. A people waiting through the long years for fulfillment. Leaders who kept faith when the doors stayed closed. Children raised on the stories of their grandparents’ journeys to the Capitol, learning that some battles are measured not in months but in lifetimes. The Lumbee didn’t give up when it would have been reasonable to give up. They didn’t grow bitter when bitterness would have been understandable. They simply kept showing up.

That kind of patience isn’t passive. It’s the hardest kind of strength there is.

The cynics will point out that recognition was tucked into a $900 billion defense bill, that politics played its role, that opposition from other tribes made this a messy journey. All true. But messy journeys are still journeys. Flawed victories are still victories. And a promise kept—even late—is still kept.

The 55,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe will now have access to federal healthcare, education funding, housing assistance, and disaster relief. Children in Robeson County will grow up knowing their people are fully recognized by the nation their ancestors called home long before that nation existed. That matters. It matters in ways that spreadsheets and budget lines can never capture.

As we enter these final days before Christmas, the Lumbee story reminds us what faithfulness looks like. Not the easy kind that expects quick answers. The hard kind that plants trees whose shade you may never sit under. The kind that trusts the arc of the story even when you can’t see around the bend.

Chairman Lowery said he’s proud to be “the last chairman that’s had to come to D.C., fighting, pushing, advocating for our full federal recognition.” His children and grandchildren will come to Washington for different reasons now. They’ll come as members of a recognized nation, not as petitioners at a closed door.

That’s what a promise kept looks like.

May we all—in our own quiet corners, with our own long battles—find the strength to keep showing up.

This editorial is part of the fictional Cedar Valley News series. While the people and town are fictional, the national events they reflect on are real.

Want to know the full story behind Cedar Valley? Teresa, Caleb, Dan, and the community you’ve come to know in these editorials first came together in Quiet Echo: When Loud Voices Divide, Quiet Ones Bring Together. Discover how a small town found its way from fear to fellowship—one quiet act of courage at a time. Available on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ME4nSs

It’s free, live, and fresh! Quiet Echo—A Cedar Valley News Podcast is live on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4nV8XsE, Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hdNHfX, YouTube: https://bit.ly/48Zfu1g , and Podcastle: https://bit.ly/4pYRstE. Every day, you can hear Cedar Valley’s editorials read aloud by the voices you’ve come to know—warm, steady, and rooted in the values we share. Step into the rhythm of our town, one short reflection at a time. Wherever you listen, you’ll feel right at home. Presented by the Publication Consultants: https://publicationconsultants.com/