How the Longleaf Pine’s Needles Support the Lumbee People

When settlers invaded North America, they encountered significant beauty and ecological richness, such as the sprawling longleaf pine forests that covered approximately 90 million acres of the Southeast—made possible through hundreds of years of ecological stewardship by North America’s Indigenous peoples. However, since the arrival of settlers, vast swaths of those very pines have been developed, destroyed, and converted to urban landscapes, resulting in long-term loss of longleaf pine ecosystems, leaving only an estimated five percent remaining. 

Grappling with land and cultural loss

Like the forests, the Indigenous Peoples who stewarded these landscapes saw drastic losses in their communities. These tragedies came as a result of war, disease, and siege. One of the many afflicted groups was the Lumbee, “an amalgamation of peoples from various woodland and coastal tribes.” This intertribal community found a home in the Lumbee River Basin of south-central North Carolina, though not without trials and tribulations.

“The United States, at one time, tried to take the land from the Lumbee People,” John Oxendine, a representative of the Lumbee Tribe, said. “They were going to put a reservation [near] Elizabethtown versus [here], but a lot of people that were non-native at the time wrote a lot of letters [saying], ‘They got the good land. Don’t give them the land. Put them in the swamp. Don’t give them that—they don’t need it.’ So, they didn’t do it, [but] we did get kind of pushed toward the swamps.”

While the Lumbee People—the largest Tribe east of the Mississippi—remained near the land they historically called home, the majority of Indigenous Peoples in the United States aren’t as fortunate. Nearly 99% have had their homelands taken from them, according to a recent data set.

Reconnecting with culture through the trees

For the Lumbee People, this presents a unique opportunity to connect deeper with their ancestors, as they can lean on traditional practices directly tied to the land. This includes using longleaf pine needles to engineer baskets to carry resources like food and even water—yes, water. The needles can be woven tight enough to prevent leakage, but the tree’s sap is what makes the baskets waterproof.

Indigenous artists like Loretta and Herman Oxendine are keeping this practice alive by weaving baskets from longleaf pine needles. Each basket takes anywhere from five to 50 hours to make, depending on the size, and offers a source of income for the entrepreneurs.

Today, longleaf pine needles have found popularity in the landscaping industry, with the straw used as mulch, weed barriers, erosion control, and flower and/or foundation bedding. For Lumbee landowners like Mitchell “Mitch” Locklear, the straw produced from gathering of the needles offers a source of generational wealth. However, per Locklear, the harvesting process isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Sustainable and wildlife-friendly land management

“The other thing I wanted to bring up was not only how much you rake as far as rotation—you can obviously overrake it—but your contractor and how they’re raking it,” Locklear said. “We would go in while [the contractors] were raking, and I’d try to tell them . . . to just get the top layer, don’t rake down, [but as] you can see . . . there’s a spot over here that’s got more dead trees [from their negligence].”

Locklear explained that the contractor’s use of mechanical raking—the use of tractors, trucks, or other motorized equipment pulling a rake to gather a resource—killed a handful of trees. Although more efficient, using raking machines can damage pines, and damaged trees face reduced growth, are more susceptible to bark beetles, and may experience mortality, as is the case with Locklear’s stand. 

Mitch Locklear is the National Wildlife Federation’s first Longleaf for All Landowner Mentor in North Carolina. The Landowner Mentorship Model engages with landowners that have been successful restoring longleaf pine on their property to share lessons and sustainable management techniques—like how best to rake pine needles—with their community.

This past March, Locklear hosted his first event, “Longleaf Pine and the Lumbee Heritage,” demonstrating how local landowners can conserve local ecosystems while benefiting from longleaf pine.

For those seeking the mutual welfare that comes from tending to the land, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has an advantage. TEK refers to the accumulation of knowledge, practices, and beliefs acquired by Indigenous People through direct engagement with local environments. This multi-generational knowledge considers the holistic impact on people, plants, animals, etc., whereas mechanical technology doesn’t consider the past, present, and, in many cases, the future of the land. 

Hand-raked pine straw—an alternative to mechanical straw gathering practices—ensures the continued health of the longleaf pine ecosystem. This labor-intensive operation favors the well-being of the forest, while still providing income to the landowner. The method promotes wildlife-friendly habitats as well, as tearing up the soil deters wildlife who rely on the minerals and grasses for their livelihood. 

As Lumbee landowners like Mitch Locklear lean into the forestry sector to secure income for their families, it’s important that these different options are presented. After all, the Lumbee People are deeply connected to the land and may prefer more wildlife-friendly options. But at the heart of it is the opportunity to reclaim and reconnect with their land, making the decisions that were once lost to them, and ensuring that future generations have those same choices.