Lumbee Legend - James Hardin (Significant Contribution)

Mr. James Hardin officially retired as Chief Executive Officer for LRDA in January 2023. Upon leaving this position, he gained the title of Interim CEO POCOSIN Construction, LLC, which is a for-profit subsidiary of the Lumbee Community Development Corporation, a non-profit affiliate entity formed in 2002 under LRDA. Before working at LRDA, Mr. Hardin served as Executive Director of Cumberland County Association for Indian People in Fayetteville, NC for 13 years. He began working at LRDA in 1986 and served 15 years as it’s Executive Director before leaving in 2003 to become the Chief Executive Officer of the NC Indian Economic Development Initiative, Inc. based in Fayetteville, NC. He left this position and accepted a position with the Lumbee Tribe of NC in 2005 where he served as Deputy Tribal Administrator.

Mr. Hardin returned to LRDA in August 2007 as the Chief Executive Officer and remained until his recent retirement in January 2023. Mr. Hardin was elected as the Southeastern Area delegate to the National Congress of American Indians in 1990. He helped establish two national urban Indian advocacy and lobbying organizations in Washington, D.C., and Denver, Colo., in the late 1980s and early 90s. He became the first ever non-federally recognized Indian to be elected Chairman of Board of a national predominantly federally recognized Indian governed board, the National Urban Indian Council based in Denver, Colo., in 1983. Mr. Hardin was also appointed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor to the National Native American Employment and Training Council Advisory Board in 2013. He also served on the first Lumbee Tribal Council from 2000 to 2003.