Lumbee Legend - Leon Jacobs
Leon Jacobs was born in St. Pauls and grew up in the Oxendine Community near Wakulla. He graduated from Pembroke High School in 1958 and is a 1967 graduate of Southeastern College in Florida. He is a Robeson County native with extensive tribal leadership.
Mr. Jacobs served as tribal manager for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. While there, he oversaw creation of a tribal police department, judicial system, and health care facility. He helped the tribe expand and irrigate its ranch holdings and developed a land use and housing needs plan. He has also served as tribal manager of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut and previously worked for eight years with the federal Housing and Urban Development Office in Chicago and was the first regional director of Native American programs, overseeing an annual $100 million budget to provide housing services to 75 Indian tribes.
Mr. Jacobs brought all his experience back home when he accepted the position as the tribal administrator for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina back in 2004.
In his role as Tribal Administrator for the Lumbee Tribe, he helped unfreeze the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding, developed the tribe’s first comprehensive budget, and helped build organizational structure for tribal programs – including those tied to housing and federal compliance. Mr. Jacobs has been quoted saying “I work closely with housing because that is one of my first loves, to assist tribal members in finding decent, affordable housing.”
“One of my proudest moments is rooted with the North Carolina Indian Housing Authority over management and ownership of housing units. After the Commission of Indian Affairs was established – it was viewed by many as a public housing program verses the designed intent, which was a Native housing program. During a meeting with the Director of Indian Housing - Tom Shurmond acknowledged this program was considered a public program. Once he finished speaking, I addressed the group and informed Tom that I disagreed with him. I explained that when this program was established, 4 tribes involved with the original housing authority gave up their sovereignty to the government with the understanding it would be classified as an Indian Housing Authority program. At which point, Tom ask if I could prove that was the intent?” Accepting that challenge, Mr. Leon Jacobs and a team of others – spearheaded that research, proving the intent behind the original agreement. After presenting his findings (confirming the original intent), Mr. Jacob’s hard work resulted in the transfer of management (for the disputed housing programs) to their respective tribal councils, which allowed tribes to provide services exclusively to Native families within their own tribal communities – allowing millions of dollars in housing funding to flow through this county.
Another proud moment occurred while I served as the Tribal Administrator (in 2004). I had a vision of creating a descent building that would provide tribal services within the community. After sharing the design vision with Michael Clark (a Lumbee architect), the current Administrative Building was created in the image of the turtle. That beautiful building is something we as a community can be happy and proud of as it’s a part of our culture and serves as a landmark for future generations.
Mr. Jacob’s has always been an advocate for our Lumbee people and created a legacy within our community that will never be forgotten.