Born in Illinois, educated in Iowa, and admitted to the bar in Kansas, Orland M. McPherson was a career civil servant who worked variously as a school superintendent, in the post office, and the Surgeon General’s Office. Late in his career, he was appointed a Special Indian Agent for the Office of Indian Affairs and tasked with investigating the origins of the Lumbees to determine if they were Indians per se for federal recognition. The Indians of North Carolina is the resulting report.