She was born in Robeson County, North Carolina and is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Malinda is the author of the recently released book Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation published by University of North Carolina Press. She has published articles about American Indian migration and identity, school desegregation, and religious music. Lowery has produced three documentary films about Native American issues, including the award-winning In the Light of Reverence, which showed on PBS in 2001 to over three million people. Her two previous films, Real Indian and Sounds of Faith, both concern Lumbee identity and culture.