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F-.ditor d opinion) page ^ Wt Cannot Know Whtvt Wt Am Qoing If Wt Dont Know Whtrt Wt'vt Bttn... m to So pingly we honor our Pioneer Fathers S AS I | SEEIT by Brace Barton i 1^ | An I || Editor's I Note |. Editor's note: this letter I appeared originally In the Faycttevfile Observer, Ang. I 19, 1984 in response to an ' earlier article by staff writer | Eve Oaldey. Ms. Oakley's article was } replete with mis-statements I and blatantly false Inform a | tlon, as 1 see It. | My gnest columnist, and | friend, Geoffrey C. Man gum, ' sets the record straight. I am | sharing this letter with my 4 readers.-Brace Barton. " 1 r-J 'Learn From The Lumbee' (The writer li an Indian Law attorney representing die Lumber and other eaitem North Carolina tribes.) Geoffrey C. Mangum As one ol (he Individuals quoted In live Oakley's August 5th piece on Red Banks, 1 find only a lew minor errors ol lact Unfortunately, the article as a whole greatly confuses the mala Issues and contains remarks by non-Indians that border dangerously rinse In Mslsnl racism. The Idea lor the article Is In point up the different perspectives of Indians and non-Indians about Red Uanks. But the article loses sight entirely of live state's planned Indian Culture Center, which premises to become one ol the most Important facilities ol Its kind In the southeastern United Slates. Some historical clarity la desperately needed. The Red Banks area Is not the site of repeated "failures" by the Indians, as many non-Indians appear to believe. In the IMOs. when a handful of while landowners were treating the Indiana like dirt and ealoftlng them by the sharecropplng regime (frequently leaving whole families with IS or less a year for clothing), lbs Indiana pulled themselves together and sought to take advantage of New Deal programs far the destitute. A small leadership group beaded by Joseph Brooks haunted the Congress and csvcutlve agencies, finally persuading the department of Agriculture In ISM to locate one of Its many resettlement projects In Kobe son County (or Indian families After several studies, the government chose Red Banks as the best farming area, acquired nearly 17,000 acres on either side of the Lumber River, and began accepting applications from needy families for eventually M to 70 farms. These resettlement farms gavi us the phrase "SO acres and a mule," and were hardly ealravaganL Much of the area was never settled. And the farms were not given to the families but were sold with SO-year mortgages. The whole Idea was to give poor people an alternative to the horrendous sharecrop plng system in the hope that land ownership could provide an escape from destitution. In fact, Joseph Brooks and others originally began the whole project as part of their century-old effort to gala tribal recognition from the federal government. The Bureau of Indian Affairs at that time was sympathetic but without funds, and referred Brooks la the Rural Resettlement Administration In an effort to help the tribe. The Red Banks Mutual Association was born In IIM as a smaller part of the larger Pembroke Indian Farm. The RBMA was a is-family farming cooperative Ibat leased l,?M acres from Agriculture (out of the unsettled area of the Indian Farm). The cooperative amployed the latest horticultural and farm management techniques available. After rent and espenaes, the RBMA families showed only a minuscule profit (perhaps per family per year), but this was heads and shoulders above the related cooperative for whites, Seuppernong Farm, which consistently ran thousands of dollars In the red. RBMA was the only Indian cooperative in the nation. During and Immediately after World War 11, communist-haters in Congress began to view the nation's farm cooperatives as "tinged by social ism." Under Intense pressure, they all died like flies, rscrpt the Indian cooperative at Red Banks. RBMA survived the McCarthy era as weUJastiag M years (about three times longer than all others) When the government's push to end RBMA was finally accepted In l*?, some of the families were sufficiently well-off that they could purchase their farms, and did so with the same type of financing used by everyone else. The Lumber Recreation Center, barn ot the end of RBMA, showed a similar spirit of ladlon determination and cooperation. The government waa looking to soli off the Red Banks land, now Hut the cooperative had finally came to oa end. and the Indian people wanted a decent recreational area. In the IMOs. Red Bank was twice under consideration by the state as a site far a state park, but the Idea didn't come together. So the Indian people organised and bought tha load to help themselves when others would not. The Lumber Recreation Center plan waa Ion ambitious, and some measure of Ha failure ean be laid at the door of the racism prevalent at the time. Although heavily advertised in while newspapers, tha Center waa not used by whites (la contrast. Indians were not allowed access to white roc re a (tonal areas.) Whoa Lumbre Recreation Cantor proved to be toe ambitious for the community, several of Its lea ding citizens again sought to ptooefsa the area toe tha community Same of the successful leaders at tha Lumbao Joined together In Riverside Country Club to ball out LHC and the government. The article Impliea that the Riverside people were given the land, which la hardly true. For It years now. the organisation has been faithfully paying Its way under terms structured by the government. Since M71, the Red Banks area his hosted the widely acclaimed outdoor drama, "Strike at the Wind." The drama, which tells the history of the Lumbee people, la the crimination of efforts that began before KM. Its opening night In July. IV7I. was seen by over l.oot people Obviously the Lumber, through various organirations and de termined efforts, have been completely successful In preserving the recreational value of Red Banks So what about the Indian Culture Center' The Oakley article dies non Indian critics who charge that the North Carolina Indian Commission acted in "a sneaky way" to obtain an Interest in the area. This allegation Is utterly false and would be comic were It not for the tragic Ignorance and mental laziness of noo-lndlan critics that it reveals. For over two years now. Bruce Jones (the Indian Commission's executive director) and the com mission's board of directors have been working In the full light of day with the governor's office, the North Carolina Council of Stale, and numerous legislators to develop an Indian Culture Center for eastern North Carolina. It la the Council of State, not the commission, that has full authority for property acquisitions by the state. The Red Banks area was settled on by both the Indian Commission and the Council of State after extensive surveys of other arras In eastern North Carolina (as far away as Halifax County). Based on the exrelllent traffic flow along the I 95 corridor and Highway ft. as well as the existing recreatonal facilities, (be consultant's report rrrommended the Red Banks site. The Indian Culture Center plans call for an anthropological museum, convention facilities, shops and restaurants and attractions for tourists. The academic, social and entertainment potential Is unlimited. Such a center could easily benefit Robeson County and the stale for decades to come Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the article was the comments by a "well-known Scotland County historian." who asked to remain anony mous. While erroneously portraying the govern ment as wasteful nnd the Indians as Inept, the "historian" said, "It was crazy tu put an 18-holc golf course there to begin with ... In an area of people who probably never lifted a gulf club In their lives." The remark hi nothing If not racist. (The only "historian" In Scotland County is Dirk Brown, known there as an amateur historian. Mr. Brown can hardly be said to be a historian In the sense of Hugh Lefler or William Powell, and he Is in no sense an Indian historian Although Mr. Brown, a former staff writer for Ihe Observer, has written occasionally about the Lumber, including Items on llenry Berry Lowry, Red Banks and "Strike at the Wind," his writing displays only the moat superficial acquaintance with Lumbee histo ry) My own theory Is that racism today Is less frequently malicious In nature than it Is Ihe result of mental larlncsg and a disinclination to recognize another group's point of view. The racist remark can br viewed as benign only In the sense that It Is a result of larlness. I challenge the "well known Scotland County historian" to Inquire more deeply Into the history and culture of a great Indian people Mving practically next door. The Lumbee have consistently found ways to make progress possible, despite the great and numerous obstacles glared In (heir way by while people Mure Importantly, tbry strive In live In harmony with whites, despite the past, and move en toward positive gsals la all endeavors The new-Indian critic* quoted la the article should learn tram Ihe Lumbee example "The Oakley article cites non-Indian critics who charge that the North Carolina Indian Commission acted in 'a sneaky way' to obtain an interest in the area. This allegation is utterly false and would he comic were it not for the tragic ignorance and mental la/.iness of non-ludiau critics that it reveals." Earl Hughes Oxendine ' reflects on life in Education and Hoke County i ? To The Editor: When one has consistently made public education an integral part of their life, it is almost frightening to think about such a dastic change as either retirement -or resigna tion. However, after twenty eigln years in the field of public education, twenty three of which have been spent in the Hoke County Public Schools, 1 find it necessary to tender my resig nation due to medical reasons effective October 1, 1984. 1 am taking this opportunity to reminisce about my experi ences in Hoke County in an attempt to inform the many students, teachers and staff, parents and community lead ers about how highly I value their confidence in my ability to contribute to a better education and improved edu cational opportunities in the Hoke County Schools. 1 am especially proud of the many fine accomplishments which Hoke County has made in the past twenty years. When I joined the Hoke County Public Schools in 1962 as Principal of Hawkeye Indi an School, 1 was charged with the responsibility of moving forward a K-12 school with ten teachers and a total student enrollment of 300 to 33 teachers and a total student enrollment of over 700 students in 1968, some 200 of whom where high school students. We were confronted with a limited curriculum due to the small number of students, we en countered a large number of students who did not enroll in school until the second or third month of school, and student achievement and pro gress was tremendously anectea oy tnis annual record of poor school attendance and late school enrollment. 1 re member well the many long hours which the teachers spent in visiting the tobacco and cotton fields to encourage parents to enroll their chil dren in school, and how we worked to plan and provide for a broad-based extra curri cular program to involve students in school activities, to motivate and increase the awareness of parents for the need for education, and to develop a high level of community support and school pride. I am also reminded of the initiatives undertaken during the late sixties as Chairman of the Board, Mr. D.R. Huff and Board members, Dr. Riley Jordan, Mr. Bobby Gibson, Mr. BillHowell and Mr. Wil ton Wood led the school district in meeting one of the greatest challenges to ensure a sound future and a quality education for all students in the Hoke County Schools. In the spring of 1968, these men voted for districtwide school consolidation in order to meet federal requirements for school desegregation. While their decision was unpopular at the time, their decision was founded on the best interests of the students, the parents, the teachers and the com munities as evidenced by the successful desegregation of the Hoke County Schools wihtout incident. Their cour age, wisdom and vision for the future contributed to the greatness of the Hoke County Schools today. In 1973, I was called upon to serve the Hoke County Schools as Principal of Up church Junior High School, and in 1977, to fill the principalship at South Hoke High School. These two appointments were followed in 1979 with my appointment to the central administrative staff to assist wit^i the administration of feddral edu cational programs including Chapter 1, Migrant Education and Title IV Indian Education. Upon the occasion of each df these appointments, I always responded that 1 was willing to serve the Hoke County Schools in whatever capacity the Superintendent and the Board of Education deemed that I could be most effective. While many of these appointments may not have been in my personal best interest, at all times I re affirmed my committment to the. best interests of students and the Hoke County Schools. These varied exper iences allowed me the oppor tunity to serve some of my students in the principalship for as many as eight of their twelves years in school, and the greatest reward that I have received has been the satisfaction, the pride, and the sharing of success as many of the youngsters went on to greater achievement in colleges and universities, in successful jobs, and into productive roles in the com munity. For eight years 1 served as a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education. While visiting public schools across the state, at no time did 1 visit any school district with which I did not feel that the Hoke County Schools could favorably compare. To day, Hoke County Schools can boast of forward leadership in keeping first and foremost in the decision-making process es the best interests ot the students. The school district employs many fine teachers, aides, maintenance workers, custodians, cafeteria and food services staff, educational support pegKmnef. _?nd out standing central office per sonnel and administrators. I am convinced that Hoke County can hold its own with other school districts across the state. I have had the opportunity and privilege to serve with five outstanding school su perintendents: Mr. W.T. Gibson, Mr. Don Abernathy, Mr. Raz Autry, Mr. John D. McAllister and the current superintendent, Dr. Bob Nel son. Each of these individuals are to be commended for their fine leadership of the Hoke County Schools, and I am certainly indebted to each of them for the many conside rations and kindnesses exten ded to me as a member of the Hoke County educational team. On several occasions I have been afforded an opportunity to serve in the field of public education in other school districts, but at no time have I had any desire to serve anywhere other than in the Hoke County Schools. I sin cerely appreciate the confi dence, the support, the re spect and the fine cooperation extended to me over the years by the students, the parents, 1 the teachers and staff, and the administration and larger Hoke County community. Hoke County has been both good for me and to me, and I sincerely and honestly hope that in some way I have contributed some good ahd something wotthwhile to Hoke County and to the future generations of Hoke County. Respectfully, Earl Hughes Oxendiae Commissioners urged to pursue sources to right Wrongs at D.S.S. I im not surprised that Wyvis Oxendine, Robeson County Commissioner, was unhappy with the vote as per the motion by Jack Morgan to ask the state division of DSS to evaluate the Robeson County D.S.S. This meeting of the commissioners hap pened on Sept. 4, 1984. When there are seven votes to be cast with 3 votes yes and 3 votes no, we have 6 Votes cast that cancel each other out. There is no way that 1 vote can become a majority in a total of 7 votes cast when the no votes void the yes votes. Think about k. What the electorate of Robeson County should do la demand that there be either 6, 8. 10, or 12 members on the Board of \ & Robeaon County Commii aionera, or any other gov erning body. I commend J.W. Hunt, Wyvia Oxendine. and Jack Morgan for taking a stand against the way this charade at the Robeson County D.S.S. is being carried odt. In my opinion, H.T. Taylor wants to continue with the director of DSS, Russell Ses soms, although Sessoms ad mitted he could not interpret the guide lines for the dis pensation of funds at the DSS. BUI Herndon who is chairman of the board of DSS, Sammy Cos and Carl Britt are running interference alomf with H.T. Taylor for Sessoms, who in my opinion does not have his head in die game. Bill Hern'don says the members of the DSS are underpaid and overworked. In my opinion, if the Com missioners would refrain from spending money for obsolete railroads, paying' for landfill dirt when the county was offered free dirt adjacent to the landfill where the dirt was needed, spending money for testing landfill sites when there is a site already approv ed by the state which is 20 acres in sire. For those who do not know h, Bill Herndon is chairman of the landfill com mittee. Is this type spending the reason members at DSS are underpaid along with other county employees? In my opinion this ty peS pe nd i n ? is about as essential end 9 progressively productive as teats on a male cow. In my opinion H.T. Taylor, Bill Hern don, Sammy Cox or Carl Britt offered a valid reason for voting down (if the vote was valid) Jack Morgan's proposal. I urge J.W. Hunt, Wyvis Oiendine and Jack Morgan to pursue every sour ce available to right the wrongs imposed on your fellow Robeson Coantians by those who have no com passion, respect or fnoral obligation to the voters who elected them to office, as I see R. H.T. Taylor thinks the commissioners should not ask the state division of DSS to evaluate the Robeson County 1 DSS becasue some of die DSS board directors are appointed by the County Commission ers. In my opinion, H.T. Taylor is saying the Com missioners have made a mess of things at the DSS and they want it left alone. Mr. and Ms. Taxpayer-voter: Are you satisfied with the facts as stated? Are you satisfied with the present reckless spending and lack of qualified lead ership in the dispensation of your hard earned tax money? If you are satisfied, then you I condone these practices in my ? Pembroke. N.C. Wm Ran mi ??iiihiiIj Hnfct ANTING 4 ^ bAVING with COLUMBUS HAD A WARPED SENSE OF HUMOI! Now get this folk: "Indian Heritage Week" haa been proclaimed here in North Carolina for Sept. 16-22, 1984. 1 know ol' Columbus is rolling over in his grave in glee. You see, the week is not called "Native American Heritage Week" as it should be. But, "Indian Heritage Week." Heck! How are we gonna celebrate this observation? Travel to India? I'D just be danged if I can get excited about being called an "Indian." It aggravates the spirit of Henry Berry Lowry that courses through my veins. Well, I'm not going to India to call attention to my heritage. 'Cause my heritage is not linked to India. And I am a Native American. Not an "Indian."^ You be what you please. Let's be realistic for a moment, if we may. Simply put, of Columbus done a job on we "Native Americans" when he hung the name "Indian" on us. I don't hold ol' Columbus in too high a regard. You see, he's exposed me and my ancestors to too much ridicule by hanging that silly name on us. Heck! He weren't looking for America. The wayward yokel set sail in search of a short cut to the West Indies for trade purposes. He "weren't even close. Heck! If he missed heaven as far as he did the West Indies, he's probably burning now. And the distorted history books credit this incompetent sailor and even worse explorer with discovering America. That's almost as big a joke as him hanging my ancestors with the name "Indian." When ol' Columbus disembarked on the shores of America, he noticed some half-nak ed "savages" (his word, not mine) scurrying about. Still suffering from the pitiful delusion that he had found the short cut to the West Indies (heaven knows what other maladies he suffered from), good ol' Columbus- called my ancestors "Indians." Now, neither I nor my ancestors have ever set foot on the scorching soils of India. And, honestly speaking, I have no immediate plans to do so. All this notwithstanding, ol' Columbus labeled us "Indians." As far as I'm concerned, ol' Columbus inflicted a grave injustice upon Native Americans that day. What is so sad, though, is that an even greater and graver injustice is inflicted upon us daily as even the majority of our own people continue to label us "Indians." It's a baffling mystery, to say the least. Our ancestors have fought for and rectified many injustices throughout our exciting- history. Yet, this one stinging joke remains to haunt and ridicule us. I hate to say it, but I believe the biggest problem is that the white-written history books hate to admit that they are-* wrong. It is a lot easier to continue calling us "Indians" than it is to have to correct the history books. I am of the opinion that ol' Columbus must have been a better comedian than he was an explorer or sailor. Heck, if he was any comedian at all, he had to be better than he was at sailing or exploring 'cause that yokel couldn't sail or explore worth a good continental. 1 do know that he started one of the biggest jokes in all the history of humanity when he hung the name "Indian" on us. Heck! Rodney Dangerfield is one of my all-time favorite comedians. And he has never cradled a joke that could even come close to rivaling the "Indian" joke of ol' Columbus. What truly distresses me, though, is that it is folk like you and I who keep the joke alive. We have become too complacent. If enough of us insisted upon being called "Native Americans," then ol' Columbus' "Indian" joke would die. And we could bury it at sea, where it all began. Lumbee Regional Development Associa tion is in the process of petitioning the government, on behalf of Robeson County "Indians" (sic) for federal recognition. This is all well and good. But, I doubt the government will take our efforts to become federally recognized seriously as long as we continue to not take our own identity seriously. I'm not knocking L.R.D.A. I think the agency serves a needed function in Indian country. All I'm saying is that as long as we continue to call ourselves "Indian," we are living a lie and a joke. And other folk will continue to treat us accordingly. Considering our complacency in accepting the "Indian" slap to our face delivered by ol' Columbus, and being an eternal optimist, I'm just-glad he didn't land on the Virgin Islands. I'm serious folk. I just don't know if my male ego could stand being called a 33-year-old "Virgin." You think that's absurd, don't you? Well, I dare say it's no more absurd, or harder for me to swallow, than being called a 33-year-old "Indian." Yea! The white man came and raped us. He took our land. Stripped us of our customs and heritage, not to mention our identity. Heck! He soiled everything he came in contact with. So, after being raped, it's absurd to think that we could possibly have been called "Virgins" had ol' Columbus inadvertently landed on the Virgin Islands. About as absurd, in fact, as us being called "Indians." Oh yea! 01' Columbus must'a had a warped sense of humor. At least now I understand what our ancestors meant when they greeted someone and held up their right hand and said, "How!" They're probably like me. I, too, want to know "how?" How in the world has this "Indian" fiasco lasted so long? I'll talk at y'all some more next week. Meanwhile, don't get mad 'cause I don't like being the butt of a joke. If you have to get anything, then for God's--and Native Ameri can's-sake, get excited. And get determined to let's unite and stifle this "Indian" joke Once and for all. Readers says, I don t want to see another Pearl Harbor \" To The Editor: As a retired TSgt. of the U.S. Air Force, with 30 years of service to my country, also a Pearl Harbor survivor and a supporter of the American Defense Insitute, I'm shocked that the Soviets have grown so brazen that they would send new nuclear missile subma rines to America and dare us to do anything about it. I remember when Commu nists did not dare insult America. It is vital that Congress untie President Reagan's hands and permit him to give us new sub marines America neeas so badly. The news is bad and I feel that the American people need to wake up and write their Congressmen demand ing that they vote for a strong defense so that America will stay free. The Soviet Union has just announced that it is moving additional nuclear missile submarines to the coast of the United States and our own Pentagon experts confess that these modern Soviet subma rines are now capable of launching their deadly nuc lear missies into America's cities in only seven to nine minutes. Now we don't need a nuclear freeze as some would have us believe. The Soviets will not freeze theirs. Their word isn't worth the paper that's it's written onl God has blessed America and we need to keep it free at all cost. I don't want to see another Pearl Harbor! TSgt. Wm. P. Revela USAF, Ret. Ro*te 1 Bex 60 St. Paab, NC 28384 Dr. Sherwood Hinaon. Jr. LUMBERTON r CHIROPRACTIC CENTER 4904 Fay*tt?vill? Rd. IN SALEM SQUARE THE NEWEST PROFESSIONAL PARK. . HEADACHES! Thousands of people suffer daily from head aches. These headache sufferers usually turn to aspirins for relief. Many times drugs alone will not reduce the pain or the reoccurrence of their daily headache suffering. ! Chiropractic offers a better alternative than drugs. Its only side effect is GOOD HEALTHI > LUMBERTON CHIROPRACTIC CENTER 4004 Fayettevllle Rd. in Salem Square, the Newest Professional Perk Office Visits By Appointment 738-3600 I ?0<fiy?tt?vm?Rd. SALEM SQUARE 7? KM | d
The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.)
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