Editorial And
Opinion Page
AS I SEE IT]
Bruce Barton ^
Under the knife
I'll be 60 my birthday (Oct. 1) and I had never had the trauma of a
hospital stay, until recently. On April 23.1 traveled to Moore County /
First Health Hospital in Pinchurst to have a fatty tumor removed front my
right shoulder blade It was a minor operation, and 1 mended at home for
a week as an out patient. I'm back to work and good as new, except for
sundry staples buttoned into the healing wound. Thank the Lord that
initial reports indicate it was benign, and more a hindrance than anything
else.
My experience with the hospital was good, as well as TLC Health Care
of Pembroke w ho took care of me as I mended at home. I recommend
both organizations to you without hesitation.
Thanks for your expressions of concern, and your prayers.
Around town
As a matter of fact, I was feeling well enough to get out for the first time
last Friday night to attend the B.J. Thomas concert at the Givens PAC on
the UNC-Pembroke campus, He is a wonderful entertainer and rings
true I like him a lot, and was especially pleased to see Larry Chavis. a
local Indian musician, playing drums with his band. That probably had
a little bit to do with my liking B.J. Thomas so much. He has good taste
in musicians.
And monitoring the Eddie Hatcher Trial ...
And we continue to monitor the Eddie Hatcher Trial in nearby Lumberton
which is another world to many of us, especially Indians like me
who grew up in the turbulence of the institutional segregation of the 50s
and 60s. I have a long memory.
Again, I say, if Eddie Hatcher cannot get a fair trial in Robeson Countythen
neither can you or I. The D A. needs to be very careful in making
sure that Mr. Hatcher's rights are conscientiously observed without favor
or bias. It's a hard thing to do because Mr. Hatcher has the capacity
to get under one's skin if he has a mind to.
Eddie Hatcher, now 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the May
31,1999 shooting death of Brian McMillian. who was 19. Hatcher is also
charged with attempted murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling.
He could face the death penalty if convicted.
M
The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for
breaking down injustice.
?Lyndon Johnson
^ I
Former Chief of the Haliwa-Saponi
Succumbs After Extended Illness
The Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe
mourns the loss offormcrChief W
R. (William Robert) Richardson
Chief Richardson passed away
Thursday. April 26, 2001 at Nash
County General Hospital in Rocky
Mount. NC after an extended illness
Chief Richardson served as the
Chief of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian
Tribc from 1955 until his retirement
of the position in 1999, He was a
champion for the rights of American
Indians on the local, state, and national
level During his lifetime he
dedicated himself to the betterment
of Indian people by lobbying for
I ndian education and various other
programs designed for American
Indians. Chief Richardson was honored
for his works w hen he received
the "Order of the Long Leaf Pine"
award from former Governor James
B. Hunt, Jr. This award is the most
^distinguished award presented to a
citizen by the Governor
Chief Richardson attended
school in Halifax County where he
grew up. In his late twenties, he
moved aw ay from the tribal community
to live in Philadelphia where he
continued his education at
Maustbaum Technical Institute in
the early 1930s. While at
Maustbaum. he disti nguished himself
by completing his high school
diploma, as well as a course of studyin
the machinist field. He later received
a Machinist First ClassCertification.
After moving back to the tribal
community in Hollister, NC. he distinguished
himself by becoming
Chief of his tribe in May of 1955.
Chief Richardson would serve in
that capacity until he retired the
position in 1999. He was a pioneer
in the tribe's efforts to obtain their
own educational sy stem by being a
founding member of the Haliwa Indian
School which opened in 1957
for the exclusive use of HaliwaSaponi
tribal members It was the
only Indian school in NC funded
entirely by the members of the tribe,
which it served. The school would
become state supported in 1959.
While serving as tribal Chief, he
founded the Haliwa Burial Association,
as well as the Haliwa Indian
Tribe's Boy Scout Troop. Chief
Richardson served as Scout leader
from 1958 until 1968. He was a
charter member of the Hollister Garment
Company, and served as vice
chairman for a period of time. A
compassionate and caring individual,
Chief Richardson was a
founding member of the Twin
County Rural Heal th Center in Essex,
NC. This Center would provide
both affordable and adequate health
care to rural residents.
Chief Richardson dedicated his
life to working for the betterment of
American Indians. He was a founding
member of the North Carolina
Commission of Indian Affairs and
served as Chairman under the direction
of former Governor James B.
Hunt, Jr. Chief Richardson served
on the North Carolina Indian Hous
ing Authority Board of Commissioners,
an appointment from former
GovcmorHunt, from 1986 until 1998
On the national level. Chief
Richardson served as a delegate to
theNationalCongressof American
Indians (NCAl).theoldcst national
Indian organization continuing to
operate. He serv ed as a representative
for the Halivva-Saponi at numc rous
national conferences and testificdat
various congressional hear
mgs on matters relating the American
Indians. As a result of the
Chief s work on the national level.
thcHaliwa-Saponi Indian tribe w as
the first non-federally recognized
Indian tribe in NC to gain membership
in NCAI Chief Richardson
served as a board member of the
Coalition of Eastern Native Americans.
a non-profit Indian adv ocacy
organization based in Washington.
DCfrom 1970until 1975
fttona cTfie %oBeson HsaiC
by Dr. Stan Knick, Director, UNCP Native American Resource Center
In the past two weeks we have
been looking into storytelling
(centering on Abenaki storyteller
Joseph Bruchac'sbook TellMeA Tale:
A Book About Storytelling). We have
seen that storytelling begins with
listening, and that we all have
storytelling roots ? sources of
stories from our ancestors, our
families, our homes and our own lives.
This week we continue along
Bruchac's steps to good storytelling.
If listening is the first step, then
observing is the second. Even though
most of us look around all the time, do
we really see what is there? Do we
become so accustomed to the things in
our environment ? the bluebird in
the yard, the glorious sunset, the smile
on an old friend's face ? that we
begin to take them for granted, not to
see them for what they really are? To
help us leam truly to see, Bruchac
suggests another exercise.
This one be calls "Close Your
Eyes and See." With a friend, sit in a
room or some other familiar place.
Close your eyes and try to call up the
imageof the room or other place. While
your eyes are still closed, let your
friend ask you about what you have
"seen." They shouldn't be hard
questions, just simple things you could
have seen with your eyes open if you
had been truly observant. How many
windows are there? What clothing is
your friend wearing? What's hanging
on the wall? Doing this exercise
repeatedly makes one a better
observer.
Bruchac points out that "seeing"
is not just about what is in the room or
the qnivqrse around you. It is
sometimes necessary to see into things:
"Those who cannot see beyond
the surface are often fooled. One of
the oldest stories about being fooled
by not seeing deeply is the Aesop's
fable of the fox and the grapes. Aesop
was a storyteller in ancient Greece.
His name meant 'the Ethiopian,' for
Aesop had been brought as a slave
from Africa, and the stories he told
appear to have their roots in African
traditions.... In [one] version of the
story, a hungry fox sees what it thinks
are grapes that have fallen into a pond.
It can see them just below the surface
of the water. The fox jumps in to get
them but cannot find them.... The fox
keeps trying, but it only gets wetter.
The grapes are actually hanging from
a vine in a tree over the water. All that
the fox saw was the reflection of the
grapes on the pond's still surface (p.
37)."
Bruchac argues that we must
observe "with understanding" in order
to gain a vision of what is important.
Sometimes this means seeing ourselves
as others see us (to paraphrase the
great Scot poet, Robert Burns).
Sometimes it means seeing into other
people, and not only seeing a
reflection of ourselves. Trying to see
things from someone else's point of
view can often help us see what is
important in "a situation. Every
time we do this, we gain hew
understanding. Such understanding is
a vital ingredient in good stories.
A crucial part of observing can
happen when we take special notice
of changes in our lives. This is
particularly true of what have been
called "rites of passage." These are
times in our lives when we pass from
one stage to another, for example from
boyhood to manhood, or girlhood to
womanhood. Observing these
I
"passages" or changes, as was
common in all the traditional cultures
of the world, helps us to understand
our lives and Life in general:
"In the Native American
community, it was common for a young
man or a young woman to go on a
vision quest when they were ready to
become an adult. Adolescents would
be taken out alone into the woods or
onto the plain or up on a mountain, far
fromotherpeople. They would be told
by their elders what to do and how to
act. Then they would sit in one place
for several days without eating. They
were supposed to listen and watch.
Their job was to pray for a vision that
would help them for the rest of their
lives.
"Seeking a vision is not just
something done by Native Americans;
it is a practice found throughout the
world in many cultures, including the
Judeo-Christian tradition. In the New
Testament, Jesus Christ goes out into
the wilderness for forty days. When
he returns, after hearing the word of
God, he is ready to take on the work of
spreading his message of peace (p. 4344)."
Observation, whether it is simply
of the things around us orof the changes
in our lives, can make better people
and better storytellers. Whatever we
observe can reveal stories to us.
Next week we will examine more
of Bruchac's ideas about stories, and
move to the third step on the path to
good storytelling. For more
information, visit the Native
American Resource Center in historic
Old Main Building, on the campus of
The University of North Carolina at
Pembroke (our Internet address is
www.uncp.edu/nativemuseum).
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