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Editorial And
Opinion Page
tie ieee i*-1
AS I SEE IT
' ' ' ' ' ..>* !
. Bruce Barton
-?* J"
On the edge of sixty,
and feeling morose
and thoughts like that...
Time has flown away, and I am feeling my age today. The
thought came to me recently that I will be 60 when my birthday
rolls around again on October 1. 1 was born a long time ago:
October 1,1941. The United States was at war with Adolf Hitler
and all his legions of doom. And my generation thought we would
live forever if we could survive this war to end all wars. Not so!
Other wars have come and gone, and tyrants are still among us.
Externally, things are about as they have always been. It seems
to me that the only change that ever takes place is within the
recesses of the heart. Everything else is foolishness. And there
my battle rages.
I am on the edge of sixty and feeling morose and having
thoughts like that. Peggy Lee sang a song once, and she emoted,
"Is that all there is to this (life)"? and I have been feeling like that
too. Will another great adventure of the heart take place; will 1
sing new songs and fly to strange and exotic places again?
Or, has time passed me by? Will peace ever come again to my
plaintive heart and still its mighty longings to be free and unfettered
and fullfllled? Who will I sing to again, and where is the
song that needs to be sung ?
We have begun practice anew at Strike at the Wind!"! and the
thought came to me at rehearsals this week that I am relegated to
playing Henry Berry Lowrie's daddy, Allen Lowry, now? I am
typecast by age. I feel sad in a foolish kind of way. All of us will
grow old if we live long enough. And I suppose that I should be
grateful for the songs I have already sung and the years and adventures
that I have already experienced. I have climbed a mountain
or two in my eventful life and fallen awkwardly upon my
spiritual hindquarters when I forgot my cosmic place.
I just want to fly and grow and do and be and sing and pray
and love again. I want to sing a new song!
Thank God for grandbabies. I have four, and they keep me
from running away to find myself from time to time. Amen!
The Way I See It
by Dr. Dean Chavers, Native American Scholarship Fund
My Grandmother >va.v a Saint
I have been w riting this column for over 21 years now. 1 am the second
oldest surviving Indian columnist now, after Tim Giago. Sometimes I
can't believe 1 lasted this long. If 1 had known 1 would live litis long. 1
would have taken better care ofmyself. (That's avert-old and trite joke.)
One of the main reasons I have lasted this long is that my grandmother
saved me. In a real sense, when I was-16.1 was headed on the road to no
good. Even thought I was always near the top of my class in school. I
was hanging around with the wrang crowd.
My father was in the hospital with what w e learned later was encysted
tuberculosis. His lungs were very weak and had lost most of their elasticity.
He told me many times how he would fall asleep on the way home- it
might be in a cornfield somewhere- and wake up the next mourning under
a blanket of snow. He abused his body. He had been hit with mustard gas
in Belgium, which started the deterioration of his lungs. The drinking
hastened it.
Daddy drank liquor from the time he w as a teenager until he was 50. In
those days, it was illegal for Indians to drink anything. But everyone
knew where all the bootleggers w ere. Daddy knew diem Si by first name.
One of his best friends, an Indian he called Caglc, had served time in the
federal pen for bootlegging. Cagle was a regular visitor to our house.
His last binge, which I can barely remember, lasted three weeks. He
was drunk every day during that time. Then it took him two or three
weeks to sober up. During that time, the only thing he could eat was
soup. He could not keep any solid food down. So Uncle Bill Thompson,
one of his best friends, started calling him "Soupy." The name only took
with a few close friends, including a legendary drinker named Jackie
Broods who visited our house for years
When he finally got straight, which meant he had recovered from alcohol
poisoning, he never drank another drop. But the damage had been
done. Right after that binge, he started having to go to the VA hospital
on a regular basis.
He might stay a w eek or two, or he might stay three months The last
time he went, he stayed 35 months. He died in that 35th month.
In the meantime, that first year he was in the hospital. 1 went kind of
wild. I was running around with a gang of half outlaws. 1 was the youngest
of the crowd. The oldest went to prison that same year for shooting
?. up a house Another one is in prison now for killing his wife. The other
two never went to prison, as far as I know, but none of us was up to anygood.
It had gotten to the point that my mother could no longer control me.
I was 16, and thought I was a man. I did a man's work. running the farm by
myself when Daddy was in the hospital . But I was an angry young boy.
I followed Daddy's example. Our gang's main activity was meeting at
the juke joint every Friday and Saturday night, getting something to
drink, and going off somew here to get drunk. The one who shot up the
house was dead drunk in his car when we tried to wake him up the night
before he did the shooting. 1 still don't know why he shot up that house.
The one who killed his wife (Which happened years after I left the
state) was in a drunken rage. I was told. Alcohol made all of us do some
dumb things It make me think I was somebody. One of my friends, a girl,
told me she had always respected me until she found out I drank. I Just
waved it off at the time, but obviously her comment is still with me today.
I had no idea what I would do with my life, which was just one of my
frustrations. At that time, in that place, there were two options open to
me. 1 could become a farmer, which required no college education, or I
could go to college and become a teacher and teach Indian kids.
There were no other options open to me. I could not become a banker,
an agricultural agent, an engineer, a scientist, a doctor, a journalist, or a
dentist. These options were not open to Indians at that time. I knew I
wanted to go to college, but the thought of the "Red Ceiling" (most
professions not open to Indians; I just made that up) frustrated the life
out of me.
My grandparents lived in Virginia, and we lived in North Carolina. My
Aint Dimple. Grandpa's baby sister, knew what was going on with me.
Unbeknownst to me. she wrote a letter to Grandma telling her what was
going on. She told Grandma if she wanted to save me. her oldest grandchild,
she had better come get me. I didn't learn about this letter until
years later.
In the meantime. 1 caught a ride with Willie Bowen. Momma's cousin,
from where we lived in North Carolina to where Grandpa and Grandma
lived in Virginia. Willie was hauling watermelons and cantaloupes from
Florida to Washington, DC. so 1 literally caught a ride on a watermelon
truck.
Willie dropped me off in Dinwiddre County. Virginia, ate dinner with us.
and kept driv ing to Washington. Ihrec days later, when he had sold all
his watermelons at the Farmer s Market, he came back through and picked
' me up. I rode with him back home, and started packing. They had agreed
to let me mov e in with them.
Grandpa and Grandma came to pock me up on September 1,1957.1 had
gone out with the gang the night bctorc. my last night in town, and had
drunk too much w hue lightning I woke up that morning with a tremendous
thirst and a headache 1 drank about a quart of water, then threw up
the water and the rest of what was in my stomach half hour later Then I
went back to bed and slept it off
They look me back to Virginia w ith them All their kids were gone, and
Grandma and Grandpa limed by themselves One son and his family lived
just down the road The other five lived in different stated- New York.
; North Carolina. Colorado My Aunt Claire's husband Eddie was in Ko'
rca. so she was living with her parents temporally
A couple of w eeks later. 1 started school in the count seat of Dinw iddic.
f I was the only nonwhitc person in the school I had to nde a bus eight
miles to school We went past the Black high School. Southsidc. and the
Black students from the southern pan of the county rode past our school
on the way to their school (I later thought about the hypocrisy of the
anti-busing whites protesting the costs of busing They had already
been baring the casts for years.)
Grandma never said a word to me about my gang Neither did
Grandpa. In the six years I lived with them, he only lost his temper
with me one time That was quite a miracle, considering that he had a
terrible temper
Grandma acted as if it was perfectly normal to take in a grandchild
She acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Grandma taught me by example. She chidcd me if I had anything
bad to say about anyone "Would vou want someone saying that
about you?" She would ask
She was a genius. I think that if she had ever taken an 1Q test she
would have scored abov e 150. which w ould hav e put her into the top
1% of the population. She could understand people. She had insight
into human nature And she was very patient with me.
She never mentioned the gang I had run around with She never
brought up any of my past She acted as if she expected me to behave
well, and get good grades. Working hard was a given. As farmers
we all had to w ork hard.
She was a tiny lady, never weighing much over a hundred pounds.
She wore a bonnet w hen she went out in the sun to pick beans.
She went as far as she could in school- the eighth grade. That w as
the top grade for Indians before World War II. In fact, she taught
school for most of a decade before she married grandpa when he
came back from the War.
She played the piano and the organ, even though she had never
had lessons. She just picked it up. She was very humble. She w as a
sincere Christian lady. She was very energetic. Even at 70 years of
age she never walked: she ran everywhere she went. She had more
than her share of aphorisms, and shared them with me liberally. Three
of her six children earned college degrees, and the other three could
have but didn't want them.
She was a remarkable lady and an inspiration to me. Because of her
I earned four college degrees, including three form Stanford University.
I miss her every day. even though she died in 1983. Her spirit will
be with me the rest of my life.
The Law and You
Child Custody, Visitation and Support
By Lorraine M. Mortis
Child custody, visitation and support issues can be difficult and highly
emotional for everyone involved in such court cases - children, parents anil
other family members, attorneys and judges. Fortunately, North Carolina laws
provide a structure through which these matters may be resolved and allow for
changes when appropriate
Unfortunately, some families sometimes have misconceptions about such
child custody laws. Below are some frequently asked questions about North
Carolina's child custody, visitation, and support law.
Question: Will cusiody automatically be granted to a child's mother?
Custody is not "automatically" granted to anyone In North Carolina, the
court uses the "best interest of the child" standard in deciding custody cases.
The judge generally awards custody based on his/her analysis of what environment
best nurtures the child's physical, mental, moral, emotional and spiritual
development. The "best interest" standard is flexible It allows the judges to
develop creative solutions to important and complex issues, while at the same
time acknowledging the uniqueness of children and their family situations
Custody orders also include visitation provisions. Using the "best interest"
standard, the judge decides when/if, where, and with whom visitation is
appropriate Grandparents whose grandchildren are involved in a custody
action may also ask the court for a visitation ruling.
Question: I don't think my daughter and son-law are. fit parents. Can I file
for custody of my grandson'1
Perhaps so. North Carolina law provides that "any parent, relative, or other
person, agency organization or institution claiming the right to custody of a
minor child may institute an action or proceeding for the custody of such child."
However, North Carolina courts have traditionally interpreted the law to mean
that before a non-parent even has the right to file custody papers, he/she must
show that a parent-child relationship exists between him/her and the minor
child Grandparents generally have the right to file custody papers, but they
usually must also claim that the child's parents are unfit parents
Question My soon-to-be e\ husbSS^S^HBRj^lbusivc towards nje
during our marriage ] am tihn}dttW)MnMM>HDH2-L?Aur two scnti nil
i don'twant hun to see them because he doesn t deserve to Will the court grant
my request1'
Traditionally the Court is reluctant to completely deny a parent's v isitation
rights, ev en when there has been a history of domestic violence involving the
parents The Court will usually completely sever a non-custodial parent's
visitation nghls only when visits would jeopardize the child's safety and
welfare or when the non-custodial parent has given up the right to visitation
because of his/her conduct (lor example, the parent committed a crime against
the child)
The Court usually takes into account the existence of domestic violence and
fashions visitation prov isions in a way that protects the children and the victim
of the domestic violence If there are concerns about the non-custodial parent's
parenting skills, the judge has the discretion to order that his/her visits with the
child be Superv ised by the local Department of Social Services or another
appropnate person or agency
Question Do 1 hav e the legal right to deny visitation to my children's father
when he gels behind on his child support payments'' Does he have the legal
right to withhold support if I refuse to let him visit''
Contrary to perhaps popular belief, the right to v isit with one's child is not
determined by how much child support is paid by the non-custodial parent The
appropriate and legal way to address the problem is to bring the non-complying
parent before the court in a civil contempt proceeding The non-custodial
parent has to "show cause" why he/she should not be held in contempt of the
custody/support order
Question Once a court order is entered regarding custody, visitation, or
support,.can it ever be changed''
Yes In general, a party involved in a child custody, visitation, or support
action can ask the Court to change a court order at any time The party must
show the Court that because there have been significant changes in the
circumstances which affect the child's welfare, there is justification for having
the Order changed Examples of "changed circumstances" which might affect
a child's welfare include changes in employment, health, finances, marital
status or educational status Once the Court determines that there is a
significant change of circumstances, it must then decide what is in the "best
interests of the child."
Question: If I move to another state with my children and want to file for
custody, do 1 file in North Carolina or the other state?
It depends Most states require an individual to live in that state for a certain
amount of time before he/she is allowed to file a civil cause of action, such as
a custody matter. In North Carolina, for example, a child and/or his parent must
live in North Carolina for at least six months before the parent can file a custody
action. State laws dictate when and where a person can file ah action and when
the courts of a state have jurisdiction or authority to hear and decide such cases
Question: Do I have to have a lawyer to request child custody, visitation or
support?
Not necessarily. However, with the complexity of such laws, the heavy case
loads in the Courts and the critical importance of such requests, it is helpful to
consult with someone who is trained and aware of such laws prior to requesting
a ruling from the Courts. If you cannot afford an attorney and your income level
is at or below 125% of the federally established poverty income levels, you may
qualify for free legal assistance from a Legal Services office in North Carolina
If you feel that you need an attdmey along the way, contact the Lawyers
Referral Service, 1-800-662-7660, which is a nonprofit project of the NC Bar
Association Or feel free to contact your local Legal Services office. Residents
in Robeson and Scotland counties should contact Lumbee River Legal Services
located in Pembroke Cumberland and Hoke county residents should contact
the programs branch office located in Fayetteville.
(LorraineM. Mortis is an attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Northwest North Carolina,
Inc. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina "The Law and You" is a regularpublication of Legal
Services of North Carolina (LSNC). The mission of LSNC is to provide free civil legal
assistance to poor and low-tncome residents of North Carolina, both ensuring access tojustice
and contributing to the stability of society./ I
Mong l-fie H{p 1
by Dr. Stan Knick, Director, UNCP Native American Resource Center
In 19841 came to the land of the
Lumbee to do anthropological research
on the health and growth of Indian
children. During that eighteen month
project, I learned a lot (Growing Up
Down Home: Health and Growth in
the Lumbee Nation, 1986). One of the
things I learned, predictably, was that
it would take longer than eighteen
months to come to much of an
understanding of that complex whole
which is the Lumbee. A more
unexpected outcome of the endeavor
was the lesson that not much had been
previously written about how the
Lumbee might be situated within a
broad context ? a context which
would necessarily include their
prehistory, their early contacts with
outsiders, their historical relations with
the newcomers, their culture as it
exists today, their health, their
relationship to the federal government,
the contemporary issues they face and
other matters relating to their culture
as a whole.
When I began employment at the
Native American Resource Center in
1986, I wanted to apply holistic
anthropology in the land of the
Lumbee. The Native American
Resource Center, in the heart of
Lumbee Country, is a museum and
research institute of The University of
North Carolina at Pembroke. The
Center's mission is to educate and
serve the public concerning the
prehistory, history, culture, art and
contemporary issues of American
Indians. It seemed to me then that one
important activity of The Center ought
to be an attempt to situate the Lumbee
within the broadest possible context,
in order to understand them better as a
culture and a people.
The Indians of Robeson County,
in southeastern North Carolina, are the
I
largest concentration of Native
Americans east of the Mississippi
River. They are mostly Lumbee
people, around 40,000 in their home
county alone, with a few relations who
prefer to focus on acknowledgment of
the Tuscarora part of their ancestry.
Whilealtogether they constitute a large
group, they are a people whose history
is among the least understood of any
ethnic group in America.
Limited understanding of their
past results from several historical
realities. Not the least of these is the
fact that before the founding of an
Indian Normal School here in 1887
there was very little literacy in the
community. The period before the
American Revolution is especially
critical in this concern, because it was
during this time that the Lumbee
community was apparently evolving
into the form from which its presentlyrecognizable
state derived ? a period
when what we see now began to be
shaped by the diseases and culture of
the new Americans.
During this period when
sweeping changes were taking place
in the lives of Indians of this region,
virtually nothing was written by
Indian people themselves. Very little
which contributes to our
understanding of them was written by
anyone else. Thus modern historians
have been left with a view of Lumbee
history predominantly based on a few
frequently biased and sometimes
completely wrong observations and
interpretations by outsiders. At a time
when the best and most revealing
historical and cultural information
could have been recorded, it generally
was not.
In the absence of many reliable
written records ? those made by or
at least verified by the people
. .. I
themselves ? oral history has play ed
an important role in modem attempts
to comprehend the past of the
Lumbee. This has been at once
instructive and, to some extent,
confusing. Part of the confusion arises
from the fact that different families in
the Indian community have different
oral traditions about the community's
history.
Some families pass down the
tradition that their ancestors moved
into Robeson County from elsewhere,
from any of several Indian tribal
sources (Cheraw, Hatteras, Tuscarora,
etc.). Some families believe that they
have always been right where they are
now, along the banks and tributaries of
the Lumbee River. Some believe that
among their ancestors are members of
John White's famed Lost Colony of
the 1580s, who were probably absorbed
by the coastal Indian population around
the turn of the 17th century. Virtually
every oral tradition reported by any
family has its equally-vocal
detractors.
All share a common awareness of
their Native American heritage, but
there are long-standing internal
debates about the details of their
history. However, this apparent'
confusion is exactly what one would
predict would be the present case given
the amalgamated nature of the
community. People combined from
various sources tell differing stories of
how they came to be combined.
In the next segment, we will
continue discussion of the Lumbee in
context. 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).
A Thank you note to
supporters of Relav for Life
To the Editor.
There are a great many charities
and functions that need our support,
both financially and in other areas
Among the many that are worthy, one
of the ones closest to my own heart is
Cancer Research. Because 1 am a cancer
survivor, this research is of vital
importance to me. It is my hope that
one day there will be a cure for cancer,
in my life time that will eliminate the
need for Chemotherapy and Radiation
While these treatments are good
and I am thankful for them, researchers
are hoping and working towards a
treatment and cure that has less distressing
side affects. I hope to see that
achieved in my life time
Recently I participated in the Relay
for Life, a fund-raising effort held
each year with the monies to be used
mam MmMW?B
tor cancer research. As usual, when I
participate, I include many people. I
. am not hesitant to ask for donations.
And many people are always ready it
seems to assist. I am thankful for all
those who helped to make this year's
Relay successful. I am especially
thankful to the Lumbee River Electric
Membiership Corporation's Board of
Directors and the employees there.
They gave individual donations and
encouraged me as 1 walked with other
supporters of the Relay. 1 wish to
publicly thank them and the many
others who are always willing to "lend
a helping hand." You know, our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ requires that
we have compassion and help others.
That was his ministry and as Christians
it should be ours.
Sincerely yours,
Madie Rae Lock tear
Prospect Community
(NAPS)?Recently Baileys Irish
Cream and Bon Appitit selected
the Baileys Irish Cream Espresso
Bread Pudding as the winner of
their Pastry Recipe Contest.
Twenty U.S. pastry chefs were
invited to participate. The bread
pudding uses an espresso bread,
created by James Wagner, executive
pastry chef at The Mansion
On Turtle Creek. The bread is
then drenched in Baileys Irish
Cream custard and topped with
crumbled chocolate walnut cookies.
The full recipe can be found on
the Internet at www.baileys.com.
A recent study by Volunteers of
America, a nonprofit human service
organization, provides valuable
insight into the causes of
homelessness. The study, conducted
at homeless shelters in
four states, concluded that the
strong American economy of the
past decade has helped create a
new category of homeless people:
working homeless families. This
can have a devastating effect on
children and the organization
urges full funding for programs
meant to help end homelessness.
For more information, visit
www.volunteersofamerica.org.