Editorial And
Opinion Page
AS I SEE ITr
, Bruce Barton
?? f.?
My dear readers, check this ouL I recommend this program
highly and am an integral part of it 1 believe the Lumbee
River Fund will be a great umbrella under w hich we may explore
our past, present and future with much clarity and purpose.
Let us hear from you. I hope you will participate when
we come tp-your community.
Top Ten Indkolots Thol Earth Is On The Edge
I. Fifty percent cl the worlds forests hcse bun
cleared ond demand for wood is growing
2 Fifty fiie percent of al giassionds on susceptible
to drought
3 forty portent of the world's population wffm
senouswoter shottoges
4 Seventy ftvo perient of the world s major marine
fisheries ore ofreody depleted or fished at their Iwnrt
5 The world s heshwoter wetlands hove been
reduced by OS ttiudt OS fifty perrent worldwide
4 Demand for rid, wheot ond mailt is expected to
grow forty percent pushing woter demand up fifty
percent or mote
7 Nearly 40 percent of coco reefs ore at risk
I klmost sixty percent of the world's largest 227
rivers hove been strongly fragmented by dams
diversions or conak
9. Global temperatures hove alreody risen by I.I
degites Fahrenheit over the lost 100 yeors
10 Since 1940, the world's populotion has grown 30
Scent to six billion ond is eiperted to grow to nine
on in the neit SO yeors. ^j?)
Toys that combine together
have long been popular favorites
with children.
Interested in
? i
j Lumbee History and Culture?
1 i
Wajrt" to receive) free training in
Oral History and Photography?
Want to preserve
Your Own Family History?
Want to teach your students to
Preserve their Past?
The Lumbee River Fund is launching Telling Our Own Stories, a photography
and oral history project that documents Lumbee history from local perspectives. It
is funded by the North Carolina Humanities Council. We will work together to
preserve family photographs, gather oral histories with elders, and contribute to
archives that remain in the Indian community for teachers and students to use.
We especially need teachers to tell us how best to preserve our past and teach
young people to appreciate our culture. We plan to hold community meetings and
training sessions in Robeson County in August and September. These hands-on
workshops will introduce you to preservation methods and skills and give you a chance
to incorporate cultural preservation into the classroom. All events are free
of charge and materials will be provided.
You can teach us how to make these workshops beneficial for teachers. If you'd
like to participate or want more information, please send your name, address, and
email address to:
The Lumbee River Fund
Malinda Maynor, Coordinator
PO Box 1499 Pembroke, NC 28372
phone: 910-521-9513 email: mmavnor@nc rr.com
The Lumbee River Fund is a project of UNC Pembroke in collaboration with PSRC's Indian Education
Resource Center, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, and individuals in non-profit
and educational institutions in Robeson County and the state of North Carolina.
New Book Calls Christians Toward
"Fit" Minds, Bodies and Spirits
Lumberton, NC-Was Jesus fit
mentally? Physically? Spiritually?
How may have fitness assisted Jesus
as He taught, dealt with Satan and
even as He died? Why was Jesus
trained as a carpenter? Questions such
as these (ire presented in Christian
Fitness An Approach to Mind, Body
and Spirit. It provides a new way of
viewing Jesus' life as an example
which may inspire today's Christians
toward a greater level of active living
for God
The uniqueness and applicability
of this book is furthered by inclusion
of ideas which may be reproduced in
churches wanting to include wellness
and fitness into their programs Emphasis
on the whole Christian should
increase the number of "well" members
able to minister within the church
body and to the world.
Chapters highlighting areas which
tend to be problematic for both Christians
and non-Christians show that
life-styles which weaken the body
may also hinder a believer's ability to
work for God Ideas and some re
sources are noted to help with problems
of tobacco use, lack of activity and
abuse of good
Christian Fitness An Approach to
Mind, Body and Spirit is new, unique
and applicable to today's Christians!
In the Foreword by Rev Dr. Mike
Cummings, Director of Missions, Burnt
Swamp Baptist Association, and President,
North Carolina Baptist State
Convention, it states: "You may find it
interesting that a medical professional
offers biblical foundations for her views
on healthy living The uniqueness of
this book is just that. Many who write
with scripture as background are trained
in tile specialized fields of theology or
biblical studies. This book reveals a
lavperson'sinsight into Jesus' own health
habits and life-style. Simple details
about Jesus as a person who undertook
physical labor as a carpenter prove His
value for hard work and good health,
for instance. She is faithful to the truth
of scripture but to demonstrate the reality
that the external is often defined by
the internal and the natural by the spiritual."
Lisa Huggins Oxendinc, author of
Christian Fitness an Approach to
Mind, Body and Spirit, founded
Christian Wellness Ministries to encourage
and support active Christian
living. She is employed as a physician
assistant, serves as Co-Chair of
the Robeson County Asthma Coalition
and is a board member of a
newly formed interfaith group to develop
and implement a faith based
approach to the varied needs of
people
Her presentation topics include
tobacco, fitness, wellness, and
asthma. She has taught tobacco cessation
in a Christian environment
and authored God's Breath-Writing
to God While Quitting Tobacco
($11.00) which helps Christians to
focus on God while discontinuing
tobacco use.
Christian Fitness an Approach
to Mind, Body and Spirit and God's
Breath Writing To God While Quitting
Tobacco are available by
sending check or money order to
Lisa Huggins Oxcndinc, 2007
Iluggins Road, I.umberton, NC
28360.
unavis &
Anderson
to Wed
Carol Anderson of Louisville,
Kentucky and Mr. & Mrs. Peter
Anderson of Granbury, Texas announce
the engagement of their
daughter, Carrie Faith Anderson of
Fairfax, Virginia, to Sean Lenare
C ha vis He is the son of Francine
Chavis of Pembroke and Michael
Cummings of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The wedding will be held at 6:30
p.m . September 15,2001, in the First
Presbyterian Church in Arlington,
Texas
Carol Anderson A Sean l.enare Cha\is
Americans Recognize
Healthy Foods But Aren't
Eating Enough Of Them
(NAPS)?When it comes to eating
right, most Americans can
talk the talk. But when it comes
to walking the walk, they're a step
behind. A recent Gallup purvey of
1,000 primary grocery shoppers
revealed notable discrepancies
between what consumers believe
about healthful foods and what
they actually eat.
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con ujjji jrid, bfoftH-r dotod pfoMoon
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by Dr. Stan Knick, Director, UNCP Native American Resource Center
Last week we began discussion of
the Lumbee in context. The purpose
of this discussion is to move in the
direction of a more full understanding
of the Lumbee in the broadest possible
context. But what does it mean to say:
"the Lumbee in context?" The
English noun "context" originates from
the Latin verb coniexere, which means
"to weave together." Nowadays the
word is taken to mean the background
and environment of a particular thing
? everything that surrounds and thus
may help to define a thing. In
language studies we may speak, for
example, of the context of a sentence
? the parts immediately next to or
near a specific word which help to
determine that word's exact meaning.
Take the written word which is
spelled 1-e-a-d. Is this the word which
means "a soft gray metal element," or
is it the word which means "to show
the way by going before?" When the
word stands alone, its meaning may be
unclear. But when we see the word in
context by surrounding and
connecting it to other words and ideas,
the meaning becomes more apparent
(as in the sentence: "Joe was chosen as
the one who will lead us into town to
buy lead pencils.")
So it is with human beings and
their cultures. We may know
something about the Scots, but we will
have a better chance of understanding
them by seeing them in the broader
context of the Irish, the Norsemen, the
English and the French. We may know
something about nineteenth century
events, but we will better understand
them by seeing them in the context of
eighteenth and twentieth century
events.
An attempt to situate the Lumbee
within a broad context requires
patience, just as weaving requires
patience. Itnecessitatessiftingthrough
strands of evidence and interpretation,
searching for paiiems in the weave.
Such a process should address several
questions relating to: the nature of
evidence and interpretation as means
to understanding; the possible
consolidating role of an
anthropological or holistic view; the
specific evidence available from
various sources relating to the
Lumbee; and the interpretations which
can be drawn from the existing
evidence.
But what is evidence?
An elder gentleman from a
farming community walks into a
museum with a shoe box. From it he
draws an object wrapped in
newspaper and says: "I was poking
around in my back yard and I found an
ancient artifact. It's like nothing I've
everseen.soitmustbeveryold. Itwas
made by Indians long ago. See, it has
arrows carved in it!"
The museum curator looks at the
object and instantly recognizes a
recent machine-made ceramic bowl.
It is one of many thousands just like it
made in Hong Kong or Singapore,
available in many tourist shops. He
tells the gentleman that the bowl is
actually modem, despite its partial
covering of soil and its arrows around
the rim.
The elder doesn't believe it. He
says: "You must be mistaken. How
could it have been out there in the dirt
in my garden if it were something
new? It must be very old. And see
these arrows, who else but Indians
would put arrows on a bowl?"
The curator explains that the
method of manufacture is revealed by
the mold-lines on the vessel. Hepoints
out that other people besides Indians
use arrows, and have done so for many
centuries. He shows the elder some
examples of authentic pre-Columbian
ceramics from the region, and talks
about the differences in method of
construction, surface treatment, color
and texture of the clay.
B ut the elder goes away believing
that the curator simply doesn't know
his subject. The bowl goes on the
elder's mantel and be tells his kinfolk
that this ancient artifact is proof that
Indians lived in bis back yard
sometime long ago. The word spreads.
The local newspaper hears about
the artifact. Anxious for human
interest stories, they run a story about
tbeelderandhisprize. The text tells of
the exciting discovery of the bowl and
gives the elder's account of the bowl* s
ancient origin.
A reader of the newspaper sees
the photograph and the story and tells
his family about It over supper. Years
later a student doing late-night library
research about the community comes
across the newspaper story in
microfilm, and the "ancient artifact"
becomes an element in her paper about
the origins of the community.
In effect, the bowl has been
entered into the record. It has been
seen by persons who accept it on face
value and who draw their own
conclusions from it. It has been taken
as something which reveals,
something which lends to prove or
provide grounds foracertain belief. In
some sense, and to some people, it has
become the truth. It has become
evidence.
B ut.what is evidence, really? What
constitutes evidence in scientific and
historical inquiry? In other words,
what can we accept as evidence?
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 Report to the people from
Rep. Ron Sutton, District 85
On the 72nd working day of the
session, the state Senate began debating
the biggest single issue that
lawmakers will consider for the
next two years.
"The Appropriations Act of
2001" will touch the life of every
resident of North Carolina, either
directly or indirectly. The budget
determines how many teachers are
hired in the public schools and how
mush they will be paid. It sets tuition
for students who attend community
colleges and state universities.
It spells out the number of
judges that serve in courtrooms
across North Carolina.
"While it is the responsibility of
the Senate to submit their budget
first this term, we in the House have
been aggressively preparing our
own version," said Rep. Ron Sutton,
Democrat of Pembroke.
This year, the budget also could
spell out how much some businesses
and citizens will pay in
taxes. Senate budget-writers included
S190.8 million in revenue
from the proposed elimination of
tax preferences and cxemptionsalso
known as loopholes- in the
285-plus page bill.
Beyond specifies, the budget
provides a rough roadmap of where
the Senate wants the state to trav el
for the next two years. It shows
whether North Carolina will launch
bold new programs or trim its sails
to ride out some rough economic
seas.
In keeping with the state's bleak
financial picture, the $ 14.7 billion
budget that won Senate approval
contained no new big-ticket
spending . It cut more than 1.400
jobs from state government but
added 1,300. Almost all os the new
jobs arc in the public schools and
university system because of enrollment
growth.
The Department of Crime Control
and Public Safety would be
abolished and its functions folded
into other state agencies under the
Senate budget.
The cuts were not as severe as
some had feared. No teachers were
eliminated in the public schools,
community colleges or university
system. But advocates for mental
health and social services programs
said their agencies bore a
disproportionate share of the cuts.
The Senate budget bill contained
modest pay raises. Teachers would
receive an average 2.86 percent
salary increase, while state employees
would get a modest $62
raise. That would benefit lowerpaid
employees more than a percentage
increase.
The new spending in the Senate
budget was targeted, with $8 million
allocated to reduce class size
to 15 students per teacher in kindergarten
through third grade in
schools with a high percentage of
at-risk children.
Class size would be lowered to
18 students per teacher in all other
kindergarten classrooms, at a cost
of$25.4 million.
Senate budget-writers said their
task was even tougher than usual
this year because of the state's financial
outlook.
Senate Appropriations co-chair
Fountain Odom of Charlotte said
putting together the budget was
"bne of the most difficult tasks I've
been involved with over my past 12
years in the General Assembly."
After approving the budget bill
on a party-line vote, the Senate sent
the measure to the House, which
will adopt its own version. A conference
committee will then work out
the differences between the two
measures.
"The tentative House version of
the budget is considerably different
form that of the Senate, but both are
dismal," said Rep. Sutton.
According to Rep. Sutton, too
many legislators are more interested
in winning reelection next year than
they are in fixing the State's financial
situation. Everyone knows
about the lawsuits, the flood, the
downturn in the economy, and recent
extensive tax cuts in the 90's,
and all are contributing to our dismal
financial picture. Yet few are
willing to "bite the bullet" and do
what is right for the state and fix
the problem.
"I'm afraid we're going to band
aid ourselves into a deeper financial
dilemma," Sutton said, "instead
of doing what we all know should
be done."
Legislative leaders have a goal of
passing the new spending plan before
July 1 - the start of the new budget
year.
Union Chapel Community Meeting on
Constitution answers many questions
Tribal Council members Jimmy
Goinsand Rhonda Jones Locklear
hosted a community meeting at the
Union Chapel Community Building
on Tuesday night. The purpose of
the meeting was to share information
about the drafting of a tribal
constitution. Making a presentation
as a tribal member was Cynthia
L. Hunt, who is employed with
Lumbec River Legal Services. Ms
Hunt had the opportunity to clear
up some misconceptions held by
some of the community persons in
attendance. Many of them thought
that they were bound by the 1994
Constitution of the Lumbee Tribe
of Cheraw Indians.
Miss Hunt explained that the document
itself was a good document
and the tribe could adopt that particular
one if they chose, but she
explained other options that tribal
members have. Sharing a generic
constitution Ms. Hunt discussed
the need for tribal members to retain
certain rights for themselves
and not allow total control by the
government.
She explained in great detail the
components of a constitution, in
eluding territory and jurisdiction,
membership, the adoption process
and the amendment procedure.
The newly elected government.
Miss Hunt explained must draft a
constitution within one year That
was mandated by the vote for a
tribal council in November. However.
Miss Hunt stressed, "The
power lies with the people. The
tribal council will have only the
powers given to them by the
people."
She explained the reasons for a
constitution at this period in Lumbee
history. Without much clabo
ration on the court case between
the old tribal council and LRDA,
Miss Hunt, explained that the constitution
is necessary to give guidance
to the tribal council and to give
tribal members control and say so
over our own affairs.
Until a constitution is written and
adopted by the people, nothing is
set in stone about the duties of the
tribal council. While there are inherent
rights within a government,
there must be something to govern
by.
The people can retain certain
powers. Miss Hunt said, for example.
the power to recall, power
of initiative and referendum. Also
needing close scrutiny is the future
possibility of gaming and taxation.
These are things that tribal
members need to be aware of and
the members were encouraged to
contact their tribal council representative
and let them know how
they feel. "The only way your representative
can draft a document
that reflects your wishes," Ms.
Hunt, said, "is if you talk to them
and let them know your feelings."
Ms. Hunt explained that historically
the Lumbce had never had
one person to lead them. So something
else to be considered in drafting
the constitution is the qualifications
of the chairman, as well as
the responsibilities of the chair.
A question and answer period
followed and community members
expressed how pleased they were
to receive the information and to
understand that they do not have
to adopt a constitution, if it is presented
and they disagree witn its
content. The people can vote it
down if it is not to their liking.