Published each Thursday in Pembroke, N.C.
CAROLINA INDIAN VOICE
"Building Communicative Bridges In A Tri-Racial Setting" L ljbr^ov j
Volume 28 dumber 34 ; thursda y, august 23,2001 1 25c
Mountain Chamber Players
at UNCP August 29
Pembroke, ,\C-The 2001-2002
Moore Hall Recital Series at the University
ofNorth Carolina at Pembroke
kicks off 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, August
29, with the Mountain Chamber
Players. Admission is free.
The Mountain Chamber Players perform
a variety of musical styles and
reach diverse audiences. Their concerts
are designed to educate as well
as entertain and uplift the spirit. They
feature combinations of nine instruments.
The Mountain Chamber Players consist
of Rita Hayes, flute and piccolo,
Yuki Harding, oboe and English hom,
David Kirby, clarinet and saxophone,
Jennifer Hart Merrell, hom, Carol
Cope Lowe, bassoon and Katherine
Morgan Palmer, piano.
The group has been entertaining audiences
in Western North Carolina and
elsewhere since 1998., They have
collaborated with a numberof notable
talents including Eric Ewazen, composer
on the faculty of the Julliard
School of Music.
Mr. Ewazen described the Mountain
Chamber Players as, "An exciting and
extraordinary chamber music group.
They are individually virtuoso instrumentalists.
Together they are so
musical, displaying a wide variety of
colors and musical expressions. Their
performance of my music was among
the finest I have heard."
The Raleigh News and Observer said
the "Brevard group gives life to new
music. Not all new music will liv eon.
but it needs a forum to be judged.
These talented, committed players
deserve credit for providing such a
platform."
Admission to this series is free,, and
the public is always welcome to the
Moore Hall Recital Series.
"We have another exciting and dU
verse venue," said series publicist
Gail Morfesis. Pembroke is just a
short trip for such a great musical
journey.
Here is the concert scheduled: (All
concerts are Wednesday, 10:15 a.m.)
Opera Carolina will perform "Hansel
and Gretel" on October 17.
Pianist Valerie Zamora will perform
November 7.
Danny and June Infantino will performaguitarandfluteconcertJan.23,
.
22002.
"Of Ebony Embers" the Harlem Renaissance
Show performed by the Core
Ensemble Trip, February 13.
Damon Short and Paul Screa Quartet
perform a jazz concert March 20.
Steve Hunter, pianist, performs an all
Chopin program on April 17.
"It is a diverse and talented group of
performers that will appear on our
Moore Recital Hall stage," Ms.
Morfesis said.
Questions about this or other UNCP
music program may be directed to the
Music Department at (910) 521 -6230.
Big Sweep 2001
BIG SWEEP, North Carolina's annual clean-up of our waterways and shorelines,
will be held on the Lumber River on Saturday, September 15th from 9
am until 1 pm. Neill Lee, Robeson County Big Sweep Coordinator, is looking
for individuals and organizations who are interested in volunteering to clean
up the Lumber River by boat or at bridges and landings along the river.
After not being able to clean the river in September of 1999 due to flooding
on the river from hurricane Floyd, the citizens of Robeson County and river
lovers from all over responded with a record number of volunteers for BIG
SWEEP 2000, Last September 159 volunteers spent a Saturday moming picking
up 24,000 lbs. of trash tossed into the Lumber River by thoughtless litterbugs.
Across North Carolina 16,104 volunteers picked up 596,477 lbs. of
trash from our state's waterways and shorelines.
Unfortunately these same inconsiderate litterbugs have had another year to
pollute the Lumber River with their drink bottles, worm cups, fishing line,
tires, cigarette butts, styrofoam containers, oil containers, dead animals and
whatever else they could find to throw in the river.
To volunteer to clean up after these Lumber River polluters or for more
information, contact Neill Lee at Lumber River State Park at (910)628-9844.
Your help and support will be appreciated!
Dr. Williamson
to His Surgical <
One of Southeastern Regional
Medical Center's longtime surgeons
and senior partner of Lumberton Surgical
Associates hung up his operating
gown and gloves at the end of
June. Warren L. Williamson, M.D.,
who arrived in Lumberton in 1973,
has retired from a surgical career that
spanned nearly three decades in Robeson
County.
At a retirement dinner held in his
honor by the SRMC Board of Trustees
on August 17 at the Southeastern
Agricultural Center, fellow physicians,
friends, and family paid tribute
to Dr.Williamson for the many contributions
he has made to the health
and well being of the community.
"Long after we have forgotten the
year Warren Williamson began his
career here or the year he decided to
retire, we will remember the difference
he made in the lives of everyone
he has touched," said Luckey Welsh,
SRMC president and CEO. SRMC
Medical Staff President Ben Gasque,
M.D., praised Dr. Williamson for his
surgical skills and his excellent rap
port with other medical center physicians.
On behalf of the medical staff,
Dr. Gasque presented a portrait of the
honoree to be hung in the medical
center.
"It was a good day for our hospital,
our citizens and our community when
Warren and Evelyn decided to come
to Lumberton," said Randy Rust,
chairman of the SRMC Board of
Trustees. He presented the couple
with a crystal tower award engraved
with the years of service at SRMC.
The formal presentations were followed
by toasts and roasts from fellow
physicians, family and friends.
Included were Drs. Peter Villani, Sam
Britt II and Ronald Beasley. Office
Nurse Rebecca Thompson, SRMC
Director of Health Information Services
Betty Hall, children Elizabeth
and Michael, and brother Parker
Williamson provided a lighthearted
look at the Dr. Williamson's roles as
surgeon, employer, father and younger
brother.
A native of Charlotte, Dr.
Williamson grew up 'around
Davidson, N.C., and his family often
vacationed at their summer home in
Montreat. After his father joined Louisiana
State University as a professor
of political science, the family developed
strong ties to Louisiana where
Dr. Williamson earned his undergraduate
degree with honors from
Louisiana State University in Baton
Rouge in 1963.
"1 knew my calling early. By the
time I was in eighth grade, I knew that
I wanted to become a surgeon," he
, harm service Agency Seeks County
Committee Candidates
The Farms Service Agency (FSA) is looking for candidates for the farmerelected
County Committee election to be held this fall. "It is crucial that every
, eligible agricultural producer take part in this election because county committees
are a direct link between the farm community and the US Department
of Agriculture," says Giles B Floyd, Robeson/Scotland FSA, County Executive
Director. "The County Committee system needs everyone to get involvedfrom
voters to committee candidates. Almost anyone eligible to take part in a
local FSA program may be a candidate for the committee."
Nomination forms can be obtained from FSA County offices. Completed
nomination forms are due back to the FSA office by October 29. FSA will
notify nominees and mail election ballots to eligible voters in mid-November,
and completed ballots will then be due back to FSA offices by December 3.
The election will end December 10, and elected members and alternates will
take office January 1, 2002.
FSA County Committees make decisions on: commodity price support
loans and payments; establishment of allotments, yield and marketing quotes;
farmer loans; and other farm disaster assistance.
"The County Committee is an important part of the service delivery of the
USDA. We'd like to include more farmers in nontraditional operations and
peoples who livelihoods depend on farming", said Floyd. "We're also looking
for small farmers, specialty crop farmers, truck farmers, and spouses or business
partners- anyone who would be able to add some new or different experiences
to their Local County Committee."
For more information contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office
at (910)739-3349.
I *
The Carolina Indian Voice is published every Thursday
by First American Publications.-207 Union Chapel
Road-Pembroke, NC 28372. Publisher-Bruce Barton.
Editor-Connee Brayboy. See Editortate-oe-Page 2;
Obituaries on Page 5; Classifieds on Page 9.
The Carolina Indian Voice is a weekly publication owned
and operated by Indians and has been publishing continuously
since 1973.
Heritage Kits set record straight about native Americans
Nashville, TN- Resources that debunk
myths and stereotypes of Native
Americans and give guidance for
teaching Vacation Bible School to
native children are being released in a
heritage kit and sent to all annual
conferences and resource center of
the United Methodist Church.
The Native American Communication
Office, a unit of United
Methodist Communications, has produced
a "Sharing the Heritage Kit"
that contains facts about native people,
booklets, cassettes, videos, computer
diskettes, and other information and
materials.
Dancing With a Brave Spirit: Telling
the Truth About Native America,
is one of the kit's offerings.. This
revised publication seeks to clarify
many of the widely held myths and
beliefs about native people.
Dancing was first produced in 1999
as a response by native organizations
and tribes to the amount of misinformation
surrounding native people, said
Ray Buckley, director of the Native
American Communications Office.
The first booklet was distributed to
members of the U.S. Congress, tribal
offices, several denominations, delegates
to the 2000 United Methodist
General Conference and to the press.
Due to the acclaim and enthusiastic
endorsement of the first booklet
and because of a need for updated
information, an expanded second edition
for 2001 -2004 has been released.
The revision includes more coverage
of Alaska natives, the unique status of
certain tribes, more cultural informa
tion and a more comprehensive synopsisof
issues affectingnative people.
Buckley said Native America is
ever changing and thosechanges bring
about new perceptions about native
people, some positive and some negative.
The revised Dancing booklet includes
three sections: questions and
answers about native people; native
people and United Methodist; and a
directory of organizations working
with native people.
Another resource in the kit, "Seeing
Through Native Eyes," was
developed to provide culturally relevant
tools for Vacation Bible School
among Indian people. The communications
office along with the Native
American Comprehensive Plan
brought together a team of native educators
in 1999 and again in 2000 to
share ideas and concerns regarding
the teaching of native children.
According to Buckley, the critical
conclusion form both meetings was
that native people learn best when
culturally relevant tools are used.
Cultural considerations among American
Indians are currently employed in
public schools and colleges but have
never been fully addressed in the
church, he said.
Native children growing up on reservations
or those being raised in
communities where tribal traditions
are still strong often have very different
concepts of appropriateness and
etiquette, said Buckley, who is a
member of the Tlingit/Lakota tribes.
As an example, he noted that na
tive children will not raise their hands
to respond to a question even i they
know the answer. "Educators who are
not familiar with native traditions will
assume that these ch ildren do not work
well in social settings and place them
in remedial education," he said. "The
result is that many of our rural children
drop out of school by fifth grade
and those that do stay usually give
up."
Teaching native children in mainstream
education without identifying
cultural differences has been ineffective,
he said. "It's like serving soup
with a slotted spoon. It just doesn't
work. We have never developed a
method of teaching Christian education
that will help native people."
"Seeing Through Native Eyes,"
which has been sent to all native congregations
in the denomination, is a
study of native cultures and includes
illustrations designed to strengthen
and illustrate Christian beliefs.
"We have deliberately avoided
accessing native relations, out of respect
for them, and have focused on
cultural elements," said Buckley. "We
have a strong commitment to the belief
that by affirming culture, we also
affirm self-identify."
The historical relationship between
the United Methodist Church and Indian
people Is largely carried in the
memory of elders and is being lost,
Buckley said. In an effort to preserve
the stories and information about historical
events, the "Elders Project"
was initiated in 1999 and is an ongo
ing initiative of the communications
office. Stories from older people are
being recorded and sent to the United
Methodist Commission on Archives
and History and specific tribal communities.
Each story an elder provides is
copyrighted in that elder's name and
becomes the r.operty of that elder,
Buckley explained. "In native tradition,
a person's story belongs to them
and should only be told by them. It is
considered rude to tell someone else's
story."
A Native American Hymn Preservation
program is another on-going
effort todocument native culture, heritage
and songs. Tribal hymnsare being
digitally recorded to preserve them
for future generations. The communications
office has recorded hymns
from Montana, Alaska, and the Oklahoma
Indian Missionary Conference.
A compact disc featuring hymns recorded
live at the 2001 session of the
Oklahoma Indian Missionary and representing
11 tribes will be available in
October.
Some of the resources available in
the Sharing of the Heritage Kit also
may be found, without graphics, on
the Native American Communications
Office Web site:
www.naco.umcom.org. The site also
containscultural information and links
to native sites and educational institutions.
For more information about Native
American resources contact
Buckley at naco@umcom.or or (615)
742-5414.
Says Good-bye
Career at SRMC
said. "No particular person influenced
ne although my mother was a nurse."
As a student in an accelerated program.
he completed his degree in three
years rather than four. Afterwards he
earned a medical degree from the LSU
School ofMedicine in New Orleans
in 1966 and spent a year of internship
in Shreveport before his training was
interrupted by the Vietnam War. During
that conflict, he served as a flight
surgeon with the rank of captain from
1967 to 1968. It was also in 1968 that
military service sent him to California
where he married his wife of
thirty-three years, Evelyn.
After completing his residency
training in 1973, he and his bride arrived
in Lumberton that August to
begin their new lives. Both his children-Michael
and Elizabeth- grew
up in Lumberton and attended schools
here. Michael and his wife, former
Stacie Caulder, have one daughter, 20month-old,
Sarah Whitman.
"I decided to come to Lumberton
because the need for a general surgeon
was so great in the county," he said.
"Also Doug and Carolyn Clark came
down to personally recruit us."
By 1975, Dr. Williamson and the
late surgeon, Dr. Douglas Clark, had
cofounded Lumberton surgical associates
with an office on West 27th
Street. Dr. Williamson has also been
active in recruiting other surgeons to
the medical community. Dr. Peter
Villani came from West Virginia in
1980; Dr. Sam Britt II joined the practice
in 1985; and Dr. Steve Muscoreil
an-ived in July 2000.
Dr. Williamson's professional life
has been an extremely full one. He has
been certified by the American Board,
of Surgery since 1974. He became a
fellow of the American College of
Surgeons in 1976. Not only is he
known for his excellent patient care,
hi is also an active member of the
medical staff, serving on committees
and in each office of leadership, including
president of that group from
1994-95. In addition to these duties,
he has devoted much time to teaching
to young doctors, physician assistants,
and medical students as well. He has
also dedicated himself to hospital
quality and utilization issues in order
to improve patient care and the appropriate
use of hospital resources.
His is a life member of the North
Carolina Medical Society as well as a
member of the Southeastern Surgical
Congress and the Southern Medical
Association. He has also served as
assistant consulting faculty of duke
LifeFlight-Lumberton from 1997 until
2001. He was the first medical director
for Hospice of Robeson when
it was established in 1985. He served
as a medical examiner for Robeson
County from 1987 until 2001.
When asked how he will spend his
retirement. Dr. Williamson replied
with a ling list of activities. He expects
to devote more time and energy
to his favorite pastime, bicycling. He
and his wife want to visit with his
mother and his wife's parents in Louisiana
as well as with their 20-monthold
granddaughter and the second
grandchild when it arrives.
Aleshia J. Hunt Completes
TRIBES Program
Miss Aleshia J. Hunt, a recent 2001
Magna.Cum Laude graduate, of
Fairmont High School, recently completed
the Tribal Resource Institute in
Business, Engineering, and Science
(TRIBES) program afBie unTversity
of New Mexico. Along with 30 other
Native American students from across
the United States. She proudly represented
the entire southeastern region
of the United States. The TRIBES
program is highly competitive, the
applicant has to be well-rounded in
both societies. Western and Indigenous.
To qualify for the program the
applicant has to have a 3.5 or greater
GPA, ranked in the top 5% of the
class, be involved in extra curricular
activities and community activities,
and be a Native American Indian.
While attending the program at the
university, she completed several college
courses. She was awarded college
credits and a total of $4,000.00
in scholarships. Aleshia was also
awarded a $500.00 scholarship
through North Carolina Native American
Youth Opportunity (NCNAYO)
when she was named "Female Youth
of the Year." She served as NCNAY O
Vice-Chairperson (Lumbee Tribe).
Other extra curricular activities in
which she has participated at Fairmont
High School are Senior Student of
Excellence (1st Semester, 2000),
Workforce Apprentice Program with
The Ostemeck Company, Beta Club
(President and Member), softball,
Band, FHS Quiz Bowl Member,
American Indian Science and Engineering
Society, Native American Student
Association and Clan Mother.
NC Scholars, Who's Who Among
High School-Students, National
Honor Society, AISES summer education
program at University of Wisconsin
(summer 1997), University of
Colorado (summer 1998 and summer
2000), Washington State (2000), and
she attends Pleasant View Baptist
Church.
Miss Hunt will be attending East
Carolina University where she plans
to major in Anthropology and Native
American Studies. Her primary studies
will be the Eastern Woodland
Tribes.
Aleshia J. Hunt is the daughter of
James Clayton Hunt and Linda Oxendine
Hunt and the granddaughter of
the late Bemice Hunt and the late
Learon Oxendine and Rosie Lee Oxendirie.
Jessica Oxendine, "Strike
at the Wind" Cast Member .
dies in auto accident
by Vinita Maynor Clark,
Drama Historian
Young Jessica Oxendine of" Red
Springs, who played the role of a
citizen in the outdoor drama. "Strike
at the Wind" lost her life in a car
accident August 15, 2001. Many of
the cast members, espec ial ly the young
teenagers who made up the cast this
year, are devastated by the loss of
their new found friend.
A talented young lady, she was
also joined in the cast this year for the
first time by her brother, Lester Oxendine,
who portrayed the role of
Reynolds. Her cousin. Edward Strickland
(1, has played the role of Steve
Lowrie for the past several years. For
Jessica, this summer was an enjoyable
"family affair."
"Our heartfelt sympathy goes out
to Jessica's parents, Larry and Pearl
Oxendine of the Maxton community.
We hope if this tragedy touches one
child and makes them stay in school
where they are supposed to be, then
her death will not be in vain," this
statement was made by the cast and
crew of the outdoor drama.
Forty-five of the cast members of
the outdoor drama served as Honorary
Pallbearers at the service held at
Salem Missionary Baptist Church in
Maxton on Sunday.
The cast and crew of Strike at the
Wind and the board of directors of the
Robeson Historical Drama Association
express their gratitude to the
family for allowing Jessica to spend
what we hoped were the first of many
summers with us. She will be missed
and will be remembered by us all.
A 2002 Strike at the Wind calendar
was recently created by Vinita Clark
that hasa group picture with Jessica in
it. It can be purchased for $10 by
calling 522-0239.