Along the Robeson Trail
By Dr. Stan Knick, Director-UNCP Native American Resource Center
(Note: This segment was co-authored
by Dr. LindaE.Oxendine. Along with
the last three segments and the next
few segments, it will soon be
published as a chapter in Native
American Studies in Higher
Education: Models for Collaboration
betH'een Universities and Indigenous
Nations, edited by Duanc Champagne
and Jay Stauss.)
Three weeks ago we began a
scries which looks at the history of
American Indian Studies at the
University of North Carolina at
Pembroke. This is part four of the
series.
More than a century has passed
since that small Indian school began
with fifteen students. Today the
University of North Carolina at
Pembroke has over 3,000 students,
fifty-five major programs, forty-one
minor programs, nine graduate
programs and twenty-two academic
buildings. The University of North
Carolinaat Pembroke is the only school
in the University of North Carolina
system which offers an American
Indian Studies major, and is one of
only two institutions east of the
Mississippi River which confers an
undergraduate degree in American
Indian Studies (the other is
Dartmouth). Today the University of
North Carolina at Pembroke
continues to grow and progress in
curricular offerings as well as physical
facilities.
Back in the 1970s, one of the
people who was involved in the saving
ofOldMainwas Dr. Adolph Dial, then
professor of history at the University.
Dial realized that something more than
just the preservation of the building
was needed to augment recognition of,
and pride in, the school's origins as an
educational institution for Native
Americans. He knew that with the
celebration of heritage comes the
t'&ftjl V:".
acknowledgment that such a legacy of
the past would also be the challenge of
the future.
Professor Dial had been teaching
American Indian history courses for
some time, but he knew that in order
for true justice to be done to such a
complex topic as the study of Native
America it would be necessary to
develop and offer more than a few
courses. From the department's
formalization in 1972, a
multidisciplinary approach was taken.
Professors were incorporated from
Philosophy and Religion (Robert
Gustafson), from Art (Ralph Steeds),
from 1 listory (David Eliades) and from
Communicative Arts (Robert Reising).
The Old Main Commission,
founded in 1973 in response to the
plan to destroy (he landmark, and led
by local community members,
provided the perfect complement.
Professor Dial's vision was shared by
the Commission, and together they
worked to establish a museum
focusing on Native America as an
enhancement to the nascent academic
department of American Indian
Studies. But it would be eleven more
years before the department would
grow sufficiently to offer a
baccalaureate degree,
Dial's vision of the department
was that it should seek to appreciate
Native America from as many angles
as possible ? history and culture to
be sure, but also prehistory, literature,
art, philosophy and so on ? seeing
Native Americans not only as the
central figures in ancient America, but
as active participants in present-day
and future America. He and others
foresaw a museum and an academic
department of American Indian
Studies which would literally stand in
the gap between the proud Native
American heritage of the University
and the bright future which lay ahead,
. i . * * ? "
as the school negotiated the
mainstream of North Carolina's
University system.
The next major step in the
collective vision of Dial and the Old
Main Commission was the opening of
the Native American Resource Center
in 1979. What began as a collection
focusing on the local Native American
community gradually expanded to
include art and artifacts from other
areas of Native America. Exhibits
were developed to help the public
glimpse the world of the Eastern
Woodlands, the Southwest and the
Plains. From north of the Arctic Circle
to south of the Equator, exhibit items
came to tell the story of diverse Native
American cultures.
As time went by, the Native
American Resource Centerdeveloped
into a multifacctcd museum and
research institute of the University.
The Center's mission is to educate the
general public about die prehistory,
history, culture, art and contemporary
issues of American Indians, with
special emphasis on the Robeson
County Native American community;
to conduct scholarly research; to
collect and preserve the material
culture of Native America when
appropriate; to encourage Native
American artists; to support and
enhance the American Indian Studies
Department; and to cooperate on a
wide range of projects with local,
regional, national and international
agencies concerned with Native
America.
Next week we will continue
looking at the history of American
Indian Studies at UNC Pembroke. 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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INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH CELEBRATION
M the Indian Education Resource Center
(old Pembroke "Indian" High School building
located next door to UNC-Pembroke chancellor's residence)
A KICK OFF
CELEBRATION
HERALDING
INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
FOR 2001
CNovember 5,2001
MONDAY )
12 NOON
NOVEMBER 2001 IS
INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
Tours of our art gallery, museum, grounds and library are
conducted throughout the month ofNovember and the year
by appointment Call Bruce Barton at 910-521-2054 for
more Information. We especially invite teachers to bring
their students here for an enriching educational outing.
Please come to a special screening of
In the Light of Reverence
a documentary film
Produced and Directed by Christopher McLeod
Co-Produced by Malinda Maynor (Lumbee)
Thursday, November 8, 2001, 1:30 PM
Native American Resource Center
Old Main, UNC Pembroke
Discussion with Malinda Maynor
How would you feel if someone tried to drive a truck
through your church? In the Light of Reverence, an
award-winning documentary film, addresses this threat
to religious freedom and cultural tradition for three
American Indian communities: the Lakota at Devils
Tower in Wyoming, the Hopi in the Four Corners
area of the Southwest, and the Wintu at Mt. Shasta in
California. Robert Rcdford says of In the Light of
Reverence, "This beautifully-crafted film is a wake-up
call for everyone who cares about the environment and
human rights."
For more information, go to www.sacredland.org
Watch the broadcast on UNC-TV:
Tuesday, November 27, 9:00 PM (check local listings)