North Carolina Newspapers

Mary Liveimore Library Pembroke State Library . w Pembroke, NC 2837/ m?^ I? * Established January 18. 1973, Published Each Thursday %? c r 5T > ate [toafeGQ W0&3C- ;!?? ** 2 Pembroke, N.C. "Budding Communicatiue Bridges In A Tri-Racial Setting" Robeson County x I :?_VOLUME. 17 NUMBER 14 ^ THURSDAY. APRIL 6, 1989 ? 25* Pembroke Adopts Resolution to Bring Housing Under town board C? 1/ oy 00111 ivcrns Saying, "My position is the same as before. And 1 believe this would be in the best interest of the town," Councilman Henry Ward Oxendine moved to pass a resolution of intent to abolish the Pembroke Housing Authority Board and bring it under direct control of the town board. Coun cilman Vernon Oxendine second ed the motion and it passed without a dessenting vote. The Board now has 90 days to wait before making a final deci sion as to whether to proceed with its intent. After much discussion between Councilman Larry Brooks and developer Tony Brewington, the board voted to recommend that Town Manager McDuffie Cum mings issue a permit to Mr. Brew ington for the relocation of the Western Auto Store to the building previously housing Wonderland Day Care. In discussion of the proposed new municipal complex, the board agreed to contract with Snowden and Associates, Laurin burg, NC for the design development stage. According to Town Manager McDuffie Cum mings, the new proposal calls for approximately S400 square feet which would not include a cour troom or probation offices, or the purchase of the location, in cluded would be council chambers, administrative offices. the police department, and the jail. He reported that the current building which houses them now could probably be sold for bet ween $50,000-575,000 and with the $50,000 now on hand would give the town well over $500,000 if they submitted the $423, 095 being proposed to the town citizens for approval. The Board is to start looking for a ate to locate the complex. In other business* the board agreed to table North Carolina Natural Gas' request for renewal of their franchise with the town. They are requesting a 20-year franchise compared to the 15 years franchise which is just ex piring. Councilman Harry Oxen dine stated, "Before we grant a new franchise, I hope we consider trying to help people on the West En^i of town and others in town get on line for natural gas too." Permission was also granted to allow Southern Bell to purchase an easement across the town park to provide sevice to persons living on the north side of town. Southern Bell will pay the town $500 for the easement. After entering and exiting ex ecutive session to discuss person nel and taking no action, the Board adjourned until the next monthly meeting. LRDA seeks financial support for federal recognition ; by LRDA Staff - The LRDA Board of Directors -in January voted and approved I the Tribe's 1989 Workplan which I included goals and activities -needed to get the Lumbee -Recognition Bill passed in the 101st Congress. : As part of the plan, is the stan dard lobbying needed to be done by the Tribe's Attorney and -resource people she will need to I work out legislation through the .'House or Senate Hearing Com mittee and to work with the staff of various Congressmen to in form them thoroughly about the Lumbee Bill. The federal and state grants received by LRDA currently can not pay for this cost in D.C. which is of a "lobbying" nature. The LRDA Board also approv ed a plan to raise $50,000 in donations from tribal members and businesses and friends to help finance this cost in D.C. for the attorneys and lobbyists. '- To date, nearly $15,000 has been donated or pledged to help with this cost. A major donation 4f $5,000 was donated by friends and supporters in Baltimore, the Baltimore American Indian Center. A $1,000 donation was received also from the National American Indian Council in Washington, D.C. The Burnt Swamp Baptist Association is helping though a fund set up by that association Cor church members to contribute to which will then be forwarded to LRDA. Individual Tribal members can now contribute to this cause since they will be the primary recipients of the Health and Educational Services which would come with Federal Acknowledgement. The board of directors has established the Lumbee Federal Recognition Fund which is a separate account from all other LRDA monies. Members of the tribe and friends and supporters are being asked to donate to this fund to help fight for the causeof recogn tion. This may be the last chance to legislatively seek Recognition. The process through the Bureau of Indian Affairs could take ten years. If recognition is granted, the elders and children will benefit the tfiost through health care and improved educational oppor tunities. You can help make this possible. Please send any doan tions to the Lumbee Federal Recognition Fund, P.O. Box 68, Pembroke, NC 28372. You are encouraged to take an active part and become part of the team now to help make this happen for the children and elders' sake. March Planned In Rowland For Roger Oxendine A march is planned in Rowland on Saturday, April 22, 1989. Those interested in mar ching will meet at the South Side School on South Walnut Street in Rowland. On Saturday, March 18, 1989, a march was held in Rowland protesting the investigation of Timmy Oxendine's death. The young man was murdered in the motel in Rowland. According to organizers of the march, when the marchers reach ed the downtown area of/ Rowland, they were supposed to assemble in front of the Town Hall. Law officials told them to go to the back of the building. Refusing to be treated like second-class citizens, the organizers said, they disassembl ed and scheduled another walk for April 22, 1989. Anyone interested in justice and equal rights for all Robeson County is urged to attend ant* join the march. 1 1 Dr. Joseph B. Oxendine Robeson County Native to be honored by Temple Alumni April 9 Philadelphia, Pa. Dr Joseph B. Oxendine, a Temple University professor who grew up in Robeson County, NC, W'H be honored by the Temple Utflversity General Alumni Association (GAA) at its annual Founder's Dinner on Sunday, April 9. Dr. Oxendine, a Lumbee In dian who last year published '?American -Indian Sports Heritage." a booF^urffafW Ammtmn uppnm heroes, wHI receive the GAA's Stauffer Award for distinguished faculty service. The award, named for two former Temple faculty members, will be presented at a 5 p.m. con vocation in the ballroom of the Adam's Mark Hotel, City Avenue and Monument Road, in Philadephia. Dr. Oxendine, who was Tem ple's first dean of the College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, has been at the University for nearly three decades. He has served on virtually every important committee at the University. He has been president of the Faculty Senate, a member of the University's Core Cur riculum Committee, president of the Temple chapter of the American Association of Univer sity Professors, and a member of the Graduate Board. One of Temple's most respected scholars, Dr. Oxendine is known for his sense of compas sion, fair play, and equality. His counsel is eagerly sought by students, faculty colleagues and administrators. His teaching has earned him numerous awards. Next month, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Racreatipo and Dance will pre sfllT m?n with the prestigious CkaHaw D.- Henry - Award in Boston for helping to increase in volvment by minorities in the work tff the Alliance. He has given freely of his time outside of Temple University. From 1977 to 1982 he served as president of the Indian Rights Association. Shortly after the siege at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the Federal Government asked him to conduct a sports and recreation woikshop to reduce tension at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The young people he met at Pine Ridge ?depressed with vir tually no aspirations-led him to write "American Indian Sports Heritage," to instill pride and hope among young Native Americans. Dr. Oxendine earned his bachelor's degree from Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, and his master's degree and doctoral degrees from Boston University. Lumbee Bill Enactment will leave tribal decisions in hands of tribal members by Connee Brayboy The Lumbee Recognition Bill is expected to be introduced in the 101st Congress of the United States in the near future. After Senate Hearings lasting year, the Bill failed in efforts to become legislation. Ruth B. Locklear of the LRDA-sponsored Tribal Enrollment Office is optimistic about the passage of the bill this session. "After the Senate Hear ings last year," she said, "members of the Committee of Indian Affairs recommended that hte Bill be introduced which will designate us as the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians." The recom nendation was made, according 11 Locklear, because of the historical significance of the tribal name Cheraw. "This action is certainly not in tended to discount the Lost Col only theory," Locklear said, "But the idea that we are descen dants of the memebers of White's Colony and Indians in the area, is afterall, just a theory." The Bill to recognize the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw .Indians states that the Lumbee Indians are descendants of several North Carolina Eastern Tribes, but principally the Cheraw. The Cheraw Indians are onty one of several Siouan tribes who were residing on Drowning Creek (Lumber River) in the 1700s. Historically, the Cheraw oc cupied the areas trom Drowning Creek to the Pee Dee River in Soulh Caroltna. The Lumbee Petition itself documents these facts and records from the report done by John Reed Swanton of hte Smithsonian Insitute in the 1930s. At that time Indian leaders Jospeh Brooks and James E. (Jim) Chavis werepushing for the introduction in congress of the "Siouan Bill" which would designate Robeson's Indians as Siouans Swanton, an an thropologist, came at the request of Brooks and Chavis to docu ment the origins of Robeson's In dians. His report is used as one verificiation of the Cheraw com munity residing on Drowning Creek in the 1740s Chavis and Brooks were satisfied, apparently, with Swan ton's documentation, and the "Cheraw Bill" was introduced in 1933. This bill failed to pass the required three readings in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cynthia Hunt-Locklear, one of the authors of the Lumbee Peti tion, agrees that the historical tribal name Cheraw has been well documented in the Petition, >4Oral tradition," she said, "as well as historical documentation verifies our right to the name Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw In dians." Ms. Hunt Locklear encourages members of the Tribe to read the Lumbee Petition for the historical information it con tains. The Petition is a matter of public record and a copy is available for review at the Mary Livermore Library on the PSU campus. Copies are also available from the N.C. State Archives and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. When asked about the Tuscarora name, Ruth B. Locklear stated: "I firmly believe there is Tuscarora blood here, but the Cheraw blood and other Siouan blood can definitely be proven. There is no doubt about the Tus/carora lineage, but it is one of many remnants of our heritage." When Federal Recognition is obtained, enrolled members of the tribe will vote on their form of tribal government, as well as elect a tribal council and tribal chairman. LRDA is filling this position only until federal recognition become a reality. The Bill itself makes these provisions and protects the tribe by allowing for elections by tribal members. T*i? Bin states: "Constitution and Membership. Section 4. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw In dians of North Carolina SHALL organize for its common welfare and adopt a constitution and bylaws. Any constitution, bylaws or amendments to the constitu tion and bylaws that are adopted by the tribe MUST be consistent with the terms of this Act and shall take effect only after such documents are filed with the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary SHALL assist the tribe in the drafting of a consitution and bylaws, the conduct of an election with respect to such con stitution, and the reorganization of the government of the tribe under any such constitution and bylaws." Upon enactment of this Bill, the only way that LRDA can act as the governing agent of the tribe is for each- member of the board of directors to run for and be elected in an election that will be conducted by the Department of the Interior, I "...A TIME TO KILL AND A TIME TO HEAL..." ^cdesiastes 3:3 hA SALUTE TO VIETNAM VETERANS tu? ic?k rv:. James A. Locklear who fought in Vietnam was honored with a dinner at the Fellowship Hall of Pembroke Gospel Chapel on February 25, 1989 by his family and loved ones. He was presented a plaque entitled, "Service Award. He gave a summary of his life-threatening experiences in combat. Locklear would like to express his appreciation and love to all who had a part in giving him what was missing from his return home, "A Warm Welcome." I, like over Vietnam Vets, the experience shook me. Life hasn't been the same for me and the veterans who survived the war. The nightmare of Vietnam is not easily forgotten. The memories still haunt me. Even though years have passed, flashbacks live and die as vividly as yesterday. Few people really know or understand Vietnam Vets. Twenty-two (22) years ago I stepped off the aircraft onto the soil of Southeast Asia Vietnam. That first step off the plane was to be the start of the longest year in my life, as I endured the hard ships of war, the misery, almost unbearable circumstances. Great distress of mind, extreme fear, anguish the thought of not see ing home again, and the duration of my "Tour of Duty." I breath ed deeply with anxiety and fear. "The War- What Was It Really Like " It was far away, it was hot, it , was wet, it was bloody, it was deadly, it was Vietnam. That was how Vietnam greeted the American G.I. Vietnam was a jungle war- A Guerrilla War and it seemed the enemy Vietcong was everywhere. The dirtiest war in America's history. A war fought against an almost unseen enemy, [tarkness was our disadvantage and Charlie (Viet Cong) knew it. He usually hit around midnight or just before day break. Brutal to both mind and spirit. All of the grinding discomforts that could wear a man down was there; mosquitoes, rats, leeches, red ants, the hot dry season with no rain, sweat and dust that made the body filthy and smelly and then constant rain...rain..rain, that made the body wet and very uncomfortable, all combine to bring out the best and worst in human nature. I served my "Tour of Duty" from February 1967- Februarv 1968. I was assignd to B Troop Cav., 25th Infantry Division CU CHI Vietnam. Fighting with the Mechanized Infantry. It was the driver and gunner on the M-113 armored mortar personnel carrier with a 4.2 inch mortar mounted on a circular base plate in the hull of the M-113, fire support that could strike at enemy positions, nearly five miles away. Along , with the M-48 tanks, we were known as the " i ropic ugnnn. i was awarded the National Defense Service Hadal, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Vietnam Service Hadal with 3 Bronze Service Stars. The Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for gallantry, was awarded to 135 soldiers during the Viet nam War. Nineteen of the reci pients served in armored units. Land mines were responsible for over fifty percent of armor losses. Cu Chi was one of the largest U.S. Army Base Camps in Viet nam. iiic *.j\n niidiiiiy uivniuu had, early in 1966, pitched its tents right on top of an existing network of Viet Cong tunnels in the heart of CU CHI districts .(Camped on a volcano). Chu Chi base lay 25 miles northwestof Saigon facing the Saigon River, across which was the so-called Iron Triangle. It was, in fact, in the heart of the most tunnel - riddled countiy side in Vietnam. The tunnels of Cu Chi were the battleground for the most har rowing campaign of the Vietnam War. It was a one-to-one war fought in darkness. Armed with often nothing more than knives, pistols, and flashlights. A war between Viet Cong Guerrillas and a small elite group of US volunteers-the tunnel rats The Vietnam movie PLA TOON originated from the 25th Infantry Division. One single battalion of the 23th Infantry Division in Cu Chi fired, in the course of one month, no less than 180,000 shells into the ? Cu Chi District, averaging 4,500 -daily. In one month, throughout South Vietnam, the Americans fired about a trillion bullets, 1C million mortar rounds, and 4.8 million rockets. The TET Offensive of January 1968 was the climax of the war. The men and the weapons for the . attacks in Saigon, Cu Chi and the ? CONTINUED ON PME 4 I I James A. Locklear