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Established January 18, 1973, Published Each Thursday ?.
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Pembroke, N.C. "Building Communicative Bridges In A Tri-Racial Setting'' Robeson County
: VOLUME 17 NUMBER 20 THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1989 25? PEI
Love and Gifts Bestowed
Upon Retiring Chancellor
By Gene Warren
; In what was described as an evening of love for and
thanks to "the Chancellor and First Lady of Pembroke
State University" for ten years of service to PSU, retiring
Chancellor Paul Givens and his wife, Lee, were honored
here May 12 with an "Appreciation Dinner" which
attracted a turn-away crowd of 345.
The benediction to the evening by Rev. Welton Lowiy
perhaps summarized best the tributes paid to the
Givenses when he quoted the scriptures in praying:
"What you sow, you reap." Lowry expressed thanks for
the many blessings for the Givens family "witnessed
tonight, and may God continue to bless him and his lovely
wife with good health, and may their best be yet to be."
PSU Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Charles
Jenkins, who along with PSU professor Ann Wells
presented the Givenses with a Memory Book which
contained letters of thanks and appreciation from many of
their friends and colleagues, said: "To see how you are
loved, you simply have to look around this room and see
the calibre of people here. We hope you will not forget us,
and you can be assured that we will not forget you."
Gifts to the Givenses included an electric golf cart with
all the extras for him and a check for purchase of . an
oriental rug for her in furnishing their new home being
constructed in Tampa. Fla. The gifts were presented by
Dr. Joseph Sandlin, PSU executive in residence who said:
"We have felt very, very comfortable in working with you
and very, very happy that you've been here." Sandlin
traced the progressive steps made by Givens at PSU,
including establishing the Chancellor's Scholars Program
and beginning the Economic Development Office.
Sandlin, in telling some light stories about what
retirement will bring in the way of work around the house,
told Dr. Givens: "This golf cart will be at the Temple
Terrace Golf and Country Club (at Tampa, Fla.), and the
key to it has a PSU seal on it I was told to give the key to
Lee so you could use it only when you have finished your
housework."
Sandlin added: "Dr. Givens has been the kind who has
let us do our job. T ve enjoyed my three years here more
than all of the others put together."
Other expressions of thanks to the Givenses were
expressed by Dr. Raymond Dawson, senior vice president
for the UNC General Administration; Dr. Ruth Dial
Woods, a member of the UNC Board of Governors;
Rolland Coulan of Pembroke, a member of the Senior
Class at PSU; Ken Freeman, president of the PSU Alumni
Association; Dr. Chet Jordan, chairman of the PSU
Faculty Senate; and alumna Mary Locklear.
Dr. Dawson said: "It is a great privilege and a great
honor to be at this occasion tonight to pay tribute to Lee
and to you, Paul, for all that you've done for Pembroke
State University -to look at all that has been accomplished
here. You have opened doors that might'not have been
opened. We will always be in your debt for the work
you've done here in 10 yearsand you will always remain
'our colleague and friend." ,
Dr. Woods brought the Givenses greetings from Robert
L (Roddy) Jones, chairman of the UNC Board of
Governors, and spoke of how PSU "is held in high regard
and recognized as a progressive institution" among the
16 constituent institutions in the UNC system. "On this
occasion of your retirement, you leave behind a legacy of
educational excellence, progressive leadership, quality
institutional programs, proud alumni, and faculty and
staff committed to continuing institutional growth and
progress. We thank you for sharing your life and
contributing to this great institution. We wish both of you
God speed, good health and many happy days ahead."
Coulan said: "We are here to witness the end of a
much-noted success story. The Class of '89 wishes to
thank you and wish you farewell."
Freeman, speaking for the 8,000 members of the PSU
Alumni Association, reminded everyone that Dr. Givens
had been honored with the Alumni Association's
"Distinguished Service Award" at the PSU Homecoming
in February and then spoke of how enthusiastically Dr.
Givens had supported alumni programs. "We now have
an alumni director spending most of his time in alumni
affairs and a full-time alumni secretary. Our Alumni
Chapters Ptograms have grown not only in this state but
outside this state," said Freeman, adding that Dr. Givens
has encouraged increasing funds for alumni development
Noting other progressive steps such as the awarding of
two annual alumni scholarships of $1,000 each. Freeman
said he is looking for continued progress in the alumni
area and concluded: "We wish the best of blessings for
you (the Givenses) in the future and a very happy
retirement"
Jordan, noting that he joined the PSU faculty the same
year that Givens became chancellor in 1979, said that
under Givens "the Faculty Senate came into its own and
became a decision-making body." Noting such progress
ive steps at PSU as the Basic Studies Program and an
Evaluation System, Jordan read a special resolution from
the Faculty Senate praising Dr. Givens and concluded:
"Thank you. Dr. Givens, for your support of the Faculty
and the Faculty Senate."
Mary Locklear, a member of the PSU class of '33, also
appeared on the program and presented an award to Dr.
Givens, stating: "You will always be remembered with
love and admiration at Pembroke State University by the
students, teachers, alumni, community, county, state and
nation."
As part of the tributes to the Givenses, two of Mrs.
Givens' favorite songs were sung by Pamela Stone,
accompanied by Dr. Glenn Utsch. Both are members of
the PSU Music Department. The Rodgers and
Hammerstein selections were: "Climb Every Mountain"
and "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Among the many outstanding people present for the
occasion were Sen. David Pamell and Rep. Pete Hasty of
the N.C. General Assembly and Dr. Richard R. Eaten,
Continued On Page 5
Sen. Sanford Reintroduces
Bill to Grant Lumbees
Federal Recognition
Washington, D C.--U.S. Senator Terry Sanford (D-NC)
recently introduced the Lumbee Recognition Act to
extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Indians of
North Carolina. Sanford introduced a similar bill last year.
"Over 100 years ago the tribal leaders in southeastern
North Carolina asked Congress to formally acknowledge
their special heritage as native Americans," Sanford said.
'' Last year, on the centennial of that first request. Senator
Daniel Inouye, the distinguished Chairman of the Select
Committee on Indian Affairs, and I introduced legislation
fully recognizing the Lumbee Tribe...I felt then, as I do
now, that theirs is a special case that makes it necessary
to circumvent the usual recognition process."
The bill that Sanford and Inouye (D-HD introduced was
approved by the Select Committee on Indian Affairs but
never reached the full Senate.
The Lumbees were recognized by the federal
government in 1956, but that legislation prevented them
from attaining fully recognized status. Sanford and
Inouye's 1988 bill amended the 1956 legislation to allow
the Lumbees to achieve full status and, if Congress
appropriated the necessary funds, allowed the Lumbees
to apply for Bureau of Indian Affairs services.
Sanford's new bill again provides for full recognition
but does not allow the Lumbees to apply for federal funds
without further Congressional action. "In drafting this
legislation, I have kept in mind both budgetary restraints
and the immediate needs of other federally recognized
tribes," Sanford explained. '"The Lumber Recognition
Act' appropriates no new money and provides that the
Lumbee Indians will receive Bureau of Indian Affairs
services only after Congress has appropriated the
necessary funds."
Sanford cited two reasons for circumventing the usual
recognition process. "First, due to the backlog of
petitions at the BIA, recognition of the Lumbee petition
could take up to ten years. .Second, the extraordinary
administrative burden and cost, estimated at $150,000, of
processing the Lumbee petition can be avoided. T d like
to save the taxpayers those costsh'
Sanford went on to say, "This bill, if passed, ensures
the cultural integrity of the "Lumbee Tribe by allowing
them the ability to control their own welfare. I take pride
in playing a small role in trying to accord the Lumbees the
recognition that has long been their due."
Student Receives
f
Excellence Awards
Greensboro, NC-P?e?l?
Lynn Brooks, a nursing
major from Pembroke, NC,
is among 23 students at the
University of North Carolina -
at Greensboro to receive
Student Excellence Awards
at the 27th annual Honors
Convocation on campus.
Brooks is the daughter of
Paul and Pauline Brooks of
Route-4, Box 92, Pembroke.
She is a graduate of West Robeson Senior High School in
Pembroke. As a nursing major. Brooks last year was
selected to attend the 5th International Conference on
Cancer Nursing held in London, England. She received
one of 100 grants awarded throughout the U.S. to attend
the conference. She has attended UNC-G on an Indian
health scholarship. She has been an active member of the
local, state and national Student Nurse Associations. She
also was elected to serve on the Dean's Student Advisory
Council in the School of nursing-. She also has served as a
University Marshall.
Only juniors and seniors are eligible to receive the
Student Excellence Awards. The students represent a
select group because they were chosen from more than
3,000 UNC-G juniors and seniors.
Hie students were nonuiMtffe^by faculty within the
departments in which they are rhajoring. Nominations
were then evaluated by the Studenlk Excellence Awards
screening committee. Final selection^were made by the
UNC-G Honors Council.
Hie awards were established in 1971 to recognize
UNC-G juniors and seniors with outstanding academic
accomplishments. Recipients of the awards must be
judged " superior to other able students" in such qualities
as intellectual talent, analytic or critical ability, creativity,
originality and initiative, and perseverance in academic
pursuits. Nominees for the awards must have overaH
grade point averages of 3.5 or above out of a possible 4.0.
I American Indians want to manage their own assimilation |
By KERRY D. BIRD
Like all other U.S. citizens, we Ameri
can Indians want to control our own lives.
We have a rich history, which greatly influ
enced the development of this country as
we know it today. We have many of the
same thoughts, dreams and aspirations as
any typical American citizen. We need to
know we will be afforded the same oppor
tunities.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, a division
of the' Department of the Interior, is help
ing American Indians realize their poten
tial. One way is through education.
Of a total budget of $1.07 billion, $238
million is spent on education and education
al services. By encouraging education, the
government is investing in the nation's fu
ture. As Indians become more educated
and self-sufficient, their dependency will
decrease.
Yet not all American Indians are served
by the B1A. Only federally-recognized In
dians living on or around federally-desig
nated reservations or designated Indian
lands receive BIA services. In 1980,
735,000 Indians, or 52 percent of the 1.4
million Indians in the United States, were
eligible for BIA funding.
In many cases, even that funding was
ineffective. On the Rosebud reservation in
South Dakota, the unemployment rate is 93
percent; there are 25 other reservations
across the United States which have unem
ployment of at least 61 percent.
According to the 1980 census, the medi
an income of Indian families was $13,680,
compared to $19,920 for the nation as a
whole. Fully 28 percent of the total Indian
population, or about 400,000 Indians, live
below the poverty level.
So the BIA's ineffectiveness has had an
impact even on reservations ? which tribal
members are leaving in search of better
educational or employment opportunity. I
do not suggest that all would stay were the
bulk of BIA services reaching them. I do
suggest many leave from necessity rather
than by choice.
North Carolina is home to approximately
65,000 American Indians, the fifth largest
Indian population in the United States. Of
the six state-recognized tribe* making up
the bulk of this population, only one tribe
received benefits bom the BIA: the Chero
kees, who constitute about 16 percent of
the state's Indian population.
The Lumbee tribe, which accounts for
more than 60 percent of the Indians in
North Carolina, is seeking federal recogni
tion. But it still would not receive benefits
or services unless Congress allocated addi
tional funds.
?
As I mentioned, state-recognized tribes
are not the only Indians who are losing out
on BIA services. Indians who have relocat
ed to urban areas also receive no BIA
assistance.
Many Indians who move to cities are
unprepared for the culture shock of living
in an urban setting. Reservations and rural
Indian communities are usually small,
close-knit groups that are rich in family
history. Uroan Indian centers are agencies
that provide support for American Indians
as they struggle to blend culture and tradi
tion with modern values and technology.
The urban Indian center in this area is
the Guilford Native American Association.
It was established to promote the social
and economic self-sufficiency of Indians liv
ing in the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and
High Point region.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs needs to
become actively involved with Indian cen
ters in the larger cities. These are the
agencies urban Indians are using. The 1980
census reported that 64 percent of all
American Indians lived off the reserva
tions. In order for the BIA to adequately
serve the Indian population, it must go
where the population is.
Dependency of American Indians on the
fed end government is a habit of long stand
ing. Like any other habit, it must be over
come gradually and carefully to ensure a
smooth transition from dependency to
self-sufficiency.
Even then the federal government will
remain responsible for providing services
to tribes for which it signed treaties.
Washington must honor those treaties and
uphold its obligations, just as it does with
foreign allies.
The emphasis of the BIA in the 1980s
has been the same as it was in the 1960s.
This does not mean the Bureau of Indian
Affairs has failed, but it has been ineffec
tive. Obviously, what needs to be done for
the American Indian is not getting done.
As Indians are allowed greater participa
tion in BIA decision-making, things can
only get better. American Indians look for
ward to the day when they have a larger
voice in administering the programs, ser
vices and agencies that are set up for their
benefit.
I
i THE
; Roundtable
-
Kerry Bird, 27, of Greensboro ts mar
t keting director for the Guftford Natrve
(American Association. A member of
both the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe
of Sisseton, S.D., and of the Lumbee
Tribe of Pembroke, N.C., he graduated
from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Mill with a degree In political sci
ence. In 1986, he won the Indian Youth
of the Year award given by the United
Tribes of North Carolina. He serves as
an adviser to the N.C. Native American
Youth Organization and Council on
Higher Education.
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