Ii MARY LIVERMORE UBr";MiR/ ^ .
1 -r, to 3: PEMBROKE STATE LIBRARY ?l| J
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zf S 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 18 NUMBER 39 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1990 25? PER copy
Newly established housing Goflimisiof)
? ? - ' _4. *'
brings change to public housing
On November 1, 1989 Pembroke Redevelopment Commission
'formed as a result of a resolution passed by the Pembroke Town
Council. The resolution abolished the Pembroke Housing Authority
and Redevelopment Commission and replaced it with a new corpora
tion which was named Pembroke Redevelopment Commission. The
new board was then appointed by the entire Pembroke Town Council.
Previpusly all housing commissioners had been appointed by the
Mayor of Pembroke. The new Commissioners are: Jancil Oxendine,
chairperson, who was appointed by Henry W. Oxendine; Lae Ruth
Mabe, vice chairperson, who was appointed by Mayor Milton Hunt;
Hardy Bell, appointed by Vernon Oxendine; Carol Paul, appointed by
Larry T. Brooks; and Samuel Kerns, appointed by Harry Oxendine.
Tho past eleven months have been busy ones for the Commission.
The members are now in the process of making some administrative
changes and charting a new direction for public housing in Pembroke.
A retreat workshop is planned for October to formalize the new direc
tion. In keeping with the Memorandum of Understanding between
Secretary Jack Kemp of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and Secretary Louis W. Sullivan of the Department of
Health and Human Services, it is the desire of the Pembroke
Redevelopment Commission to implement the suggested Resident In
itiatives and Youth Sports-Cultural Programs. The commission has
set goals of economic empowerment, drug free neighborhoods, home
ownership, educational literacy and job training for residents in public
housing. There will be needs assessments conducted which will involve
residents through resident councils, establish on-site day care for
mothers in need of job training and or literacy training, encourage en
treprenuralship, home ownership and resident involvement in ridding
the neighborhoods of illegal drug use and abuse.
The Commission has voted to accept a proposal by Robeson Com
munity College to lease the former day care center at Strickland
Heights. RCC will act as the responsible agent in coordinating various
programs along the above lines for persons in the community. Public
housing residents will receive priority when it comes to program par
ticipation. Currently the proposal is in the Greensboro office of HUD
and the commission is eagerly awaiting the lease agreement. RCC will
also help with coordinating other agencies as they commit to help with
the staled goals. It is hoped that the Department of Social Services will
work closely with the commission in providing
job training and employment-search help for mothers on AFDC.
The effects of the changes in Public Housing in Pembroke has
already been measured by a decrease in police calls to public housing
sites. The commission has developed a close cooperative working rela
tionship with Chief Larry Roberts and his staff at the Pembroke
Police Department. It is hoped that the effects of the change will also
be noticed in the public schools in the Pembroke area.
I he change that is being implemented will result in more accoun
tability on the part of the Commission, administrative staff, and the
residents. Persons in the Pembroke area who have constructivc
criticism, comments and or suggestions are urged and encouraged to
contact the staff at the central office in Locklcar Court.
(Submitted by the Pembroke Redevelopment Commission)
^Crowned
at haknb State UMiaMlj majoring in English
Education, waa oalactad September 20. aa "Miaa Native
American Student rganixatioo" at PSU for the 1990-91
academic pear.
Choeen "Miaa Liimbee" for 1969-90, Miaa Lowry
cornea from a traditional PSU family. Both her mother
and father, Mr. and Mra. Jamee Eari Lowry, graduated
from PSU, and her aiater, Edwina, will graduate bum
PSU next May.
Miaa Lowry"? prizes for winning included $100, a
crown, a beaded crown, a torphy, flowers, the traditional
Eagle Feather which la paeaed down bum one queen to
the next, and a new gifb-a ahawi with PSU embroidered
on it. She wfll alao be the Native American Student
Organisation'a entry in the "Miaa Dam broke State
University Scholarship Pageant" in November.
First runner-up in the the "Miaa NASO" pageant waa
Leslie Joy Wooda. a sophomore who is the daughter of Mr
and Mra. Donald Woods of the Prospect community.
Second runner up waa Melanie Strickland, a senior who is
the daughter of Mrs. Hervte Lockiear of Fairmont and the
late Eari Strickland.
The new "Miaa NASO" was an '69 graduate of West
Robeson High School whets she was a member of the
National Honor Socfety. among the top IS in her
graduating class, a cheerleader, a member of the chorus
and winner of the Spanish award.
At PSU, she has won admiaaiona and alumni scholarships
and represented PSU at the National Youth Conference at
Georgetown University in Washington, DC., last
summer.
Hie "Miss NASO" pageant consisted of evening gown,
talent and interview competition. Miaa Lowry"a talent
waa singing with a rendition of "The Power of Love," by
Jennifer Bush.
"I am very proud to be chosen 'Miaa Native American
Student Organisation," a he said. "I look forward to
representing our organisation at puwwuwa throughout the
state and at the Indian Unity Conference in March." She
believes the experience ahe gained aa a former "Miaa
liimbee" wit) help her in each endeavors
A member of Bear Swamp Baptist Church near
PMnbruha, ahe saya her hobbies are singing, dancing and
tmeaihv. fhr a career, ahe wants to teach.
Consumers petition for LREMC Board
Five members of Lumbee River Electric Membership
Corpoietion have filed petitions to ran for seats on the
LKEMC board of directors.
IThe five are Robert L Strickland, Route 3, Bos 178,
Laasbarton; EUas Rogers. Route 1. Box CM. Red
Springs; Elisabeth T. Cole, Route 1, Bos 186-EL Red
KO.; end BobbyToddsar, ROMs'2, Beat 22B-A, Maxton,'
, >?-.
% - ?
Strickland will contest the District 3 seat now bald by
Bradford Oxen dine, Route 4, Box 864, Lnmberton, NC.
District8 contains the townships of Back Swamp, Smyrna,
Britts, Wisharts, Raft Swamp and Lumberton.
Roger* will ran for the District 7 seat now held by H.E.
Edwards, P.O. Box 426, Maxton, NC. District 7 rontaina
all of Holce County west of N.C. 211.
Cole. Jones and Loddear will contest the at-Hnp seat
now h?ld by Conrsd Oxendine, Route 2, Box 182, Hutoo,
North Carolina.
Earlier this month, Bradford Oxendine, H. EL Edward,
Herbert Clerk and Conrad Onendine were mi a at ill
for their board seata by IHEMC Nominating Committee.
Clark, of Route 8, Box 810. Uurinbvg. North CwaMna
represents District 9, which contains ail of Scotland
County. He faces no opposition at this tiaas.
An election to fill the four seats on the 11-member
board will be held Tuesday, October 18, during the
electric cooperative's Annual Meeting at Members. The
meeting wffl take place at Pembroke State University's
Givens IVrforMing Art Center. It begins at 7 p.m., with
registration starting at 4:80 p.m. In honor at the co-op's
60th anniversary, members wfll be served hot dega and
drinks, and a health fair and high voltage duasuuaU aliens
will be held during the registration period. Registration
prises of cape and visors wiD be given members, and they
will be eligible to win over fifty door prises.
Entertainment wfll be by Dembtuks State University's
Sngers and Swingers and by the Sujette Ehmamblo of
Maston.
During the Annual Meeting, stVlitional nnminationa
may be made bom the floor. All candidates meat the in
the districts they would represent and meet other
eligibility requirements.
Directors of Lumbee River QIC are sleeted to
three-year terms. Four soots come up for election eeeh
Lumbee River EMC provides electric power to needy
28,000 homes and businesses in Robeson, SoctUnd, Hoke
and Cumeriand counties. Consumers who receive electric
power from LKEMC are members of the cooperative and
have the right to vote at the Annual Meeting.
SAV VOU
READ IT
IN THE
CAROLI IMA
INDIAN
VOI CE
Lumbees have mysterious past
By E. RANDALL FLOYD
European settlers pushing Inland along the rugged Lumber River in
the 18th century were surprised to discover a tribe of English-speaking
Indiana who dressed Mke white frontiersmen and lived In remarteahty
comfortable houses.
Even mora flfetouMinf wu "
%37Z?nS3 SCS?rthem
most had dark aldns, a taw were yBfcnct
fair-complexioned and bad
blood hair and blue eyes. Some
could eren read, claiming that ?
white gods had long ago taught ??
their ancestors bow to "talk in
bOok*,M which, the explorers understood, meant to rand and write.
Today, the descendants ol that mysterious group** people are known
as the Lumbees, and they still Inhabit the same harsh ration of North
Carolina whera they were discovered more than twqeaotunea ago. Since
they were ooa ol the largest groups of Indians In the United States, it is
irook that lew people outside the states at North Carolina and Virginia
have ever heard of them.
The reason, according to scholars, is that at soma time In the remote
past, the iinnhsss apparently lost their own language and cultural
identity. While cultural and linguistic traditions continued to Sourish
among better known southeastern tribes, such as the Cherokee,
Choctawe and Creeks, the heritage of the Lumbees became obscure.
Where were these bluooysd Indiana, and bow did their ancestors
learn to talk la books?** One intriguing theory is that the estimated
40,000 modern 1 i?bsea are descended from the survivors of Sir Walter
Raleigh's lost colony of Roanoke, whkh vanished without a trace in 1589
along with more than 100 men, women and children.
The settlement was the brainchild of Sir Waiter Raleigh, a dashing,
daring and somewhat reckless consort of Quean Elizabeth who, along
with his older brother ? Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a famed explorer and
soldier of fortune ? sought adventure and wealth in the newly
discovered lands beyond the great sea. la 1584 Raleigh asked for and
received a charter to explore the southern coast of the New World, with
the intention of setting up a buffer colony in the peth of advancing
Spanish settlers. Raleigh's reconnoitering force made landfall 2,000
miles south of New Foundlaad and spent the next month exploring the
dark, unfriendly coast south of Chesapeake Bay.
One year later, Raleigh outfitted an expedition to settle Roanoke
Island, a remote wooded isle near the preeent boundary between
Virginia and North Carolina. The settlement failed, however, mainly
because of the colonists' preoccupation with finding gold rather than
tending fields Unfriendly natives also Influenced their decision to
abandon the colony that summer and return to England by hitching a ride
with Sir Francis Drake, fresh from piratical raids In the West Indies.
In spite of tremendous personal financial losses with the first
expedition, Raleigh was determined to send another group of colon lata,
this time about 140 parsons under the command of John White, who in
time would bacoma famous lor his aarfy drawings of colonial life In North
America.
Whits spent about a month getting the new settlement started, then
returned to England tor fresh ?u ppl ies Among the settlers he left behind
were his daughter, her husband, and their newborn daughter, Virginia
Dare?believed to be the first child of European parents bom in the New
World.
Before departing, he left strict instructions that should the remaining
colonists be forced to leave the settlement In his absence, they were to
Inscribe their destination In a "conspicuous place."
As fate would have It, war broke out with Spain later that year and White
was unable to return to the colony on schedule. The entire Spanish fleet
had attacked England, forcing every available ship Into military service.
Not until 1590 ?two years later? was the war-weary governor able to
return to the settlement, 3,000 miles away from the bloody halthihihli
and bay* of Europe.
It was a grim sight that awaited White upon his arrival at Roanoke. Not
only had the settlement been ransacked and destroyed, the entire
population had vanished? every man, woman and chad, indudinf Ids
daughter and baby granddaughter.
In vain, the grief-stricken governor searched the island for signs of
their fate. The only clue to the whereabouts of the settlers was a single
word carved into a wooden poet ? "Croats n "
White Anally decided that the colonists must have abandoned
Roanoke when supplies ran out and made their way to nearby Hatteras.
Although be coodiicted a limited search for the settlers, bad weather and
pressing royal obligation^ back in England forced bin to leave latrty
soon.
Why he never returned or at least ordered a full-scale investigation
into the colonists disappearance has never been fully
Historians still argue over the meaning of "Croatan " That was the
name of an island south of Roanoke, known to have been inhabited by the
friendly Hatteras tribe. Nevertheless, soare researches believe It was the
name of an Indian tribe that attacked the settlement and killed the
colonists. They say that after the massacre the settlers may been been
cannibalised, since no trace of their bones or belongings were ever
found.
Other experts theorise that most of the settlers probably starved to
death or died of unknown diseases. Hostile Indians could have done
away with any survivors, or simply carried off some of the women and
children into slavery.
Charles Hudson, a University of Georgia anthropologist and author of
The Southeastern Indians," suggests that Roanoke's settlers simply
Joined up with a local Indian tribe in order to survive. Still others
speculate they were hauled off by pirates ? even though there were no
known pirates operating in those waters at the time.
A number of scholars believe It is possible that the survivors of
Roanoke reached the Croatan island and intermarried with the Hatteras.
This is the most reasonable explanation for the sudden disappearance of
the Roanoke settlers, the ooe most widely accepted by historians of that
period, and the one held by Governor White at the time.
Researchers studying the modern Lumbees point to that group's blue
eyes, blond hairand fair complexions as lingering proof of their ancestral
contact with the Europeans at Roanoke. The Lumbees themselves insist
they are descended from the Roanoke Colony, and there Is additional
evidence to indicate their claim might be Justified.
Of the 95 surnames of the lost colonist of Roanoke ? names such as
Sampson, Cooper and Dare ? no fewer than 41 can be found among the
Lumbees.
Starting In about 1650, many Hatteras Indians migrated to the
mainland, settling In the Lumber River Valley. And when the first whites
reached the wild hinterlands of the Lumber River swamps in the into 18th
century, the Indians they encountered wore handsome. European type
clothing, lived in multi-room dwellings, and were familiar with the
English language.
They were also familiar with whiskey and displayed drinking habits
hauntlngty reminiscent of 16th century Europeans. Whan asked to
identify themselves, these Indians said they were "Croatans" the same
Governor White had found carved on the wooden pahssds in 1390.
L Randall Floyd of Augusta, G*., Is author of the book "Greet Southern
Mysteries" end of a weekly newspaper column by the same tMe. He
teaches history and journalism at Augusta College. "Great Southern
Mysteries " appears Sundays In the LMng Today section of The Mobile
Press Register.