WHAT NEXT? ? ?
t On Tuesday night Sdperintendent William Johnson o
the Public SchoolsWBAtieson County "told" the board of
education that heyasb going to form a task force to look at
the possibility of establishing a school for problem
students.'...And what didtbr board members say? ...As
usual, nothing was said to discourage this beginning of
segregation of s(pdents...We will wager that when those
alternative schools are established, only Indians and
Blacks will be determined to be "discipline problems."
We suggest that the board of education members,
especially Blacks and Indians, pay close attention to what
is really going on The groundwork has been slowly put
in place to return our system to a segregated situation, in
our opinion The idea of a separate school for
"problem" students brings us to these questions: who
will administer this "segregated" school site? Who will
determine what a "problem" child is? And why is Maior
David Green, a Black, expounding on a theory as though
it were already a fact?...We do not suggest that there are
no discipline problems in our system. But again, why
punish the students? Why not search for the underlying
reasons for these problems and seek solutions that do
not result in the perpetuation of keeping minority
students below the norm....
If you doubt what we say about the race of the students
who will end up in the alternative school, consider this
information from the Affirmative Action Plan of the Public
Schools of Robeson County. According to the system's
own documentation there are 5, 640 white students in the
system (as of April 1990) or 24.1 percent; 6,948 Blacks, or
?29.7 percent; and 10, 693 Native Americans, or 45.7
percent (Now we need to say here that their own
documentation says that their figures for the population
are based on the 1980 census. We do not know if they
have updated this document..Nevertheless, twelve years
later the Affirmative Action Plan for our school system is
clearly not quoting from accurate population figures.!
There is another matter for the board of education
members, especially Indians to get serious about..Stop
playing games with our educational future and our
economic future.
Employment figures in this document show: Manage
ment positions with this racial breakdown: fifty percent
white; 25 percent Black and 25 percent Indian. Principals:
34 percent white; 29 percent Black; 37 percent Indian.
Teachers: 633 white or 49 percent; 265, or 20 percent
Black; 401 or 31 percent Indian. Supervisors: 42 percent
white); 18 percent Black; 40 percent Indian. Other
professionals (whatever that means): 40 percent white; 19
percent Black; and 57 percent Indian; Aids: 26 percent
white; 31 percent Black: 43 nercent Indian. Technicians:
44 percent white; 12 percent Black; 44 percent Indian.
Clerical/ Secretarial: 45 percent white; 11 percent Black
and 43 percent Indian. Service workers: 17 percent white;
34 percent Black; and 49 percent Indian. Does this speak
volumes? We again urge the board of education to stop
playing politics with our children's future.
While they have compiled this information, the
question is when are they going to right this wrong? The
administration, staff, and faculty, not just service
workers, should reflect the racial makeup of the student
popiii",t:""
f One of the gmmes they are seemingly playing right no*
is the hiring of a permanent director for the exceptional
childrens program....Some board members have said thai
the Black board members are holding off on filling thii
position until they get a Black with the credentials to be
director....Another board member has said that th?
interim director is proving daily that he can't handle it
Well, again we raise these questions: if the interim
director can't handle it, why not get someone who can?
Prior to making this decision, each board member needs
to look at the racial makeup of the students in the
exceptional program....We have not seen these figures,
but we are willing to wager that the overwhelming
majority are minority.... If the Blacks board members
consider that position to be an opportunity for Blacks tc
increase their rightful employment percentages, that is
fine. But just say so....While people of all colors an
playing the political game, our children still suffer...!
again refer yon to the above figures so that eveiyonc
understands who is suffering....Where are you concerned
members of the board of education? We have bees
told over and over again that nothing will change in the
school system for the better until after the election...We
are a little tired of this propaganda....Nothing will change
until some board member gets serious about students and
demand that the necessary and right changes take place
immediately....
We promised to speak to the LRDA board of directors
some more this week. So here goes. The following board
members are elected in districts: Gerald Strickland,
William Lowry; Leroy Scott; Bobby Dean Locklear; Grover
Oxendine; H. Dobbs Oxendine, Jr.; Dorothy Loweiy;
James (Sonny) Sampson; Virginia Jacobs; Wendell
loweiy; Adolph Blue; Patricia Hunt; Sylvia Locklear, and
Michael Locklear. That is fourteen people. A. Bruce Jones
who is also executive director of the North Carolina
Commission of Indian Affairs: Rod Locklear who resides
in the Washington, D.C. area; and Buriie Locklear from
nearby Hoke County are appointed to the board of
directors by their fellow board members....We believe
that these appointments should be stopped. We believe
that they should all be accountable to the election
process... We believe that A. Bruce Jones appointment to
the board of LRDA is a conflict of interest because of his
duty with the Commission....But to expand on this
complicated situation, these three appointments brings
the board total to seventeen....Then there is die matter of
the Land Trust Committee whose names appear on the
transactions for land and businesses. We understand that
this committee is permanent due to the fact that they are
not going to be transferring land to anybody. These, are
Adolph Dial, A. Bruce Jones, Kenneth Maynor (former
executive director of LRDA) and Rod Locklear. That gives
us nineteen members of the LRDA board...Do you see
anything wrong with this picture?...We certainly do and
in view of some of the literature that is being distributed
by the LRDA, we will share some more interesting
thoughts with you next week...Think on this in the
meantime... What happens to the "tribal property" in the
event of the death of one or all of the Land Trust
?Committee^?^
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1 ?/
Last week we looked at the concept of "culture areas,"
and then reviewed the cultures of the Arctic, Sub-Arctic,
and Northwest Coast This week we turn southward,
down Ae western side of North America, to three more
culture areas.
The Plateau culture area is one of the smallest geo
graphically. It includes parts ofBritish Columbia (Canada),
northern Idaho, western Montana, northwest Oregon, and
east-central Washington State. The traditional people of
this area can be placed into two broad language families:
the Salishan (which includes such nations as the Shuswap,
(llranagan KaligpH, and "Flathead*"); and the RahspHn
Klamath (which includes Cayuse, Nez Perce, Yakima,
and Modoc). In the long centuries before European
influence came to the Plateau, these Indian people de
pended heavily on fish, especially salmon, for food. They
also hunted small game, and collected wild plant foods,
with particular emphasis on roots (which were boiled,
roasted, or baked as bread). The Plateau cultures were
influenced considerably by their neighbors of the North
west Coast and the Plains.
Immediately south of the Plateau is die Great Basin
culture area. The Great Basin is a large, mostly arid,
region which includes parts of Orgeon, Idaho, Montana,
Colorado, Arizona, and California, plus most of Utah,
and all ofNevada. The people of this culture area include
the Paiute, Gosiute, Chemehuevi, and Washo. These
sparsely distributed people were semi-sedentary, moving
from place to place as local food resources became
available. Their major sources of food were roots and
seeds, with common use of pinon nuts. They also took
rabbit, antelope, and any other animal they could find,
with the exception of th? coyote (who was important as
a symbolic connection to the spirit world).
South of the Ores* Basin lies the huge Southwest
culture area, which includes southern Utah and Colorado,
western Texas, most of Arizona, all of New Mexico, and
northern Old Mexico. The Southwest was traditionally
two sets of cultures which partially overlap. In the
northern section live the Pueblos, the best known of
whom are Hopi and Zuni (although there are about two
dozen other groups). These people are settled lhrmers,
cultivating corn, beans, and squash.
Outside the stone and adobe Pueblo buildings, and in
the southern and western sections of the Southwest
culture area, live Piman-speaking groups (such as the
Pima, Papago, and Opeta); and Yumrn-speaking groups
(Havasupai, Yavapai, Mohave, and others). Both Piman
and Yuman people were traditionally agriculturalists,
although much less so than the Pueblos; theae non-Pueblo
Southwest tribes were more dependent on g*rtmri?g 0f
wild plant foods than their Pueblo neighbors.
Sometime roughly 1,000 years ago, these Southwest
nations were joined by Athabaskan-spealring people
migrating down from the north. These migrants came to
be known by their Southwest neighbors as Navqjo, Apache,
and Lipan. These relative late-comers to the Southwest
were originally hunter/gatherers in Canada, but many of
them took to farming under the influence of the Pueblo
and other Southwest cultures.
In die next segment we will look at the Plains and
California culture areas. For more information, visit the
Native American Resource Center on die campus of
Pembroke State University.
READERS' FORUM
Out-of-state Lumbee urges Bush's supportfdt^Lumbee Bill
To the Editor;
Enclosed is a copy of a letter I sent to President Bush in
regards to the Lumbee Recognition Bill. I am forwarding
you a copy for possible inclusion in your paper.
The example of my letter may serve to inspire others to
write letters to the President The decision may rest with
one person, our President With the dismal outlook for his
approval, our efforts to sway his opinion via letters must
be increased. If each Lumbee wrote to the President, this
would be a small investment of time on the part of each
person. This small investment could mean benefits for
present day and future Lumbees far beyond the time it
takes to write a letter. Letter writing is a powerful tool for
us at this time!
My story is different than those who live in Robeson
County but my concern for the Lumbee people is just as
strong. Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Calvin J. Gavin
Dear President Bush,
As you may know, the Lumbee Indidn bill has passed
the House, the Senate Select Committee on Indian
Affairs, and mm soon be on the floor of the Senate. Iam
writing to urge you to support this bill' I have a rich
Continued on Pago 3
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WDEAR FRIENDS: Are V
I you aware that the Lum- I
I bee recognition bill has I
I passed the House, and the I
? Senate Select Committee I
I on Indian Affairs, and will I
I come up on the floor of the I
I Senate soon? After years I
I of frustration, we may get I
I our recognition instated. I
However, the word is I
I that the White House will I
I veto the bill. To prevent I
I that happening, you need I
I to write today to:
President George Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20505
I and tell him to sign the I
I Lum bee Bill. Thank you I
I very much.
Dr. Dean Chavers
Albuquerque, NM
? a ? ? ???
H. Mitchell
Baker, III, P.A.
ATTORNEY AT LAW
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