1 ~p'% ^ jjjt Olivia Oxendine Elected President of Alumni Association CMivia Oxendine Olivia Oxendine, a 1970 graduate )f Pembroke State University whe esides in Southern Pines, has bees elected president of the PSU Alumni Association for 1993-9S. She takes office July 1. Oxendine is a consultant for the Division of Student Services with the N.C. Department of Public In struction in Raleigh She was charter president of the Sandhills Chapter of the PSU Alumni Association and was , elected to the Board of Directors of the PSU Alumni Association two yean ago. Otter newly elected officers are. Bill Jackson of Chapel Hill PSU clan of "79, vice president; and Johnna Wilson of Lunbertoo. PSU clan of 19, secretary. New lifetime members of the asso ciation are Michael Beooks, Pem broke; Michael Hint, Fairmont; and Sarab Thomas, Aberdeen Olivia Oxendine says she is "very excited about being elected alumni president. We have otter officers equally excited and very creative. We are looking forward to have lun cheons to plan events and look at different opportunities." Oxendine her Bachelor of Science in elementary education (4-9) with a concentration in English Education in '70 She received her Mas ter of Aits in public school adminis tration with a minor in family sociol ogy from Appalachian State Univer sity in 76. She is now working on a doctorate in educational leadership 1 with a concentration in curriculum and instruction at UNC- Chapel Hill. She has been in per present poettioo in Raleigh for three yean. * Oxendine, a native of Luaaberton, graduated from Pembroke High School when it was located adjacent to the PSU Chancellor1! residence Her parents, who reside in the Saddletree area of Robeaon County, are Aileen Hobnes, a aaemhsr of the Robeson County Board of Educa tion. and Normie Hobnes, a retired Oxendine is married to Oervais (Gary) Ch end int. a '65 graduate of PSU sad a Pembroke native who is manufacturing manager for the Laurinbmg piaat of Abbot Laborato ries. He joined the PSU Chancellor's Club in 1990. The Oxendine are par ents of two sons: Eric, 24, a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill who is an en sign in the U.S. Navy and soon to be sent tothe Persian Gulf, and Brock, 14, a sophomore at Pinecreet High School in Southern Pines. FFederal Recognition: What It Really Means by Cynthia L Hunt, Indian Law Unit, Lumbee River Legal Services This is the last article on federal recognition in the first aeries by the Indian Law Unit at Lumbee River Legal Services, Inc. The article wiO focus on an issue of federal benefits and services. Fed?I recognition entidss fee newly recognised tribe to compete with other recognized tribes farthoee federal benefit* and mtvices set aside only for recognised tribes. Perhaps the first service that a newly recognized tribe receives is an imanment carried out by the B1A of the tribe's needs, to determine which services and benefits would best help the tribe. For example, if the current bill is passed to recognize the Lumbee, a needs assessment will be conducted upon verification of fee tribal roll by the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Lumbee tribe shall develop a determination of needs and a budget required to provide services to which the members of the tribe are eligible Both the Service shall submit a written statement of such needs and budget with the first budget request submitted to the United States Congress alter the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified. IfH.R. 334 is enacted, the Lumbee Indian tribe shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided to Indians because of their status as federally recognized Indians It is important to note however, that Lumbee will not be entitled to such services until the United States Congress appropriates the fends for these services. ^ .. v A unique feature ofhR 33$ is that it gives considerable discretion to the Lumbee tribe in the management of these appropriations. Typically, recognized tribes will compete for the various categorical programs in the BLA budget In this case, Lumbee does not compete against other recognized tribes for these categorical programs. Instead. Lumbee is directly fendeda budget to meet the needs of the tribe. This means that Lumbee is given authority to decide how this budget is allocated to meet the needs within the tribe, tucfa as health care, education, economic development, etc. This isaneoftherespoasibibuesofa tribal council As stated in previous articles, tribal members will be alerting these tribal council members. For fe^mupones of the delivery of such services, those members of the tribe reading in Robeson and adjoining counties sIuOHk deemed to be resident on or near an Indian reservation This means that only those persons will be eligible for servWqs. There are two points to note: first. recoghMdWdees not guarantee that a tribe will in feet receive specific benefits and services. Fitst specific benefits and services a tribe wiU decide to seek will depend on what the tribe's needs are and on what the tribe sees as its goals and priorities: second, there are other federal benefits and services available for use by Indian tribes that do not require federal recognition and remain available to tribes after they become recognized. With these points in mind, the discussion that follows deecribes the main federal benefits and totvices available to tribes because of their recognized status. Although all of the programs described are administered by the BLA, there are some programs administered by other federal agencies, but this article does not adfeeae them. BLA Program* With the Bureau of Indian Affeira, there are aix offices that administer programs to recognized tribes: A. The Office of the Commissioner. B. The Office ofTribal Services. C. The Office of Indian Education Programs; D. The Office ofTrust and Economic Development. E. The Office ofTrust Funds Management: and F. The Office of Management and Administration. In addition, there are B1A Area Offices and Agencies. The Office ofthe Commissioner and the Office of Administration, aside from employment preference programs, are not directly involved in administering programs. BLA Programs?Office ef Tribal Services The Division of Housing Services within the Office ofTribal Services helps needy Indians obtain bousing, either through financial assistance direcdy to the individual or through an Indian housing authority established by the tribe The Division ofLaw Enforcement Services within the Office helps tribal government* eatabfife sad oparatoeeystem of criminal law and law enforcement, including the staffing and training of tribal police forces, construction of detention facilities, counseling services for violators, and maintaining sn emergency polics force. The Division of Social Services in the Office assists aeedy, elderly, and juvenile Indiane with aocial services and with help obtaiaiag social services from states* other authorities, mduding child welfere, family couaseliag. and similar programs. These social services are provided only when other government agsocies, either state or local do no provide mmilar services already. The Branch ofTribal Government Services in the Office assists tribal leaders wife political matters such es elections, constitutional changes, visits by tribal delegations to Washington, judgment disUftmUous. and membership enrollment The TGS also helps establish and maintaia tribal courts. (The Federal Acknowledgment Project is a part of Self-Determineboo and Educational Assistance Act of 1973 in the BLA. and works to strengthen tribal goverwnent. assists with tribal contracting, helps m acquiring lands under fee Act, and monitors federal programs for the tribe under the Act. The Division ofTrfoal Plamamg Services provides long-range planniag for the BLA Pragniraa-Office ef fedfawEducarisu Pregrems The OlEP operates ? federal school system for Indiana in addition to providing asairiaace to Indians who attend public and private schools. The OlEP also has adult education pragmas, vocational framing and counseling, and on-the-job training. For Iwhaa college students, the OIEP admimetet* arhnlarfeip us! grant psograms. There are over 20 Indian controlled community colleges, operated by the tribes with fimdt and other asmataace from the OfEP. ( M r- -T il IiTi itipIInil This Office is principally concerned with the txxmcmuc development of the tribe It ovwwi job true fog end of three programs under the Indian Financu* Act of 1974), oo-reeervatkmbidian buetnese programs, and tribal BIA Fregrims?Office ?f Trust F?Mniywl The programs of the OTR are keyed to the BlA's legal rarooneib