?? i-'i
_ _ . _
Lr 5^ jTm i tIp* * sT- flu rf"ft m+ ft || Wft ^ i I
Letter written with concern over LRDA
activites bu. oho much hope for .h? fi?ure
As 1 read the Dec. 9 edition of the
CIV, 1 had a big souk oniay fhce and
mtwrika JLk
^Tfct, ihe Proapect Keen Agers are
10 be honored for their wooderlW
ofcfeat of Native TraditfooTpuLng
on IheWiadom and Knowledge of the
generations to the Young Ones.
cukure^and keeping the Circle ah!!
Then there was the report on the
progress of the Constitutional
AammUy. In my eyes, these Delegates
sen the Mme as the warriors and Peace
Chiefs of olden times. They are
assuring the future well-being.
Wrengtfa, and security of our Lumbee
These are dm kinds of people who
make me fisel so proud to be a Lumbee
These pwph come from the same
mold as our past leaders, the ones who
made sure we would still be together
as a People. And they are the ones our
future leaden will model themselves
As I continued to read, my
happiness wnsdmwpeiMd by the letters -
from DavidLowery and Wendy Moore
Led well reporting on that LRDA
Board meeting and the comments
made by James Hardin, Bruce Jones.
Bobby Dean Locklear, and Dobbs
Oxendine
Mr. Lowery said in his letter that
James Hardin accused Cynthia Hunt
of "inciting anarchy in the tribe"
Anarchy is the abeence of political
authority, dis-order. confusion, and
lack of a common purpoae Well, if
Ms. Hunt is trying to educate the
Lnmbee People on what the
Constituiional Assembly is ail about
it would seem to me she is trying to
ensure that there WONT be anarchy
Ms. Ledwell said in her letter that
Bruce Jones made the statement "the
horse is out of the corral and he ain't
wanting to come back in" 1 am
assuming he was talking about
domesticated horses Now. I say if an
animal is well-fed and well-cared for.
yon don't need a fence to keep him at
borne. Of course, if he is abused or
BotiJJmTiIS
over o(km. African sUves'were
forbidden to leva how to mod and
write, cituax of the Soviet Union
were allowed to read only Stale
approved newapapen and to watch
government-censored television
propaass.
Ms. Ledwell wrote that Dohbs
Ch naihar wanted toknow why LADA
couldn't just change ha' aaaae to
Ltuatee and write Ht' own
one can assumetefferthcr one's own
ends The Lumbee ret a People. NOT
a commodity possessed by a certain
tew who can traosfcr ownership and
identity as they aee fit.
1 wasn't at that LRDA Board
meeting, so 1 don't know what all was
said. I am responding to what 1 have
? read. My opinion is probably biased
in favor of Ms. Cynthia Hunt because
I can clearly see she is working for fee
good of our people.
My opinion is probably biased
against James Hardin and Bruce Jones
because 1 don't feel they are interested
in helping Indian people make better
lives rorthemse Ives. I say this because
I have written letters to both of them
asking fo help with a Native American
SpirtuaJ C ircle 1 am working with in a
Federal Prison I didn't ask for
sympathy. I asked for help in locating
an " 'outside" advisor for our group
THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER
TO ANSWER MY LETTERS. This
is the way the Executive Director of
LRDA and the head of the North
Carolina Commission on Indian
Affairs responds to Indian people who
are trying to help themselves?
I would remind James Hardin and
Bruce Jones that it has always been
the Indian way to extend a helping
hand to those willing to help
themselves. It seems to me that
4j
* r '
j^|y queftxa ii wily
^ wenTwnTs'e^Iri'lSw
thai cawt social Xm*3w Many
Many people in a position of power
^ccombiothnstcknmtW symptoms
I would remind Dobbs OxenAne
mad. I would remind BobfrToeai
Locklaar that the uaa of power to
prevent ? Nation ton perming self
determination is oppression.
My own expenence with James 1
Hardin and Brace Jonse. coupled with
the statements made and altitudes i
exhibited at thai LRDA Board meeting ,
Brace Jones. Dobbs Oxendinc wi
Bobby Pern I 1
from this White Man's sickness
Maybe that is what is Minding them to
the needs of their people and the
goodness of the work of the
Constitutional Assembly
I will pray for the continued
strength and vision of the Assembly i
Delegates I will thank our Creator for
the gifts of the Prospect Keen Agers ,
I will ask Him to heal the spiritual ,
sickness that keeps us from working
together in harmony for our ftiture ;
well-being. '
1 want to cloee by thanking David I
P. Lowery and Wendy Moore Ledwell
for letting us know what these LRDA
Board members seem to think about
the plans of our duly elected Assembly 1
Delegates for enlightening our I
community.
With concern, but also with much ,
hope for the ftiture...
Karl A. Hnnt ?735d-d5M VA
P.O. Bei ltd*
Burner, NC 279MMM* I
Reader speaks out on Constitutional
Assembly and responds to a friend
Dear Editor:
With all this cold weather, it is
beginning to feel like Christmas lam
looking forward to the holidays. I
always enjoy coining home to hen
die latest.
I want to address the first put of
this lettertoacertain person who shall
remain nameless. He thinks that
because I no longer live in Robeson
County I have forgotten my raising.
He thinks I am filled with different
ways of thinking. This friend of mine
had the nerve recently totellme: "We
Indians in Pembroke are more
prejudiced towards white people in
Lumbeitoo than they are toward us."
Now, I didn't laugh in my friend's
face because, in a way, I sort of respect
him. But yes making statements like
that did put a dent in my respect for
him.
I figured he must not have read the
article about the Lumberton Mayor's
wife where she made a couple of
racial comments. The truth is there is
racism on both sides. No one side has
more than the other. After all. I was
taught a sin is a sin. No one sin is
greater than any other. And. besides,
some of my best friends are white I
always wanted to say that.
We were talking about moving
"Strike at the Wind" so as you can
expect, it got a little hot. He said no
one is going to come to Pembroke
because we have a reputation for
cutting people. He said that when he
goes to other places, he always gets
people to laugh by saying, "I'm an
Indian from Robeson County and I'll
; cut you." The way he sounded, you
* would think that nagood could come
from Pembroke, and the Indian peoplt
! would never be able to solve their
! pi .-Wems. The way I was raised, if you
are a Christian, you don't think or talk
? like every one else because you have
- feith and hope We as Christians should
I cany our tight eectfcsrecssi est. IF \\t
: go around painting the world dark and
* everything is hopeless then who in
their right mind would waul to be a
Christian. Now, if this sounds hke i
have forgotten my raising and started
thinking different. 1 want tny Elders to
tell me to. not someone who has
forgotten the most important part of
being Christian.
Now. for part two this letter-the
Constitutional Delegates. I just wish
some of you guys would have read my
article on leadership. Just the same.
I'm glad some of you are finding out
it is hard to be Indian, that the first
taste doesn't go down too easily. But
just like some good religion and
medicine, it will do you a lot of good.
Long before there was a Cynthia
Hunt. I was the first Indian Law Unit
Paralegal . And it sounds like they still
have not hired an attorney to head up
the unit. On one of the many kmg
drives bock from visiting the other
tribes across North Carolina, Julian
Pierce and I got into a deep discussion
as we often did. Now I knew the real
Julian Pierce The one with weaknesses
and strengths, just like us. We were
talking one time about Tribal
Constitutions. I told him from my
studies of what the Federal
Government was looking for was the
following: a Constitution written by
the people for the people.
Julian stated the biggest problem
would be to get the people who are in
power to understand. There would be
a need to change the way one comes
into leadership. There is an old saying
that a brave can only be as bra ve as the
maiden he leaves at the lodge This
means that before you can ha ve strong
leadership, you must have strong
followers. And it is from the followers
' that leaders get their strength. To be
Indian is to have your own form of
government in which the people have
all the power, not just a few. So I am
glad ' The horse is out of the cofTmJ
and he ain't wanting to come back
in ** I# rnn ^*7^ ?!????*
Spirit and can think for itself andis not
satisfied with business as usual That
Ss&saBtiKg;
Even the Good Book warns us against
leaden who want ue to follow them
without thinking or having my and
control over them. Im't a called
Communinn when a few have all the
power end the people mueteerve them?
America is suppose to be a Democratic
government., it may not work like one
and you wonder where the idea came
from?
This form of government was
created by the Six Nations of which
the Tuacarora are a part. Yes, they
look to their religious leadenhip for
direction In this form of government.
Clan Mothers have an important part
in the say. It is a system older man
America and is still iaplace.THE people
are the tribe, not jest one group who
want the power for themselves As s
leader you ase a servant to the people.
The problem can not be solved by
simply calling yourself a tribe and
writing your own Constitution. The
people would still have to vole on it.
You see. Indian people believe that no
man can tell another what they can or
cannot do. We are a Democratic
Societv. So when I hear someone my
"I will do everything in mv power to
keep yon from going out there," this
is someone who is in need of prayer
and understanding. The only power
we have comes from the Almighty Of
course, you people'in the Indian
business know all this already. Or do
you? Maybe we Tuacarora aren't the
only people in Robeson County who
want to live the Indian way? In time
we will see.
I will leave you with two old
sayings. First. "Never net too for in
another man's corner nmner you
may have to fight your way out."
Lastly. I want to leave this with all of
you-" Never walk in the shadow of
any man. Always walk in the light of
the Almighty."
: State has illegally
: collected taxes
Over two hia?dred years ago. North
? Carolina was one of the foremost states
I to challenge the legality of the tax
: laws being imposed by English
: authorities and England's blatant
? disregard lor citizen s ngnts
while the British are gone, the
t same attitude once again prevails in
: Raleigh. The State of North Carolina
; hasillegaJlycollected taxes from North
Carolina Taxpayers and regardless of
decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court
reftises to make restitution
The U.S. Supreme Court has
declared that taxes im posed an Federal
Retirees' pensions since 1941 are in
violation of Federal Law and the U S
Constitution. A suit was initiated
seeking refand for only four (4) of the
47 yjeprs the taxes were
unconstitutionally collected which
was denied by die North Carolina
Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme
Court decreed that when a state has
imposed a tax. later determined to be
unconstitutional, it must provide
retroactive relief where no
predeprivation procedure was in
effect The North Carolina Supreme
Court decision denying refunds was.
thus, vacated by the U.S. Supreme
Court. North Carolina, at the tune in
question and to this day. has no
predeprivation procedure in effect
North Carolina does have a law
which, the State claims, requires an
individual taxpayer to first pay an
illegal tax and then demand refimd
within 30 days of payment. Even if
this claim were to be true, this is a
post-deprivation. not a predepri vabon
procedure aa referred to by the U.S
Supreme Court.
North Carolina Department of
Revenue Instructions mniled to ALL
individnal North Carotma Taxpayers
for the Tax Years 1985-1992 provide
no arention of any such 30 day
limitation and speak uniformly only
ofatfarce(3)yearknntaQononrHunds
Timely ctaredenumib for refunds were
submitted by North Carolina Federal
Retirees pursuant to Federal and State
Court Orders. Refunds still were not
provided by the state.
A Federal Judge has determined
that the State cannot apply the tharty
dsy limitation not only because of the
above; but. because die State cannot
determine wheaaparticulartax return
was received.
The North Carolina Supreme
Court, in its initial 4 to 3 decision
re versing awarded refunds for federal
retiree*, took "judkart notice" of
" claimed state fiscal problems, which
it ataSed would involve an estimated
S140 million Justice Mitchell, joined
by Chief Justice Exum and Justice
Fryn are the three who nae convinced
that fairness, jnstice and the
Court it utiou require refhnda of the
illegally collected taxes However,
during the last two budget years the
state has had a- surplus of
approximately SI 62 million and S3 SO
million respectively. The U.S.
Supreme Court now has ruled relief is
necessary in North Carolina by
overturning the stat Supreme Court
decision The State has the money but
our elected officials would rather spend
the monev than return even a portion
taken from taxpayers whose
constitutional rights have been
violated
Despite the foregoing, the North
Carolina Attorney General refuses to
even consider an equitable or fair
resolution of this case and continues
trying to avoid refunds and has now
asked the North Carolina Supreme
Court to continue to deny reftinds to
theseelderly Federal Retirees. Perhaps
the leadership in Raleigh is hoping
they will die and the problem will go
away''
bnmediaie actions by the Oovemor
snd the Attorney General ate necessary
toavoid further dragging out of refolds
for these elderly taxpayers. The
window of opportunity mr settlement
will close with the now inevitable
North Carolina or U .S. Supreme Court
decision which finally affirms the four
(4) yean of refolds adjudged by the
Tribal Court in 1990 for those taxes
unconstitutionally collectedduring the
tax yean 1985-1988
For those who would
under si amiably assume that I would
beaieripient of arch folds, you would
be in error I am not eligible for nay
such refund, however, after serving
our country for thirty-three yean aui
looking after soldiers that
rejponsiDtiny o?o no* era* upon mv
retirement I am speaking for ail those
39,000 pi us retired enlisted personnel
residing in North Carolina.
One would expect that the
standards set forth by North Carolina's
Leadership two hundred phis years
ago would serve as a shining example
to North Carolina's Leadership of
today. So Car to dale, by their lack of
honor and contempt for their
constituents rights, they have
demonstrated an inahthty to even stand
in their predecessors' shadow. We
will keep it in mind come the next
election
Sincerely.
Manila C. Sharer,
Major General (Retiredt USA.
CaroHaa ladlaa Vatce
is published every Thursday by
First American hbiutioni
304 Normal St. ? Colafe Plaza
Post OChce Box 1075
Pembroke. North Carohna 2S372
Phone (f If) 521-2024
Fax (f If) 521-1975
Cono^t Brtjfboy, Edteor
Helen Loddaar. Office Mmamer
Subecripcions
One year In NC. ffeOO
Out of state. $2540
'-isrs -
Malory Ik happen^*
becuu we mast say with all
conviction: "Never Again!**)
Oa Me 29th of December, 1190,
oat of tha |f>Mit trafcdtn in
American history occurred. It
happened an the Ptae Ridge Indian
Reservatioa, la what Is bow
southwestta South Dakota.
Just two weeks before that.
Sitting BoR had been killed whUe
being arrested at Standing Rock
Reservation, for what the U.S.
among the Lakota(Skmx) by fevering
the Ghost Dm*. After Sitting Bull's
death, many Lakota people fled their
hones, taring the soldien who had
recently been stationed la their
homelands. There was great
canfbsian. People were going in all
directions.
One of the other lenders of the
Lakota was aawa aaened Big Foot, of
the Mimeconjou Band. He was also a
proponent of tbeGhott Dance as a way
to bring back the old ways, and hod.
along with Sitting Bull, continued 10
bold Ghost Dances after being told to
stop by fearful government agents.
When Big Foot found out about the
killing of Sitting Bull, be began
moving his people toward Pine Ridge
in the belief that the great leader Red
Cloud would be tide to prevent
limber violence.
On their way 10 Pine Ridge, they
saw soldiers coining toward them. Big
Foot, who was advanced in years and
quite ill with pneumonia "*1 thus
forced 10 ride in a wagon, bad a white
ftakf raised is a signal to the cavalry
that (be Minneconjou wanted M
was onBer
orders to Mag Big Foot to tha
As the soa"weat down oa the
sad ids people, virtually surrounded
by four troops of the SevrathCtvriry,
noppedtomalra camp beside tancam
|wwptr ***11
Opt Wakpata Government maps
showed k at Wounded Knee Creek
hhtfaf Whltside pasted gnwds all
of Colonel J.W. Forsyth, who then
assumed control of all tha troops.
Forsyth had orders to place Big Foot
oa a trahtto Omaha, where he was to
be imprisoned. Probably everyone in
the catap that night realized that some
of these aaam Lahota warriors had
been involved in the defeat of this
same Seventh Cavalry Regiment at
the Uttle Bighorn, in 1876.
On the cold morning of the 29th,
the Lahota warriors were ordered to
surrender their weapons, which most
of them did. After a search of the
Indian lodges, the soldiers began
searching individual warriors for
other weapons. They found two rifles,
one of which belonged to young Black
Coyote, who announced thai he had
paid for his rifle and Hum kc didn't
think be should ha veto give it away. A
survivor namedWasumaawouki later
report that Blade Coyote intended to
lay down his rifle with the others, but
thai, while he was being jostled by the
soldiers trying to disarm him, the rifle
accidentally ''''fSnrpni
The surrounding soldiers
immediately (bed into the clustered
Minneconjou. Within a very few
ctiiiilrcti lay Ucad ifi tilS mm.
''Iff Al"'' " i ; {? |1 *a ?< ? ' V' " ? I i ?
American Hone also testiflediMldftBr
rtdtenthmm^^
surrender, nd that if they dU tVy
boys cum forward they wort
During the past 109 years,
various accounts of this incident have
bean presented. On an 1191 U.S.
government map shewing tbc
lnc?rtn?? it wa> relrmrd 10 M the
"Affair at Wounded Knee." It baa
been called by government agents "a
battle,M and by many others *?
massacre." IV number of Sioux
men. women, and children kited has
been variously put at atoet 190,300,
and just over 300. In any cam, what
happened at Wounded Knee meat be
seen as a tragedy.
It mm a tragedy In dm modem
sense of the word because so many
people, unarmed, and many of fhsm
what we would now call
"non-combatants" or "civilians," wen
senselessly killed. But it was also a
tragedy in the shelter sense that a
flawed government policy led
directly to it ? a policy ia which
treaties were broken, promises unkept,
and sovereign nations trailed like
subjugated people.
Whatever our view of Wounded
Knee, we must not forget, so that it
will never happen again. For mom
information, visit the Native
American Resource Center in Old
Main Building, on the campus of
Pembroke State University.
nn
?????
??
s
I SERwSmft
Good Neighbor. Good Advice*
?
? woodgrain c^MMt
? W?9% v^|)cifnc|f
. >m>l^N Initjiiin
? Mljf opCftlClOO
.and a *,000 to 34,000 BTU rang*
? the wid**t Hn* in th* industry!
Own m Mtuimrpwet totUf!
0 $789:95
PEMBROKE HARDWARE COMPANY
118-120 West Third Street P.O. Box 1027
Pembroke, North Carolina 28372 **)
(919) 321-3406 Fax (919) 521-1406
?Bfleaaa#
In Loving
Memory
j k? -t fevll*' ' *
la memory of our sou. Briacy
Cummings. Jr.
Oa December 20.1983. tee yam
?Ito. God took you amy. There has
not been a day thai thoughts of you
hevea't peased our way. Your km is
missed m so many ways that i*asds
cannot expiata We are thaafcfbl for
the wonderful yeara we shared
t?*Mom
,