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byDr.Dea„Chavers,Pre,i,e«
N>Uve American Scholarship Fund
AJbuquerque. NM
fffe Need To Read By Dr.
Dean Chavers (c) Copyright,
1994
for the past 20 years, I have had
(he privilege to work with people
ofmanytribesalloverthcU.S. The
More work I do in education, the
more sharplj’ do I see the prob
lems, and what to do about them.
InihepasI five years, I have worked
nilh the Colorado River Indian
Tribes, the Chinie school district,
(lie Kayenta School districts, the
Window Rock School district, the
Gallup school district, the Otoe-
Missouria Tribe, the Southwest
ern Indian Polytechnic Institute,
and the Duck Valley Shoshone
Paiute Tribe, among others.
If I went back 20 years, the list
would have over 75 schools, col
leges. tribes, tribal organizations,
and national organizations on it.
Most of the time. I have been frus-
For years. I have been preaching
[hat we need to challenge our In-
4an students to do the best they
can in school. Most of the time,
that preaching has fallen on deaf
tars.Itisonlyin the past five years
[hat 1 have had any respect from
Indian educators.
The thing I would push most, and
would do full time if 1 could, is
I am convinced that it is
reading which makes a person a
real student, or scholar. What we
do m school is only practice for a
iite-long passion for reading
am familiar w ith the facts about
Illiteracy in the U.S. Almost 50
million people are functionally il
literate. according to the U.S De
partment of Education. That is al
most 20% of the population.
For Indians. 1 have not been able
to find comparable numbers But I
believe, from what I have seen
that over 75% of Indian adults are
now illiterate.
Two Mondays ago, 1 spent the day
working with 18 people from the
Jicarilla Apache Department of
Education (JADE). We concluded
that the students there read fewer
than one book per year each, out
side the school curriculum. Their
high school students miss a lot of
school; on a typical dav, 70 out of
175 of their students are out of
school, or 40%,
Thebigdropoutycarfor Indians is
ninth grade, in most reports. The
reason is very simple: these stu
dents enter high school not know
ing how to read w ell enough to stay
up.
What we need to do is get our
children reading at an early age.
Any young mother w'ho does not
read to her three-year-old is cheat
ing her. Any young father who
does nothave his six-year-old read
to him is cheating him,
Reading cuts across all subjects,
rive years ago, I was knocked out
by a math teacher in a math lab in
the Oalllup school district. He had
worked out a whole system for
students, from addition to negative
numbers and equations. I thought
his students would excel
They did well, gaining 1,2 grades
during the year. But a lady in an-
Other lab had students who gained
over 2,0 grades during the year.
Her secret: she used a lot of word
problems. The man used only com
putation and drill.
Reading is essential to an under
standing of the world. Indian
people who leave their communi
ties and go into the world the only
choice for half or more of our
current high school students w ith-
out an understanding of what the
world is like are like sheep being
led to the slaughter. Everyone from
furniture dealers to scam artists
can take advantage of them.
When w e arc able as Indian people
to take charge of our lives once
again, it will be through the power
of reading. We need to get our
children ready to take their places
in the world -- through reading.
Thank You for re-electing me as Your County
Commissioner. I will continue to serve the
citizens of Robeson County to the best of mv
ability.
NOAH WOODS
"Qualified by leadership and service"
Paid for by the candidate
Smith and Bullard to Wed
Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. and Edna B. Smith ofMaxton. NC announce me
engagement of their daughter, hredia Smith to Ronald Bullard. Miss Smith
graduated from Red Springs High School in 1979 and from Robeson
Community College in 1981. She is employed by Scotland County Depart
ment of Social Services in Laurinburg. NC.
Her fiance is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs.. Daniel W. (Whitehead) and
Bessie J. Bullard ofMaxton. He graduated from Prospect High School in
1971andRobesonCommunityCollegeinmo. HeisemployedbyPembroke
State University in Pembroke, NC.
The wedding has been set for December 7, 1994 at Mt. Elim Baptist Church
in Hoke county at 3:00 p.m. No invitations will be sent but friends and
relatives are invited to attend.
Report to the Lumbee
Tribe From the Chairman
by Dr. Dalton P. Brooks, Chairman, Lumbee Tribe
The White House seemed far
away, even though I could it well
from Penn. Avenue. I went by sev
eral gales until at last I was cleared
logo in.
This was my first visit to the
People's House-White House to a
building called the Executive
Building. I was escorted to room
150.
Hooked around for people that
might know. My eyes caught a
glimpse of Mrs, Arlinda Locklear,
Mr Adolph Blue, Mr. James
Hardin, Mr. Cecil Hunt and Mr.
Uon Locklear.
Here we were-the Lumbee. the
Tuscarora, and LRDA. My
thoughts turned immediately to the
qiKSlion-who represent s the people
and what are we here for.
My first reaction was to get cv-
wbody together and let's present
llie Indian story as we know it. I
bad such thoughts like: Our people
have been goingto Washington for
50 years and here we are in 1994.
What could LRDA say? What could
Ihe Lumbee say? And what would
ihe Tuscarora say?
So that when collaborative partici
pation with the federal go\ crn-
ment is required. w'C present one
agenda.
Political activism can pit Indi
ans against each other is re politics
of immobility. From Washington!
could noi see diversity and I saw a
nation divided.
The people elected a Tribal Gov
ernment to address social, eco
nomic. moral and academic is
sues. Let's go fonvard carrying the
burdens of all the Indian people,
seeking a united effort from all
Indian organizations.
FALL CLEAN-UP...
NO PAYMENTS UNTIL 1995*
Having completed the opening
ceremonies, which lasted an hour.
I felt the prayers of all our Ances-
lors and could feel the anointed
^oke that saturated the whole
Hv, Then everybody introduced
ihemselves,
Mr. Blue introduced himself as
member of LRDA and spoke
eloquently about the past. He said,
feel like I'm maiking history
'■ because back in 1930 my
father
came to Washington to
Pi^nl the Indian concerns and
elutions for our people."
Mr. Leon Locklear was impres-
Mr, Locklear spoke of the
times he has been to Wash-
■ufk” lor his people. He said,
,,hy don't you people (BIA, etc.)
dp us? We have been coming and
j^pimg and we haven't got anv-
thmgyet,"
Il^oies Hardin spoke of his
•HjA membership and he made
mnbutions for clarification of a
spific resolution.
introduced myself as a member
dlhe Lumbee Tribe.,
left Washington with the feel-
8 that Washington is a place of
miiuence and power. And to make
Jr case, we (the tribe, LRDA and
7 ‘uscarora) must present a
ciig sense of unity-solidarity.
How could we get together and
P sent our cause for education,,
.^'■'Jtiomic development, for
Ural expression for ourselves
'Monr children.
Now the tribal government must
j, , to heal and restore the
riir.^4 '^^'^tionships that have oc-
^ ^ over the last several years.
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Sometimes The Most
Sienificant Thing Revealed
By An MRI
Is Peace Of
Mind.
When 6-year-old
Luke Britt developed
symptoms that
were typical of a
brain tumor, his
parents,
Johnson and
Fordham
Britt, were
faced with
what could
have easily been the
most difficult period of their lives.
Peace of mind is hard to come by when you are
waiting...not knowing. The period fi-om discovery
of symptoms to accurate diagnosis and selecting
treatment can be one of the most agonizing phases of
the entire medical process.
Fortunately for the Britts, this phase was kept to a
minimum, thanks to the staff and advanced diagnostic
equipment right here at Southeastern Regional Medical
Center. A Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI)
alleviated the Britts’ worst fears. They are grateful for the
results and for the speed with which they were obtained.
“From the initial concerns raised by our pediatrician
to the conclusive results of the MRI was less than a
week,” stated Mrs. Britt “It’s reassuring to know that
whatever the outcome of the test we would have been
able to react so quickly...there was great peace of
mind in that alone.”
SOUTHEASTERN
regional
F MEDICAL CENTER
Touching Your Life Through Insight
300 We.st 27th Street, Lumbeiton, NC 28359, (910) 671-5000