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=!? 2 rr; iA i VOLUME Reco^ Published each Thursday by First American Publications, Pembroke, NC THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 16, 1995 TWENTY-FIVE CENTS 4 Committee of Indian Commission Recommends Adoption of Resolution in Support of Lumbee Tribal Council by Wendy Moore Ledwell The North Carolina Board ofEdu- cation Building, housed in Raleigh, was filled to capacity levels, Monday, February 13th. Those in attendance included; members of the Lumbee/ Cheraw Tribal Government and con cerned tribal members, members of the Lumbee Regional Development Association (LRD A) and members of the NC Commission of Indian Af fairs. The purpose of the meeting was to have the Recognition Committee of the Indian Commission to make recommendations on the resolution of the tribal council that requests the NC Commission of Indian Affairs to formally acknowledge the Lumbee Constitution as the government of the Lumbee Indian Tribe Members of the NC Commission of Indian Affairs Recognition Committee in attendance were: Lonnie Revels, Guilford Native American Association- Pat Riddick. Meherrin Tribe; Leroy Scott, Lum bee Tribe; Earlene Stacks, Metrolina Indian Association; Tom Carter. Coharie Tribe; W.R. Richardson. Haliwa-Saponi Tribe. The meeting was called toorder by W.R. Richardson,newly designated Director of the Indian Commission. The first item on the agenda was the Lumbee/Cheraw Tribal Government s position as conveyed by Tribal Attorney Dr. Arlinda F. Locklear Dr. Locklear posed two questions. First she asked: Does the commission have the authority to rec ognize the tribal government? Her answer was “Yes" due to the fact that through their by-laws they have already recogni^ LRD A as the Lum bee f^resentative. If in fact, the com mission contented that they did not possess that authority then their au thority to recognize LRDA is dis solved Dr. Locklear added, “ be cause the commission acknowledges LRDA, the commission cannot sit this one out.' ’ By doing nothing the commission would send a statement to the Lumbee people saying, “ we Tribal Council Meetin g planned for district 21 A meeting for tribal members of ' District 21 will be held on Tuesday, February 21. at Tabernacle Baptist Church Fellowship Hall on NC 711 at 7:00 p.m, This meeting will give members an opportunity to voice any concerns, ask questions concerning their tribal government, and offer recommenda tions. For further information concern ing this meeting, call Councilman ^ Lance Harding at 738-8829. 5 Carolina Jndian Voice! Pembroke. NC ^ihe Catoen Like Son care not who you select as your lead ers; we select your leaders for you. "Secondly, she asked: Have the Lumbeesselected new leaders? Again, her answer was ‘ ‘yes’'. She then gave anoverviewoftheconstitutional elec tion process and the tribal elections pro\ ided therein. Dr. Locklear states. What we have is a simple election. One side won ; one side lost." She presented evidence of mandate through previous Lumbee elections, examples include: the election to change the tribal name to Lumbee was 2109 FOR and 35 AGAINST; the 1984 referendum, that gave LRDA representative authority (for federal recognition only), was 796 FOR and 32 AGAINST; the Lumbee Constitu tion was 8,040 FOR and 223 AGAINST. The second item on the agenda was the LRDA position as conveyed by Executive Director, Janies Hardin and Board of Directors Chairman, Adolph Blue under legal advisement of Greg Smith, attorney for LRDA. Mr. Hardin began by proudlv ac knowledging LRDA's outstanding service rendered to the Lumbee people for the past 27 years. He added that LRDA has always represented the Lumbee people as a governing body, in that, LRDA’s board of directors is elected by the people andas of the past week thcreare 45,000-i-enrolled tribal members through LRDA Enrollment Office. Mr. Hardin contended that LRDA is the governing body of the Lumbee Tribe, in that, it fulfills the 4 major requirements of governance: 1. Promotes health and welfare of tribal members. 2. Identifies mem bership. 3. Represents tribe before other tribes and organizations. 4. Resolves disputes. Mr. Hardin also added that LRDA is actively seeking tribal recognition through file executive process. Mr. Lonnie Revels, Recognition Committee Member, asked Mr. Hardin if it was true that LRDA had suspended theirelections. Mr. Hardin abruptly asked, “ Is there a problem with thaU" Mr. Revels replied, ‘ ‘Yes. Mr. Hardin, I do have a problem when a body who suppose to repre sent the people denies them the demo cratic process." Mr. Hardin stated that the suspension was a mechanism to give the board time to implement the tribal rolls in their election pro cess. Mrs. Earlene Stacks, Recognition Committee member, stated that she felt that the problems that exist be tween LRDA and the tribal govern ment arc just a "family fight or fam ily feud". She suggests that there should be some type of mediation between members of the two groups and that these mediations should rarely require outside intervention. She felt that the issues should be decided between themselves. Mr. Revels noted that if the committee hoped that this issue would go away and not effect them then he would say ‘ ‘let’s sit tight but it’s not going to go away. "Then Mr. Revels formally made the motion that the committee set forth to the full board for the approval ©f the resolution and also set forth hearings to amend commission by-laws to reflect this recommenda tion. The motion was seconded by Mr. Tom Carter. Mr. Pat Riddick expressed his sincere hope that the two' groups could come to some type of a compromise that would be in the best interests of the people. The vote stood as follows: Lonnie Revels, YES; Leroy Scott.NO; Tom Carter, YES; Pat Riddick. YES; W .R. Richardson, YES; Earlene Stacks, NO. The count resulted in applause and shouts from the audience The committee's recommendation will go before the full commission at the Indian Unity Conference, March 16, in Fayetteville. The tribal govern ment is well aware that their work is not complete and the battle is not yet won. Parkton School News leslie Melvin, a fifth grade student at Parkton Elementary School, was recently awarded a set of World Book Encyclopedia leslie received the set as a promotional progrant sponsored by World Book Encyclopedia with the set being donated Schmitz, company representative. The program is called Com- panv With a Heart," and is awarded to a family who will benefit from the use of a set of encyclopedias in the home. Say you read it in the Carolina Indian Voice Piney Grove School News m i I j-j f Mu Recently at Piney Grove School Mrs. Emanuel’s and Mrs. Locklear's kindergar ten class decorated the cafeteria bulletin board for the month of February. The stu dents decorated the board with pizzas and toppings they made. The bulletin board ob serves Valentine’s Day in a nutritious way. Shown is Mrs. Emanuel’s kindergarten class. J&O Trophy Winners Trophy winnersfromJ & OTaeKwonDooflOS Union Chapel Road, Pembroke, are shown left to right: Crystal Henderson; Little Ryan Locklear; Justin Bullard; Misty Henderson. Standing is O.J. Henderson (Sabunim) instructor and operator of J & O. The.se students competed at the Rick Labean's Tournament in Bennettesville, South Carolina on February 11,1995. They won six first place, hvo second place, and two third place trophies. Congratulations guys! Good work! Plans for Centennial Celebration Underway for Town of Pembroke The Committee planning the Cen tennial Celebration for the Town of Pembroke met Tuesday night and finalized ftirther plans for the cel ebration slated for March 8. Local artist, Delora Cummings, whose teaches at Purnell Swett High, was commissioned to do a paintign that will capture the essence of Pem broke' s 100 year history. Prints for this painting will be available. In other matters, a committee was formed to write the history of the town. For further information, contact Councilman Greg Cummings at521- 0190 or Councilman Harry Oxendine at 521-9429. Tribal Chairman Brooks Responds to Negative Ad in the Robesonian This is in response to the paid announcement in the Robesonian, dated Februa^ 12, 1995/ Let us begin with the election for the Tribal Government, this election was the result of a constitution that had been adopted by 8,044 Lumbee Indians. 233 voted NO to the Consti tution. The election placed the Tribal Council and the Chairman as the legitimate government for the Lum- bee-Cheraw' people. We (the Tribal Council and the Chairman) set-out to create a government and to research all available information that defined a constitutional government. The Tribal Council and the Chair man have been working daily to find their direction in the development of a constitutional government. Many of the issues of setting-up structure is difficult and confusing. But what we (the Government) do understand is that the Constitution provides the mission, a broad statement of funda mental purpose that embraces the social, cultural, intellectual, spiritual, aspirations of Lumbee people. One of the first responsibilities of the Chairman was to inform all Fed eral agencies and State agencies of the Lumbee-Cheraw Government. The Federal agencies respond by declaring that if a Governmentexists, then that Government has ultimate authority. This means that the Gov ernment must be knowledgeable about all programs and projects directed to State recognized Indian people, The problem the Lumbee people have to decide is that does the Lumbee- Cheraw Government represent the Lumbee people or does LRDA? It is my opinion that the election deter mined that question. I have written LRDA two letters. The first letter invited LRDA to a Tribal Government meeting to dis cuss ongoing Indian programs, their purpose, their finding, their effec tiveness; the other letter was written asking LRD A to consider inviting the Tribal Government to discuss Indian issues, involving projects, programs and the future opportunities to find ways we could work together. As of this writing. 1 have not received a reply. The advertisement mentioned that Lance Hardin, Aggie Deese. Doreen Sampson. Emma Locklear and Arlinda Locklear went to Washing ton. The Tribal Government was in vited to attend a Washington Confer ence that President Clinton arranged primarily with the encouragement by Congressman Charlie Rose. The Tribal Council wanted to go a day earlier to visit senators and represen tatives and departmental agencies. The Tribal Government represen tatives paid their own way. They wanted to find out more about Indian programs and what the Government could do to receive them. The repre sentatives were told that Indian pro grams, in their opinion, should go to the Indian Government. According to the Federal agencies, all Indian programs should be signed off by ‘‘The Lumbee-Cheraw Govern ment." This, from what I can under stand. is the law. What is my Agenda? My agenda is finding expression for the aspirations of Indian people, it is promoting their safety and security for now and the Sen. Parnell to Chair Senate Commerce Committee Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight has appointed Sena tor David Parnell of Parkton to serve as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Conuuittcc. The Commerce Commit tee will oversee legislation affecting all areas of business in North Caro lina ineluding: Banks and Thrifts. Public Utilities. Manufacturing and Labor, Economic Development, and Travel and Tourism. "Senator Parnell is a small busi nessman who knows what it takes to create jobs, balance the books, and get things done. His extensive expe- ricnee in both the business world and in the General Assembly make him an ideal choiec to lead the Senate Commerce Committee." said Sena tor Basnight. Senator Parnell added. "I look foiA^ ard to reviewing legislation that will strengthen Nortli Carolina'sbusi- ncss climate and create more high- payingjobs for our citizens. Our con tinued economic development is very important, especially in the rural ar eas of our state. No matter where you live in North Carolina. I want you to have the opportunity to get a good job and provide for a better life for your children." said Senator Parnell. david Parnell is a Democrat repre senting the 30th Senate District. He is currently serving his se\ enth Senate term and he served four previous terms in the House of Representa tives. Parnell is a graduate of Parkton Public Schools, Oak Ridge Militaiy- Academy and Wake Forest Univer sity. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945-46 and is the owner of Parnell Oil Co.. Inc. In addition to the Commerce Com mittee. Senator Parnell will serve as Vice-Chairmanofthe Appropriations subcommittee on justice & Public Safety. Vice-Chairman of the Pen- sionsandRetiremcnt/lnsurance/State Personnel Committee, and as a mem ber of the Finance. Judiciary Il/Elec- tion Laws, and Transportation Com mittees. ) 21 st century, it is creating an Indian Government whose motto is righ- ' teousness and truth. The powers I 1 expect to receive is the power to serve •; and love people. My family and I have been servers, for we have the gift of serving and helping people. 1 do this without charge I really thank the Lord that he gave me an education and a job. I work hard at my job and I work hard at helping people every where. What is my approach? My ap proach is to dialogue with all Indian groups to find ways to help and sup port Lumbee Indians and other In dian people in North Carolina and Indian people everywhere. My desire is to be creative, developing those partnerships, and cooperative link ages that will provide for successful programs in: education, health and human services, economic, cultural and spiritual well-being for ourselves and our posterity The Tribal Government wants to be accountable for improving fund ing, for being creative about what a government can do by working to gether with Federal. State and Local agencies to create a viable enduring Government. Remember Indian people need each other. The Government needs the e.xperiencc of LRDA and their wisdom about government functions. The Tribal Government, the creation of the people, offers an opportunity to address Indian problems in an open forum which s the Indian way. It is also the Indian way to be trustworthy, honest, and not to malign other In dian people in the media. ("Love one another, for Love is of God.' ’) by Dr. Dalton P. Brooks, Chairman, Lumbee Tribe Hypnotist vists PSHS by David Lowery Jim Wond. the famous hypnotist, visited Purnell Swett High School to spread enthusiastic smiles among the administration, faculty, staffand stu dents on January 26. 1995. Wond picked a couple of faulty members and students to hypnotize, Among these were Mrs. Pearson and several seniors. The hypnotist asked each their names and what they wanted to focus on during hypnotism. Some chose to build self confidence, some chose better study skills, motivation, quit smoking, quit nail biting, and ath letic enhancement. To get the volunteers hypnotized, he told them to concentrate on a red light in front of them. As they watched the light he told the audiences all of the experiences he encountered. He hypnotized right at a million people, including some famous people like the Judds. George Strait, the Seattle Supersonics. professional basketball team. Cheap Trick and many other people across the United Slates. Trough hypnotism, the volunteers experienced lying on thcbeach. riding a roller coaster, flying an airplane, flying asducks, guysbecoming cheer leaders, and several other imagina tive experiences. Wood’s performance kept the at tention of the crowd as the audience responded with lots of laughter, and assisting whenever possible.
The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.)
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Feb. 16, 1995, edition 1
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