6ditofial and Opinion (Page Red Earth, Inc., State Arts Council of Oklahoma announce call for American Indian film and video competition , Red Earth Inc., State Aits Council of Oklahoma Announce Call For Aawrican Indian Film A Video Comoetitioo otjahoma City. OK-Eotnes arc now bona accepted through December 31. l995for the 1996 American Indian Film A Video Competition noraored by Red Earth. Inc and the Sute Arts Council of Oklahoma The competition is designed to recogiu/c film and video productions which preserve and portray the Native American way of life - past, present and future The American Indian Film A Video Competition attracts entries from both Indian and non-Indian film producers." said Christy Alcox. Red Earth Executive Director, "and has pined a national reputation for honoring entries that focus on Native American issues" Competition guidelines require entries to focus on American Indian history, ana. culture, myths, social issues or ev olving visions Awards are presented ui 10 categories including feature film/drama, documentary - ait/ artist profile: documentary - short, documentary - ling: experimental/ music video, animation, promotional, broadcast journalism, student/ amateur, and children (14 and under). All winners and special merit recipients will be featured during the ninth annual Red Earth Winter Expo scheduled February 2-4. 19% at tne Red Earth Indian Center. 2100 NE 32nd Street in Oklahoma City. An awards ceremony and film festival will be conducted during the 1996 Red Earth Festival scheduled for June 7-9. 19% in downtown Oklahoma Citv "Each entry will be viewed and awarded by judges ot regional and national reputation." said Patrick Whclan. competition chairman. "Winners and top finalists will receive special awards created with Oklahoma's official Allan Housei Medallion * Awards will be presented for Best Direction by an American Indian, Beat Made in Oklahoma Production. Best Environmental Production, and Best Chtldrens Program. The Will Sampson Award is awarded to the entry deemed "Best Show." Entries must be submitted on one half inch VHS tape, and must not have been previously entered into the competition. All entries will become part of the permanent collection in the Red Earth Indian Center Library. Entries should be mailed to the I996 American Indian Film A. Video Competition. Red Earth. Inc.. 2100 NE 92nd Street. Oklahoma City, OK 73111. Brochures detailing all entry requirements can be obtained by calling (405) 427-5228. or (405) 521 2931. comnmnky m weU, the tamgm offir*. Fir* Flftmtiim Wert waakeU October 9-14, 1995. htrJRetmieWUUemstm, a member of Deep Hremck > olamteer Fire camWnae bafermdmi Uudeult im m^n^flrepre^ZmaSwkattodo tkomU afire occur. Mr. Williamson meted that due* the program lagan, fire* in Ik* Peep Drench district hare decreased by approxi metrty one betf ? 1 * beck chiropractic ******* center ihmaaitehnii ikm imaboi aootptod q "APPOINTMENT PLEASE" v*n^B kttial r 7H-3751 cohriwiW i Lw.Ki.r.AR J Arms Sutton & Hum ll Ai IIIUNHs AM> (ill NSI IORs A l I AW || PO 20? S Vjmxc Stmt lYmhrriki. NC 2W72 (910) 521-3413 Auto AiihkiM Inpimx ? I VxtU ? ( Itild C.mt<*l\ ? Wills ? Alinxxix ? Civil I itigaimn ? Child Suppiwl * S|?mluig TkkrO ? WitHi^ful IVatli ? |W|\ ? Workman ( miijicmifion ? D MA' Ikiinip ? Diuhdrndauw ? Criminal I jw So ( batrtt fbr hiatal ( Arnold I mkkai Arln )* : PSU Native American Resource Center I (Author's Note: This comment was sent to the Wall Street Journal.) 1 expected more. It was not the first time a reporter from an out-of town newspaper has discovered Lumbee Indians, come to town for twenty-four hours, and gone away to write a story purporting to summarize the suue of Lumbee affairs. Inevitably those other reporters ha ve left Robeson County with a superficial view of the subtleties of Lumbee history and culture. But this was the Wall Street Journal, arguably one of the best newspapers in the world. In Dana Milbank's article on the front page of the Journal (13 November 1995), I find that I expected loo much. The article is a shallow and almost entirely negative treatment of a complex and beautiful matter. From the caption to the closing, the article handles the Lumbee as though (hey just decided in the past few months to start being Indian As I explained to Mr. Milbank during his short visit, such a notion is remote from the tnnh. The Lumbee have always been concerned with their Native American heritage, for as long as there has been recorded history in this part of North Carolina. Mr. Milbank says the Lumbce "are having an identity crisis." From mote than a decade of experience with the Lumbee it is clear to me that, Milbank notwithstanding, the Lumbce seem to ha vc a sound grasp of who they are. Their present and temporary debate on bow best to shape their future is no different than political debates which occur in all human communities from time to time. A debate does not an "identity crisis" make. Throughout the article Milbank rc4o(JC? ibfctkumbcc struggle for federal acknowledgment to a quest for money. This misses the point entirely. The two main concerns of most modem Lumbccs with respect to federal recognition relate to: I) their desire to take their rightful place at the table of national Indian affairs; and 2) their willingness to carry on the struggle begun by their ancestors and continued by their parents to keep alive the remaining elements of their traditional Native American culture. It is a matter of cultural survival much more than of money. This doesn't mean that new funding for improvements in education, health and housing wouldn't be welcome. Tbcy certainly arc needed. But most Lumbee adults would not reap the benefits of that new funding. The real benefits would accrue to the children and future generations of the Lumbee community. This a rather more noble reality than the avaricious picture given by Milbank. Milbank states that Lumbees "intermarried with Europeans early and often." There is evidence that some Lumbee people intermarried with persons of European or mixed Indian and-European descent from the time of early incursions by outsiders into Native America. Some Lumbee people marry non-Lumbees in modern times. Howe ver, the vast majority of Lumbee people marry other Lumbees, and have done so historically. Milbank's reference to the 18th century assertion that Indians encountered in this area were a "mixed crew" overlooks die fact thai Native people, amalgamated from various tribes in the wake of epidemic decimation of their former groups, were the principal contributors to that appearance of mixture. These Native people combined from three separate linguistic and genetic slocks ? mainly Siouan, with some Algonkian and Iroquoian people. Had Milbank looked only siighdy into the historical record of the region and its cultures, he would have realized this. Although 1 do not say that it was Mr. Milbank's intention, there are many other misleading elements in the article. Almost every paragraph carries that most dangerous of usages ? the half-tnith. Perhaps the most egregious of these is his statement that: "Whatever tbey are, the Lumbccs. inspired by the national revival of Indian culture, desperately want to reclaim their lost Lumbcc ness." This statement is especially deserving of examination. "Whatever they are..."suggests at least that Milbank couldn't figure it out in his brief visit, and possibly that Lumbees themselves might not really know. While the former is apparently true, the latter is certainly not. "Inspired by the national revival of Indian culture..." implies that Lumbees recently acquired the idea from outside their own community. For a long lime (Here have been documented, repeated and consistent efforts to assert and maintain the Native American heritage of this community. Elders of advanced age in (he Lumbee community tell of "Indian meetings" which happened when they were little children. Cultural revivals of one kind or another occurred during virtually every decade from the 1860s to the 1950s, before my "national revival of Indian culture" could reasonably be considered to have happened. Since the 1960s, with the sweep of the Civil Rights and Pan-Indian movements across America, Lumbees have merely continued what was for them a centuries-long struggle. Use of the word "desperately" in Milbank's sentence connotes a hopeless, frantic and extreme desire. Thic cimnlu ic not ciimnrtpfl hv Ihp ""TV ? ?ri j reality of everyday life in the Lumbee community. Lumbee people have been and continue to be carrying on with their lives ? raising children and crops and songs; going to offices and factories and churches; sharing in politics and economics and culture. Yes, most Lumbees think federal recognition would be a good idea; but many say frankly that they don't need the government's stamp of approvaho know who they are. There arc other parts of this excerpt and the entire article which should he reconsidered in the light of real life in the land of the Lumbcc To treat each in turn would require a great deal more space than most newspapers are willing to devote to such a subject, and would elevate some plainly dumb statements to a level higher than warranted. I am left with twoqueslions. First, what precipitated Mr. Milbank's sudden discovery of Lumbees agd the Wall Striei Journal's deslje to publici/c his discovery? And second, when will people realize that a short walk at the edge of a deep wood cannot yield a useful map of the forest beyond? Mr. Milbank presented himself in Pembroke as an intelligent and thoughtful man. It is unfortunate that his article about the Lumbee didn't turn out that way. For more information, visit the Native American Resource (.'enter in Old Main Building, on the campus of Pembroke State University. Year End Sale Close out sale on all 19V5 homes New vinyl siding, shingle roof homes 3 bedroom 2 bath only $15995. All homes in stock reduced Monthly payments as low as $99 No down payment to qualfied buyers. Harry Reed Homes has three locations to serve you. Hwy 41, Elizabethlown Rd 910-739-9531. Hwy 74 Maxton 910-521-0064. Hwv 211 Bladenboro Hwy 910-738-5060 Vied Homes On-the-lot financing No application refused Over 30 homes in stock to choose from. Singie-and doubiewides Prices start a S995 Harry Reed Homes has three locations to serve you. Hwy 41 Elizabethtown Rd. 910-738-9531 Hwy 74 Maxton 910-521-0064 Hwv 211 Bladenboror Hwy 910-738-5060 Celebrate Indian Heritage Month "Give the Gift of Life" LRDA will sponsor a blood drive on Monday, November 27,1995 from 1:20p.m. until 6:00p.m. Burnt Swamp Baptist Building For appointment, piemae cmU Patriae Brmyboy at 739-5957 * *Free T-shirts to the first 30 donors'' 1 Riley Jordan, M.D. and Wilbur "Buck" Schrum, PA-C are pleased to announce the association of general family practitioner Myra Deese Hall, M.D. A Pembroke native, she will join the Family Care Center in Raeford beginning November 8. To make an appointment with Dr. Deese Hall, Dr. Jordan or Buck Schrum call (910) 875-3606. MOORE REGIONAL fawftifare CENT E R