Editorial and Opinion Page
Editorially Speaking
Tribal Chairman Dr. Dalton Brooks Sends Mixed Message to Tribe
(>111 1 nb.il Chairman. Dr Dallou Brooks, has succeeded 111 making ihe
\--oet iled I'ress with the controversy surrounding our tribal" government
A e an. siupiised and a little disappointed in Dr Brooks He keeps sending
mixed messages io us. the members of the tribe
I he Constitution was adopted in I'>*>4 and Dr Brooks was elected as the
i ribal Chairman The documents itself empowered Dr Brooks, and 21
members of the tribal council to serx e as the governing bod> of the tribe This
empowerment. seemingly was not sufficient or satisfactory for Dr Brooks
and the council Thc> then decided, as one of their first official acts, to sue
the local Lunibee Regional Development Association. Inc . a private, nonprofit
oorporation By their action. Dr Brooks and the council said. "We will
let the courts decide who our government is "
Then on Saturday, while the issue is still in litigation. Dr Brooks hosted
a Summit on Fcdcrai Recognition We were astounded' Dr Brooks is sending
a mixed message to the members of the tribe On one hand, he say s bv his
actions. "1 am not sure that 1 have the authority to be tribal government We
will let the courts decide " Then before the issue is resolved by the courts, his
choice of resolving the issue of our gov crnnicnt. he again by ins actions said.
"1 tinnk I'll go ahead and exercise my power as the top ranking Lunibee
official 1 w ill hold a summit on fcdcrai recognition " And he proceeds. Our
newly-elected Congressman Mike Mclntyrc is inv ited, apparently to talk
aboui new strategics for federal recognition Michael Anderson vyith the
Bui can of Indian Affairs also shows up to participate in the summit
Afterwards, reportedly, he also met with members of the board of directors
of Lunibee Regional Dev elopment Association
.. - . . _ . ?!
After an embarrassing!) low attendance at the Summit, we publicly ask
Dr Brooks what was the purpose'' There are over 40.000 Luntbecs in
Robeson and surrounding counties, and less than 100 turned out for the
"Summit " Wc assume that 22 of them were the elected and appointed
members of the tribal council and the chairman We arc embarrassed again
by such public exposure of an issue that our tribal gov eminent has determined
to be a matter for the courts Common sense should prevail at sonic time It
is not feasible to think that the Congressman is going to introduce a bill on
federal recognition vv hen the issue of our government is tied up in the courts
Even the seemingly naive Mclntyrc wouldn't make that tactical error Wc
need the appearance of unity among tribal members, lfwc arc to successfully
work toward federal acknowledgment One has to wonder if federal
recognition is an issye-Rttn we all agree on Dr Brooks and the tribal council
should cither w ithdraw their law suit and assume the role of tribal gov ernment.
or they should "let the courts decide" for them. Dr Brooks, you cannot
do both You must stop sending mixed messages to those of us who look to
you for leadership Either lead in a positive and productive manner and
lead all of us. not just a faction or move out of the way. Wc editorially
recommend that as Tribal Chairman Dr Brooks, by executive order, which
he has the authority to do under the Constitution, withdraw the lawsuit and
assume his rightful role injjur leadership Wc ask that you do so hurriedly
before wc have any more publicity on the "controversy" in Lumbcc country
Wc editorially state that u is embarrassing and wc beiieve that men of good
will should be able to sit down together and resolve this issue and resolve it
internally My government is not a matter for the courts to decide That
decision has been made The chairman and the council should be courageous
enough to do what they were elected or appointed to do. or move out of the
way As we look at it today. some of our leaders seem to be impeding progress
instead of leading us in a positive direction. We arc embarrassed and. quite
frankly, tired of defending you to people who read about our controversy and
call to ask us what the problem is The problem, as we sec it, is that no one
in leadership positions has demonstrated the courage needed to resolve an
issue that should never have been an issue
In the meantime, there are other issues that need to be dealt with. We refer
now to the name. "Lumbce Tribc of Chcraw Indians." Legally, we arc not the
Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians We are legally by the state and federal
government recognized as Lumbee Indians Had the Lumbce Bill passed in
the Senate we would legally has been named the "The Lumbee Tribe of
Chcraw Indians " We suggest that the Chairman and the council find a
strategy to cither legally make us the "Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians," or
take the necessary steps to remove the name from the official document. That
is another issue that can be resolved at home We urge you to do it hufnedly
And we arc not gullible enough to believe that our Congressman will make
that a part of the bill when he introduces it Our Congressman is an attorney
and we arc assured that he understands w hat it means for an issue to be under
litigation. We Lumbees have no way of knowing whether Congressman
Mclntvrc will be supportive of our efforts for federal recognition because we
have muddied the waters for him. Our law suit giv es him a perfect reason
not to do anything And who can complain? Again, we editorially ask Dr
Brooks to do the right thing Bring people together. Do not continue to cause
division and controversy among your own people.
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(Author's Note: The series
focusing on Native Heritage: Personal
Accounts by American Indians 1790
to the Present [edited by Arlene
Hirschfelder] which began in last
week's segment will continue
soon, following two special
announcements.)
The Native American Resource
Center and the American Indian
Studies Department arc pleased to
co-sponsor a presentation by
Dr. Kimberly Blaeser, which will
happen in The Center at 1:00 PM on
Friday, 7 February 1997. Dr. Blaeser
is an Anishinaabe Indian who grew
up on the White Earth Reservation in
Northwestern Minnesota. She is a
widely published scholar, poet and
storyteller. Her presentation will be a
lecture on "Ghost Dance Literature"
? The Survival of Native Voices, and
will include reading of some of her
own works.
Dr. Blaeser is an Associate
Professor of English at the University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she
teaches undergraduate and graduate
courses in Native American Literature
and Creative Writing. In 1996 she
published a critical study of the works
of another Native American writer,
the book is called Gerald Vizenor:
Writing in the Oral Tradition
(University of Oklahoma Press). Her
other publications include a collection
of her own poetry entitled Trailing
You, which won the 1993 First Book
Award from theNative Writers' Circle
of the Americas. She has also
published poetry, fiction, essays and
scholarly articles in numerous
anthologies and journals.
Kim Blaeser is a wonderful poet.
Her poetry springs from her own
nature-grounded experience into
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image and sound. The plants and
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living histofy'?" ("Living History'*)
We hope you will join us in The
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exceptional writer and scholar.
Refreshments will be served. For
more information, visit the Native
American Resource Center in historic
Old Main Building, on the campus of
The University of North Carolina at
Pembroke.
Some things you need to
know about HIV/AIDS
by Br en da Jones, PWA/Advocate
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is still growing and we are all affected.
Children and adolescents in North Carolina have been diagnosed with
HIV disease. In the category between birth and 20 years old, 135
persons have been diagnosed with AIDS and 317 persons have been
diagnosed with HIV. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta,
Georgia states that if these numbers were multiplied by 10 it would be
more of an accurate account.
This epidemic is not someone else's problem. It is not the problem
for people of a particular sexual orientation, race or class. It is a
challenge for each of us The numbers arc a proxy for the loss of our
society from the dissemination of human potential Directly or
indirectly, this disease threatens us all Every sector of our society that
denies the threat "and refuses to admit that the disease endangers each
of us. must be challenged The battle against HIV and AJDS is more
often than not a battle against sexism, homophobia, racism and class
bigotry
"Mothers' Voices," a national, grassroots, non-profit organization
dedication to mobilizing mothers as educators and advocates to end
AIDS, reports:
Heterosexual transmission became the leading cause of HIV
infection in women, accounting for 18% of all new AIDS cases in
1994 The disease is spreading almost six times as quickly among
women
* AIDS cases among adolescents (ages 13-19) grew by 88% in 1992
and 1993 It is now the leading cause of death among people ages 15
to 24
By the year 2000. it is estimated that 300.000-400.000 children
will be orphaned as a result of the loss of their parents to AIDS
We must as a community and county fight for AIDS education, the
promotion of abstinence or safer sexuai behavior, expand research for
ixMtcr treatment and a cure, and compassion for every person living
IwithHIVanc^lD^
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