Newspapers / The Carolina Indian Voice … / May 15, 1997, edition 1 / Page 2
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Editorial and Opinion Page North Carolina Teacher Pay Increase Bill Passes House of Representatives Raleigh - Representatives Ron Sutton, Douglas Yongucand Donald Bonner, representing Robeson. Scotland and Hoke Counties, joined a majority of the House last Wednesday in voting for a bill designed to keep the best and brightest teachers in North Carolina's classrooms The measure, the Excellent Schools Act, sets the goal of raising teacher salaries to the national avcr" agcbythcycar2000. In return, teachers must meet tougher standards and more rigorous evaluations "North Carolinians want better schools, and raising teacher salaries ? while also holding teachers and students more accountable ? could be the boldest step yet to improve education." Representative Sutton said Governor Jim Hunt made raising teacher salaries to the national average a cornerstone of his legislative package this year Democrats enthu-siastically supported the bill "We do not want the teaching profession to be a hunting ground for industry." House Minority Leader Jim Black, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, said during the floor debate "We use tax money to train teachers, only to have them picked ofTby industry This is a good first step toward improving the re wards of leaching so thai good teachers no longer lease the field for greener pasture " The Excellent Schools Act is designed to help North Carolina attract and keep the best teachers Studies show the state needs to do both Within a few scars. the stale will ha\e to hire almost 9.000 new teachers each scar to handle booming school enrollments Keeping teachers in the classroom also is a problem North Carolina leads the countrs in the percent of teachers leasing the profession, according to stale officials Thirls percent of the ncss teachers mos c into another field in their first three >cars Mans of them cite loss pas asa major reason The Excellent Schools Act ssould raise the salars for beginning teachers front $21,330 to $25,000 bs the scar 2000 Top pas for the most experienced and qualified teachers ssould increase to more than $53,000 Teachers ssho pass a tough, national board certification ssould rcccise a 12 percent bonus Those with a master's degree ssould get a 10 percent bonus sshen the plan was fulls implemented Other bonuses ssould be tied to performance Teachers ssouldrcccisc $750 when their schools met their goals under the ABCs plan, and $1,500 when lhc> exceeded those goals The ABCs plan is designed to reward schools that perform well and provide help for those that do not Teachers also would receiv e more monev for additional work, such as serving as mentors for new teachers and working extra day s. Other prov isionswould makeit tougher for teachers to get tenure, and easier for school boards to get rid of bad teachers "This bill did not just give teachers a pa> raise." Representative Sutton said. "It linked the higher salaries with tougher standards and higher expectations " The bill now goes to the Senate, which passed a different version of the measure earlier in the session Negotiators from the House and Senale arc expected to work out the differences in the two proposals. "I ani somewhat disappointed lhat the bill doesn't effectively address the issue of classroomdisciplinc and the need to have an alternative program for disruptive students." Rep Sutton said. "Until all our classrooms have an env ironment conducive to learning our schools can never be all we want them to be " These issues arc due to be addressed in other bills before the General Assemblv. lijy 7pk. J. T,llft, \J OpT^v^-^ TbyOr Stan Knick. DJr?ctor^| A few weeks ago we had the great pleasure of a visit by Dr. Joseph Bruchac, the Abenaki scholar, poet and storyteller. He had come to the Native American Resource Center as the inaugural presenter in the new Adolph L. Dial Lecture Scries in American Indian Studies. He left us with many fond memories of his performance and his stories. He also left his new book with us, entitled Tell Me A Tale: A Book About Storytelling (1997; Harcourt, Brace and Co.). In this book, Bruchac walks the reader through a step-by-step process toward the development and telling of stories. The journey begins with listening: "There are stories everywhere around us, but many people don't notice those stories because they don't take the lime to listen. Or if they hear a story being told that is one they've heard, they stop listening. 'I've heard that before,' they say. Yet if we listen closely to any story, we may hear new things almost every time it is told." Bruchac suggests that we may need to re-learn how to listen well. One way to do that is through an exercise he learned from the Cherokee poet, Norman Russell. The exercise involves finding a place, preferably outdoors, where it is relatively quiet. It should be a familiar place ? the back porch, for example ? where you can sit for a while without being disturbed and just listen to what goes on around you. Begin by thinking of an imaginary circle surrounding you. With your eyes closed, try to listen for any sounds within the circle. It might be a sound you are making (i.e., heartbeat, creaking chair), or some nearby sound made by the cat or the wind. When you open your eyes, you may not be able to see everything you heard, but you will know it is there. Next think of a bigger circle, and repeat the listening process with your eyes closed again. Try to identify all the sounds you hear, or at least to locate them within the circle. Always try to remember the sounds you heard in the smaller circle, too. You can repeat this process with larger and larger circles until you can hear things that you might not ordinarily hear. The point is to train your ears, and your mind, to listen to every sound around you. Bruchac follows the school of thought (expressed by novelist Gerald Vizenor and many others) that the use of our imagination to create pictures in our minds is less limited than simply watching the images offered to us by movies and television. He quotes a second grader who once heard him telling stories and said he liked Bruchac's stories more than television because "the pictures are better in my mind." Next week we will look further into Bruchac's book on storytelling, and find out where stories originate and what the next step is along the way to good storytelling. 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. Being Indian is not just race; there is a great deal of politics invo, says reader Dear Editor; You guys back in Robeson County may not believe this, but one of the hardest things about living in the city is that once other people discover you are a native person, they begin to tell vou^about their great-grandmother who was full blooded. Because of my personal friendship with the Cherokee, 1 will not tell you that this greatgrandmother is also a princess. (Thought 1 was going to sav it. didn't you?) A^vvay. this topic gels mc in a great deal of long conversations that 1 don't care to conduct about why that doesn't make them Indian After say ing all this. I can now state my point in writing. As always, sonic of you will degree And that is fine Anyone who know smew ell will tcllyou I am not into popularity contests 1 just want to give you something to think about Ever since "Dances With Wolves" came out. people suddenly remembered their great grand mothers who were all Indian Princesses Did the movie "Dances with Wolves" jarthcir memory? What do they think it makes them now? I have never heard of an instant Indian 1 always thought you were or were not Indian It is that simple My question is why do these people feel a need to make such statements If a person is raised black oi while, that is who they arc. 1, for one don't carc how many books y ou read how many cemeteries you go to , noi how many pictures oflong lost relatives you come up w ilh. You arc w ho you arc. It's just that cut and dried and nothing more. Besides, most of these people just want to be accepted for a while and then they go back to being who they really arc They fail to real i/c we don't have that pleasure of being accepted by whites one minute and then by someone else the next Then again, society today is into escapism No one wants to lake responsibility for any thing. It seems every one w ants to be something else Even as a child 1 wanted to be a cowboy just to be on the winning side; ' ' Most people fail to understand that being Native American is not like being another minority We arc cilrzcnsoflhc Indian Nations These Indian Nations have clear criteria for who can and who cannot be members of the Nation Look at it is way. you cannot be a United Stales citi/cn and a citi/cn of a foreign country You arc clearly one or the other You can continue the ethnic practices of that foreign country. but you arc no longer a citi/cn of that country when you become a U S citi/cn Being Native has nothing to do with race, or racism. It goes way beyond ethnic practices or a certain look It is not the beads and feathers that grants otic citizenship. It is that particular Indian Nation's tribal enrollment procedures or regulations r that make you Indian or not Also, there can cornea point when one slops being Native American, i ihcy select a certain path. One area is the lack of relationship with the Indian homeland and the people. 1 know children who think because they arc Lumbcc thai means thai their ancestors canic from Lumberton. 1 am nol saying it is impossible, but my point is that some of these kids have hardly any contact with their people back home. All they know is the cities they Ijvcin ltisour ^continuous relationship that keeps lis part of our people Tlie only exception to this rule is if one was adopted, then one can't be held accountable to this rule of nol hat ing a continuous relationship If one leaves their Indian homclanckand they marry outside of their people and their children continue this practice, eventually there descendants stop being Indian This process is called blood quantum and is decided by the tribe Many tribes .now rcnii/c that hating a higher degree ofblood quantum is the way to go This is in part due to some federal programs that require a certain degree of Indian blood to be eligible for serv ices Tribes must verify the degree of Indian blood Some Native people feel this issue has been forced on them, yet now it is slowly becoming a necessary ctil It is the tribe's irresponsibility to offer services to its enrolled members. Due to limited funding one must cither limit their services, or increase the degree of blood quantum and cut off scrt ices to those with less Indian blood This allows a degree of better serv ices for enrolled members who meet their criteria for services. Sonic tribes cut off sen ices to any member who lives off the tribal homeland. Certain tribes also have a blood quantum which decides who is eligible to live on tribal land. The average person doesn't realize that a person could have Indian blood lines from a number of various tribes and not be eligible for any tribal roll, yet be a fullblooded Indian So. as one can see. being Indian is not just a race There is a great deal of politics in being Indian There arc Indian people who don't want to be Indian if the truth be told It is hard for me to understand these people As for all those instant Indians, why were they not Indian when it wasn't popular? But 1 have conic up with a simple rule for the instant Indians. It goes like this Ifyounccd a movie to jar your memory or a pow wow or someone else who is Indian, or if you need some graduate student to tell you you arc Indian, here's a rule of thumb to go by If you were white or black before the mov ie started, then guess what, you still arc No matter how much Bingo money that tribe makes As always. I hope I've given you something io think about Maybe y ou can understand why I want to get out of this low n so bad In the True Way. Derek l.owry eiM7 Wschovta CorporfliH yow Have you (lone your homework' Have you saved enough? Are you as prepared for college as your kids are? We are here To show you how die equity in your home ran be a smart way to help |xty lor some ol die big things, m lilt" like college educations With a Wachovia Iquily Hank line depending on your equity and the size ol your line, you may Imnow up to 100% ol tlx- equity in yinii home And our "Pnmc 1%"' rate, like all ol our Itotne equity lending rales, is not a teaser tlwts gping to automatically shoot up alter sis months Paying lor college can I*- a testing expenence W- can eliminate the guesswork "here. \yACHOVU ,cMhed. PRIME* 1%* Equity BAN K L I N E | NO TEASER RATE No CLOSING COSTS UP TO $500 REBATE MAY BE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE ntf che<*t wnlcti act M an Immediate advance on your account. Rebates Issued by 7/31 /9T. Consult your tax advisor regarding the dechjcflbtllty ot Interest. Available to OA. NC. and SC residents only. Property Insurance required Otter ends 6/30/91. Member FCMC. Pembroke Senior High Class of 1976 Reunion Location: Old Pembroke Senior High (now Pembroke Middle School) Price: $20.00 per couple (1atefee:$25.00 after deadline of May 30) Dress: Semi-formal When: June 27, 1997 Contact persons:'. Dollar Hill Oxendine 422-8129 Ramona Lock!ear 521-0579 Iris H. Locklear 521-1179 * Lumbee Guaranty Bank Common Stock Offering Lumbee Guaranty Bank hereby announces the availability of 230,770 shares of Lumbee Guaranty Bank Common Stock at $13 per share. For more information, contact Lumbee Guaranty Bank Transfer Department at205 West Third Street, Pembroke, by phone at 910-521-9707, or the nearest branch office of Luhtbee Guaranty Bank. This offering expires September30, 1997or when all available shares are sold Larry R. Chavis, President/CEO In Tmwfrii'n/iYoiC 1^1 LUMBEE 11 GUARANTY Ml BANK FDIC PEMBROKE LUMBERTON ST. PAULS V HOKE MILLS ? MAXTON ROWLAND ? RED SPRIHGS y Pembroke Drug and Home Health Across from the Pembroke Town Park Odum and W. 3rd Street 521-9797pharmacy services/ 521-4329 home care services and equipment We gladly accept Medicaid patients at our pharmacy!!! dive as a chance and compare our service. Our pharmacists want to talk to you about your drug therapy...so please ask if you have concerns. We will monitor your blood pressure and your blood sugar in our pharmacy (nominal fee charged). C We can provide all types of home medical equipment or ^ devices (ex. asthma machines, oxygen, cencontrators, blood sugar machines, peak flow meters, walking aids, bathroom aids.) We, too, will bill Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance (wifhteh proper documentation). Request folks wo have cared V for you for years at Pembroke Drug and Home Ilea If J/. Your hometown pharmacy offering mroe than medicines-We care for your total health Serving Pembroke and Robeson County since 1966. CWTT n*?!,' Trw. ua am. an Hill li ilM ?? I
The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.)
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May 15, 1997, edition 1
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