Julia "Sister" Strickland
PEMBROKE - Julia "Sister" Strickland. 87 died lndav (I eh 2* >a; Bcvei lv
Health Care in Lumbenon Ms Strickland was a liomein.ikcii.-uid .1 long
time member of the Pembroke Church of God Ihe funeral was Mondav
(Feb 28) at Pembroke Church of God with the Rev ('(' MlenJi otliciating
Burial followed in St Annah Freewill Baptist Church Cemeterv t
Surviving are two sons. James Kenneth Strickland and Leon Strickland ^
both of Pembroke. Katheleen Orr of North Charleston. S C . Lucille Roberts
of Pembroke, three sisters. Lula Pere/and Addic Sandeison. boiliol
Lumberton and Ada Bell Sanderson of Pembroke, and 22 grandchildren s
Mitchell Wayne Cummings
MAXTON - Mitchell Wayne Cummings. >9. of Preston Road died I tidav s
(Feb 25) at Southeastern Regional Medical Center I he funeral was \
Tuesday(Feb 29) at SmithtownChurchofGod. the Revs Numer I ocklear. 1
Jimmy F Locklear. Robert Hunt and Marshall I.ocklear officiating Burial
followed in the Cummings Family Cemetery
Survivng are his wife. Wendy Moore Cummings of Maston. a son. (
Karryl Jamison Cummings of Maxton. two daughters. Sola \shley
Cummings of Maxton and Natasha Lynn Jacobs of Fairmont, his parents,
Frank W Cummings Sr and Dorothy Cummings of Maxton;'5
brothers. Jeffery Cummings. Frank W Cummings. Jr-. Marcus Cummings
and Michael A Cummings. all of Maxton. and Thomas McCoy of
Pittsboro. and a sister. Jacqueline Cummings of Maxton I
Funeral services were conducted by Thompson Funeral Home. Pern- ;
broke (
Audia H. Chav is
FAIRMONT- Mrs. Audia Mae Hunt C'havis. 76. of 91 Robeson Pines 1
Road died Sunday (Feb 27) in Southeastern Regional Medical Center in
Lumberton Ms Chavis was a member of Reedy Branch Baptist Church
The funeral was conducted Wednesday (March 1) by the Revs Chester
Chavis. James E Jones and Charles Maynor Burial followed in the
church cemetery
Mrs Chavis is survived by three sons. Wilson Chavis and Jerry W
Chavis. both of Fairmont, and Willard Chavis of Shannon, 5 daughters,
Marvie Sampson of Trinity, Lou Anner Chavis of Archdale. Deloris
Mangum of Lumberton, and Sharma Carter and Regina F Chavis, both of
Fairmont, 5 brothers, EdeseL'Jack" Hunt and James'A V " Hunt, both of
Fairmont, James C. Hunt of Shalotteand James W Hunt and James M
Hunt, both of Cleveland, a sister. Wilier Mae Hammonds offairmont. 12
grandchildren, aand 7 great-grandchldren.
James C. Lowery
MAXTON - James Clarence Lowery, 75, of966 Jacobs Road died Sunday
(Feb 27) in Southeastern Regional Medical Center The funeral will be
held today (Thurs, March 2) in White Hill Freewill Baptist Church by the
Revs Jerry Locklear, Floyd Hunt and Chris Locklear Burial followed in
the Lowery Church Cemetery
Mr. Lowery is survived by his wife. Louise Lowery of the home, four
sons, James C. Lowery Jr., Gene A Lowery and Dan K. Lowery, all of
Maxton, and Bobbie Lowery of Fayetteville, two daughters, Frances L
Potts and Tammy L. Brooks, both of Maxton; three brothers, Willie F
Lowery of Bolton, Johnnie Lowery of Raleigh and Therman Lowery of
Pembroke; 24 grandchildren, and a great-grandchild
Funeral services were conducted by Locklear & Son Funeral Home.
Pembroke
Annie J. Hunt
LUMBERTON - Mrs Annie Jones Hunt, 77, of Walter Mobile Hope Park,
Lot 25, Pine Log Road, died Sunday (Feb.27) in Southeastern Regional
Medical Center The funeral will be conducted today (Mar 2) at 2 p.m. in
Pembroke Church of God. Burial will follow in the Jones Family Cemetery.
Mrs. Hunt is survivied by four sons, Pauls Hunt Jr., Cleveland Hunt
and Rondale Hunt, all of Lumberton and J. R Hunt of Pembroke; two
daughters, Mary R. Hunt of Shannon and Bessie M. Hunt of the home,
two brothers, Ander Jones and Albert Jones, both of Lumberton; five
sisters, Mary B Locklear, Gladys Jones and Clara M Jones, all of
Lumberton, Lee Anna Morton of Jacksonville and Georgianna Locklear
of Maxton, 14 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren
Literary Voices 'Lumbee
writing deadline nears
Pembroke, N.C.?Dead line for entries in the fifth Native American
Literary Voices Writing Contest for Lumbee Indian youth is April 28.
according to Dr. Bob Reising, who coordinates the event.
There will be poetry and fiction categories for three age groups?grades 79,
grades 10-12 and a college division. Winners receive $100 and a copy of
the re-released "Only Land I Know" by Alolph Dial and David Eliades.
Winndrs will also have the opportunity to read their work at the Fifth
Annual Native American Voices Reading during Lumbee Homecoming
2000.
Prizes are furnished by the Lumberton Tourism Development Authority,
the UNCP Foundation/Endowment and the UNCP Department of American
Indian Studies.
Questions should be forwarded to Dr. Reising at 521-6485. Complete
contest rules will be forwarded to contestants.
Students may enter one or both categories and the categories and the these
is patriotism. Poems must be more than three lines and less than 30. Fiction
should be no longer than 2.500 words and all entries must be typewritten.
Committee members this year arc Patsy Baker. Yvonne Dial. Barbara
Braveboy-Locklear and Wendy Moore-Cummings.
Mclntyre Unveils New
Congressional Web Site
Washington, D.C.--U.S. Representative Mike Mclntyre announced today
that his new congressional web site is on line. The address for the web site
is: http://www.house.gov/mcintyre.
Congressman Mclntyre stated. "Staying in touch with the citizens of
southeastern North Carolina is one of my highest priorities. Through this
new web site, I am pleased that constituents can have access to the latest
information affecting their lives here in Washington. In addition, this web
site offers information on various other services including: grants, tours,
breaking news, a survey of the month, a special section for students, and
legislative information."
Congressman Mclntyre encourages citizens to access this site and give
their input and suggestions. Send comments to:
web.mcintyre(6)mail.house.gov.
Oak Valley Furniture
Clayton McDuffio Owr.-vi
(910) 422-9010 102 Mcin St. 6. tIC 2TJ33
Tfie r\SSciy O <See 3t ,
by Dr. Dean Chavers, Albuquerque, Neie Mexico J
Tribes \eetl To hike Over
T.duiation
Copyright, 2000
\ tribal chairman asked me few
seeks ago it it was possible that the
ribe could take over and operate the
cliools on his reservation. I told hint
hat it was possible, even if difficult to
lo I he more I have thought about it.
losseser. the more I like the idea.
I or that tribe, it would mean takng
control of public schools. BIA
ehools. contract schools, and possisI>
private mission schools and
naking them into an integrated single
s stent. Other tribes would has e some
ariations on the current systems, but
he approach would be near the same.
Is there precedent? Yes. there is.
I he Zuni Public School System was
tarsed out of the Gallup- Mckinley
i'ounts Schools some 20 sears ago. It
s one of two school districts that are
toterminous (has ing the same boundtries)
as an Indian reservation. The
sther such district is on the Red Lake
ndian Reservation in Minnesota.
The Barona Tribal Council in San
Diego County. CA. created its own
school four years ago. For years. 90%
jf the Barona students have dropped
out. or been pushed out of. the Lakeside
Union School District just over the
mountain from the reservation,
l.akeside is a fairly horrible little
racist place. The Indian kids hated
the way they were treated and reacted
in the only sensible way they could?
they dropped out.
Now. under a strong Principal,
Donna Myers, the Barona Indian
School had its first graduation last
year. Six seniors proudly received
their diploma in the ceremony
Has the groundwork been laid
for tribes to take over schools? The
answer is "Not much." Ms. Pat Locke
laid the groundwork for tribal control,
as she has for so many other
things, with her pioneering project
20 years ago to create tribal departments
of education (TDOE's). This
project, which Pat conducted under
the auspices of the National Tribal
Chairmen's's Association, pointed the
way for tribes to start to assume control
of their schools.
A few tribes have followed through.
Pat helped the Red Lake Band of
Chippewas to develop a complete
tribal education code. The Rosebud
Sioux Tribe under Ms. Sherry Red
Osvl has developed its own tribal education
code. The Colorado River
Indian Tribes have developed its own
tribal education code. The Colorado
River Indian Tribes have developed
their own education code under Mr.
Dennis Patch.
For the most part, however, the
tribal education codes do not assume
the tribes will take over and operate
their own school s)stems My ques- a
tion is \V hy should they not do this1
It schools are going to continue to
treat Indian students as second class I
citi/ens. to push them out instead ol f
making sure they are graduated, why a
should a tribe not assume responsibility
for its members? 1
Would they have the funds to I
operate these schools'.' If the school '
district is on a reservation, but has a 5
publicly-elected school board, the state t
is obligated to pay its share, as is the <
federal government. There is some I
provision in both BIA regulations
and in the highly important Impact :
Aid regulations to allow a tribe to take ;
over and run a school if the school
board does not assume the responsi- i
bility. ;
How would tribes go about tak- i
ing over schools that are on or near
reservations, but that are most often
governed by non-Indian school <
boards? This is a really good question.
and the heart of the matter. It
would possibly require some new laws
by the state legislature, some negotiation
with current school boards, some
redrawing of school district boundary
lines, and some hard -nosed deal
making.
But the casino tribes have found
that they can hold their own in negotiations
with governors and state
legislatures. They have even found in
California that they can go to the
ballot and get strong support from the
electorate in the face of a governor
and legislature that will not allow
them to make progress.
The most important question to
me is: Who is going to stand up and
demand the right thing for Indian
children?
Are tribes going to continue to
allow 80% of their young members to
be discriminated against, ignored, put
down, called racist names, labelled as
slow learners, and in general treated
as second class citizens forever? I
hope not.
Is tribal control of schools the
only answer? It certainly is not.
There are a handful of schools now
that are improving dramatically.
Many of them are working closely
witVi tribes (such as Navajo Prep
School).
What would be the advantages
of tribal control. The main advantage
is the most obvious--the schools
could be made an instrument of tribal
policy, working in conjunction with
tribal governments. Now they are
instruments trying to destroy tribal
life.
Few of them teach tribal languages;
they are too busy trying to destroy
tribal languages to adhere to the new
law of the land. Sen. Inouye's bill, the
"Native American Languages Act,"
N MM calls tor the preservation of
satise languages, their protection,
md promotion of their use Schools
till do not knovs that this lass passed
ilmost a decade ago.
Few of them teach tribal history
I he histors of the I S. still started in
4U2--ssith the exception of the tsso
>aragraphs in the L ,S. histors books
ibout Indians.
Fess of them hase a positive attiude
about Indian students. The
jresailing view of Indian students by
eachers is that thes are going to fail,
.o whs push them? Thes won't do
heir homework, so whs give them
ins? The parents won't help, so whs
Irs to work w ith them?
It does not help to demonstrate to
school people that these assumptions
are demonstrably svrong. They are so
ingrained in the culture ofthe schools
that it will take 50 Caterpillar tractors
and 50 tons of dynamite to root them
out.
Most teachers in Indian schools
never see the parents of their students.
That is a shame. If they made
the effort to reach out to parents, they
would find that Indian parents are
vers concerned about their children
getting a good education. Seven generations
of the schools denying any
opportunity for parent participation
has left Indian convinced, however,
that they are not welcome in the
schools. So they don't try to become
involved, no matter how much they
care about the education of their children.
What do Indian parents want from
the schools for their children? I
started asking this question with parents
in Kayenta, AZ, 12 years ago.
Since then I have asked it in a formal
way in Farmington, NM, Dulce, NM,
Albuquerque, NM Montezuma Creek.
UT, Chinle, AZ, and Ganado, AZ.
Almost withoutexception, Indian
parents want their children to finish
high school. I have only had one
parent tell me in the past 13 years that
she did not want her child to finish
high school. They want their children
to attend college. They want the
children to finish college.
This is a huge change from the
situation 30 sears ago. Then, many
Indian parents did not want their children
to get a "white man's education."
In those times, it meant thechild would
leave the home and get a job in the cits
somewhere, was away from their parents.
Thes would be lost to their
families foreser.
That is no longer true. Indian
students can get a college education,
then get an MD or a DVM degree, and
find more work that they can do at
home on reservations. They do not
have to become alienated form their
families and lost to them foreser.
Not only can they return home to
the reservations, but there are tons of
jobs waiting for them. The Native
American Scholarship Fund for whom
I work has graduated 214 students in *
the past 13 years. Their unemployment
rate? Zero. Most of them have
jobs before they get their sheepskin
handed to them.
So what we have here is an immovable
object. Some people have made
inroads in trying to change outcomes ;
for Indian students. Included here >
have to be such things as the native
language immersion school of the
Washo Tribe of NV and CA, chaired '
by Brian Wallace. Also included is
the Blackfeet language immersion
school run by Darrell Kipp, Dorothy I
Still Smoking, and others at Brown- ?
ing, MT. The grand old man of
language immersion schools, how- ,
ever, is the Akwesasne Freedom *
School on the Akwesasne Mohawk
reservation in NY, which has been ^
going for over 20 years now.
So, yes, Mr. Chairman, I believe
that if the schools on your reservation T
are not doing the right things by your ;
children, you should assume control ,
of the systems. I hope you do the right
things?make sure Native languages
are taught, insist on the highest stan- dards
forall concerned, hold everyone 2
accountable, and make sure the ^
schools are operated the right way.
It is time to start doing the right
thing for Indian children. Our patrimony
demands nothing 'hess. *
Senator Edwards Commends
The President's Council On :
The Future Of Princeville
Washington?Senator John Edwards on Tuesday commended Rep. Eva
Clayton and President Clinton for the creation of the President's Council on
the Future of Princeville, North Carolina.
"The Council represents an important step in the rebuilding process," said
Senator Edwards. 1 am grateful for the President's continued support as we
work together to help Princeville's residents recover from the devastation of
Hurricane Floyd. 1 applaud Congresswoman Clayton and her efforts to focus
much needed attention on this important historic town."
The President's Council will bring together representatives from twelve
federal agencies and several Cabinet members. The Council will work
together with elected officials, the private sector, community and non-profit
groups to help rebuild Princeville and protect the town from future floods.
I (LRDA/UUMBEE HOUSING DEPARTMENT I
I DOWN-PAYMENT PROGRAM) I
Local modular home dealers have begun to run advertisements soliciting
Lumhee j)eople to purchase a home. Those advertisements are
misleading! The LRDA/Lumbee Housing Department does administer a
down-payment assistance program; however, the following rules apply:
1. Enrolled Lumbees must submit an application for assistance, and be
approved for assistance by the LRDA/Lumbee Housing
2. When approved, the LRDA/Lumbee Housing Department will
schedule a hoincbuycr education session with the approved
I'pon completion of the homcbuyer education seminar, the
I.RDA/Lunibee Housing Department will issue the prospective
homcbuyer a U tter of Introduction/Tentative Chant Commitment
\. The LRDA/Lumbee Housing Department maintains a list of
approved modular dealers and a portfolio of the specific homes
approved homebuyers may purchase; and,
.). An LRDA/Lumbee Housing Department representative will
provide assistance/guidance to the homcbuyer with respect to the
Should you need additional information, contact The LRDA/Lumbee
Housing Department at (910) ,>22-1101.