Published each Thursday in Pembroke. N V H W M Carolina Indian Voice "Building Communicative Bridges In A Tn-R;icul Setting' PERIODICALS VOLUME 32 NUMBER 24 THURSDAY. JUNE 24. 2004 JUL 0 9 2004 25e 36th Annual Lumbee Homecoming 2004 June 25 - July 3, 2004 Sponsored by the Lumbee Regional De\'elopment Association, Inc. bndav June 25 Mr Lumbee 6 iO pm Gl'AC Saturday - tunc 26 Golf Tournament - 8 iO am Riverside Coif Course Sunday - lune 27 Gospel Singing - 6 pm Redeemed Assembly of God Tuesday lune 29 Fashion Show - 12 pm - Porter Plaza Wednesday - June 30 Little & Junior Miss Lumbee Pageant - 6. JO pm GPAC Thursday - lulv 1 Elder's Dinner -1 pm Southeastern Agri. Center Friday - lulv 2 Teen and Miss Lumbee Pageant - 6:50 pm GPAC Saturday - luly "S SK Run and i un Walk o am Parade 10 am l!ar Show 3 pm |uried An. Show -t pm Luinhee Star Search 5 00 pm Federal Recognition Fundraising Dinner 6 00 pm Awards Show 8 30 pin Fireworks 9.30 pm lumbee Games June 26 Basketball J on i Tournament June 27 Wrestlingc hampionships June 28 Swim Championships July 2 Basketball I lot Shot Contest l:or more information : visit us online at www.lumbeehomecomlng.com orcai! (910) 521-8602 l.ytr^on& 14 \4jdcom&! Program launches business school scholarships Albuquerque: Catching the Dream (CTD). a scholarship organization serving Native American students, announced plans here today to produce 400 Indian graduates in business within tlte next ten years. The graduates will be funded through the Tribal Business Management (TBM) scholarship program The CTD Director. Dr Dean Chavers stated. "The initiative to launch the TBM scholarship program came from WMS Gaming." WMS of Waukegan IL is a major manufacture of gaming equipment, and has committed to launching the TBM program with a commitment of $250,000 over a five year period. The presentation of the annual check for $50,000 was made at the Trade Show of the National Indian Gaming Association (NlGA)in Albuquerque. Mr. Derek Harmer of WMS. Mr. Ernie Stevens. Jr.. President of NIGA. and Dr. Dean Chavers of CTD participated in the presentation. "The secret to success in Indian County iscconomic development." stated Dr Chavers "We plan to have a major impact on Indian people by producing a whole new generation of entrepreneurs. Studies generally find that there is no business on most reservations Indian people most often musi travel away from reservations to buy goods and services, from cars to haircuts." The fields of study to be funded include business, management, leadership, sales, marketing, accounting, finance, economics. hotel management, and related fields. Dr Chav ers added Most students will be earning a BS or MBA in business, he went on "We plan to raise additional funds," Dr Chavers stated, "to bring the total raised to $2 million total will let us give each scholarship recipient an av erage of $5,000 over a period of two to four years " "We have produced 61 business graduates in the past 15 years." Dr Chavers added "This major initiative will let us put more emphasis on business development in Indian Country. We have maintained a 93%completion rate since we started in 1986. and plan to continue with our extremely high rate of success Except for emergencies and family problems, our students. once selected, are graduated." "One of our graduates. Scott Maybee, now runs a company with 85 employees. Scott, a Seneca from New York, was graduated in 1994 with a degree in finance After working fpr four years for two different investment firms, he took his life in his own hands." he continued. Scott says. "I jumped into business with both feet and blind folded My sister and I founded INJUN Enterprise six years ago We now have 85 employees and a wholesale distribution business operating mostly over the Internet We also opened a gas station and convenience store on the reservation last year." "We need to multiply Scott's success a hundred times over." Dr. Chavers stated. "Unemployment in Indian Country is still 45%. As a nation we must address employment, housing, education, and other issues." Mr. Brian R. Gamache. President and CEO of WMS Industries, commented. "Education is the best form of individual empowerment and we welcome the opportunity to help create a brighter future for young deserving members of the community." t Albuquerque: The three best Indian education programs in the U.S. were presented awards at the Ninth Annual Exemplary Institute in Albuquerque recently The Exemplary Institute is sponsored by tatcning the Dream (CTD) of Albuquerque and the Arizona State Impact Aid Association (ASIAA). Over 200 people participated in the two and one-half day event The awards arc Exemplary Program in Indian Education (EPIE). Principal of the Year (POY). and Counselor of the Year(COY). The EPIE Award went to Ms. Eileen Quintana of the Ncbo School District. Utah. In the past five years, the Indian Education program in the Nebo district has increased its graduation rate from 37.5% to 93%. At the same timc.'it has improved its test scores in reading and math for Indian students from the bottom quartilc to the top quartilc "Our parents are fantastic." Ms Quintana stated "It is because of their hard work as tutors, chaperoncs. teachers, readers, and monitors that we have been successful They help in so many ways It was them getting mtjd at the situation that launched the program " "Nebo is our tenth winner of the EPIE Award, stated the CTD Director. Dr. Dean Chavers. "Nebo joins the ranks of past winners such as Navajo Preparatory School and Arizona State University. Thi EPIE winners arc the "best of the best' in Indian education ""Navajo Prep has sent over 80% of its graduates on to college for over a decade." he added. "Twoyears ago. the school sent l(K)%of its graduates on tocollege " "Arizona State has doubled the number of Native American students on its campus since 1995. It has also raised the Native retention rate from the lowest on the campus (45%) to the highest (77%) he went on The winner of the POY Award was Mr Jack Bittner. Principal of the Umon Hon Nation Public School in Macy. Nebraska on the Umon Hon reservation In the past six years, the school has raised the number of students who were on grade level from 15% to 40% It has also raised the percentage of fourth graders who passed the state proficiency test in writing from 16% to 72%. Mr Larry Parker. Superintendent of the school district, accepted the award for Mr. Bittner. Mr. Parker was Principal of the school when the project was initiated in 1998. "We arc really proud of our Success for All program." Mr. Parker stated. "We encourage other schools to launch an intensive reading program for their students It can work miracles in just a few years." The winner of the COY Award was Ms. Patricia Mclntyrc-Coggcshall of Phoenix College. Arizona Starting eight years ago. Ms Mclntyrc-Coggcshall formed a partnership with the Phoc; ix Unified School District to prepare Indian students in high school tobc ready for college. The Hoop of Learning program has maintained a fantastic 98% retention rate for its hundreds of students Almost all of them finish college once enrolled ... Apnl /004 j m * GAMING Bf gv. Catching the Dream $ 5000000 ] H Fifty Thotisonfi nn00 submissions and 41 were selected "Her handthrown bow l bcbulcd on March IX at a reception honoring the artists that was hosted by community college President Martin Lancaster It w ill remain on display for a scar A native of Hie Saddletree community near I unibcrton I laniinonds is a social worker with (lie North Carolina Services for the Blind. She sells pottery under the San-Bculah Pottery label and inay be reached at (910) 749-7X10.