1. 2010 American Indian Reunion Weekend
2. 23rd Annual Carolina Indian Circle Pow-wow
3. Elder in Residence
4. 35th Annual Carolina Indian Circle Awards Banquet
5. Class of 2010 American Indian Commencement Brunch & Pinning Ceremony
6. Guest lecturers
7. Native Faculty Book Launch
8. Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies
9. Cherokee Language
10. Addressing Social Issues
11. Wall of Donors
12. Alumni Profile: Tonia Jacobs
13. Student Profile: Tyler Thomas
14. Upcoming Events
15. Announcements

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Message from the Director

The American Indian Center hosted its third annual commencement brunch for graduating American Indian students this spring, and it brings to mind the fact that we are approaching the third anniversary of our opening in July of 2007. In that time, we have seen students get their degrees and go on to graduate school or to jobs, moving on with their lives and looking to new accomplishments.

The Center moves with the rhythms of academic life since our work is closely involved with supporting the academic American Indian Studies program and other faculty and student efforts on the campus, but since we also work with Indian groups and communities whose needs and issues persist throughout the year, we will remain busy during the summer. One of our priorities for the coming year is to apply for several grants from external funding agencies to support the development of new programs. Past and future budget cuts for the University have and will continue to affect our ability to fund speakers, host meetings, and organize events. If the Center is to keep on moving forward, external funds will be crucial.

External funds have been essential this academic year to help us carry out our projects outside the University. Those projects deal with some substantive issues in Indian country—health concerns, child welfare, and improving educational opportunities for Indian children. In this issue of Voices we will introduce you to some of these concerns. Some of our readers have suggested that Voices could be more issue oriented and address our future directions rather than simply reporting on what we have done.

Like the azaleas, the tulips and the roses that we know will always arrive in the spring, we have a number of faithful donors whose support we know we can count on. We have worked hard to justify the confidence of our donors that the Center will continue to enrich the intellectual life of the campus and bring campus resources to bear on Indian community needs. I hope we can look forward to your financial support for our efforts.

Clara Sue Kidwell
Director

2010 American Indian Reunion Weekend

The second annual American Indian Alumni Reunion banquet was held at the Carolina Inn on the evening of March 19. Approximately seventy alumni and friends of the Center gathered for an elegant evening of dining, dancing, visiting, and a silent auction. Provost Bruce Carney was presented with a framed, limited edition print of Christopher Kennedy’s original oil painting of “The Old Well.” DJ Otara Mills played for dancing after dinner and the silent auction.

On Saturday, March 20, during the dinner break at the annual Carolina Indian Circle pow-wow in Fetzer Gym, a group of about forty alumni gathered for a meeting to discuss the prospect of developing a formal University of North Carolina American Indian Alumni Association. Such as association could raise scholarship money and keep the University’s administration apprised of issues that affect American Indian students. A major issue in the discussion was whether the group could become a non-profit corporation totally independent of the University, or whether it should form as an affiliate of the University of North Carolina General Alumni Association (GAA) of the University. As an independent non-profit corporation it would have more freedom to solicit funds from outside sources and serve more as an advocate for student interests. As an affiliate, it would benefit from the organizational support and services that GAA offers, but it would also be bound by certain GAA policies. Also, since GAA has a copyright on its name, an independent group could not use it.

Over the past two years, alumni participation at the Reunion has grown, and many are genuinely interested in finding ways to participate more actively in organized alumni activities. The spirit of giving back to Carolina is growing, and the campus certainly has reason to be proud of the accomplishments of its American Indian alumni. The Center values the support of alumni and applauds their efforts to be more visible and effective as supporters of the University.

23rd Annual Carolina Indian Circle Pow-wow

The 23rd annual Carolina Indian Circle spring pow-wow took place on March 20, 2010, in Fetzer Gymnasium. The beautiful spring weather outside led many people to remark that the event should have been held outside, but since North Carolinians realize the uncertainty of spring weather, the pow-wow went on as planned indoors. Grand entry was as colorful as usual. During the day, approximately 75 dancers competed in the various dance events. Southern Sun and Stoney Creek were the host drums. Rachel Ensing and Sarah Parker were co-chairs.

Elder in Residence

Robert J. Conley, Kituwah Cherokee and Sequoyah Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, was our Elder in Residence during the week of February 22, 2010. Conley is a prolific novelist and essayist. Three of his novels have won SPUR awards from the Western Writers of America Association, and he has been a finalist for an Oklahoma Book Award. He has written a series of novels based on Cherokee history, which he describes as real stories of the Real People.

He is known primarily as a novelist, but his work is deeply grounded in his knowledge of the history and culture of the Cherokees. He shared that knowledge with several classes during his week on campus. He is also a notable humorist, and his public presentation on the evening of Feburary 24 included a reading from a book of essays, one of which described an episode in which he and two friends, inspired by a six-pack of beer, attempted to pull down a large fiberglass statue of a very stereotypical Indian at a tire store on the outskirts of Miami, a small town in northeastern Oklahoma. The attempt was unsuccessful, but the telling of the story was hilarious.

Conley brought cultural knowledge , wisdom and Indian humor to the campus. His wide-ranging interests engaged our students, and we thoroughly enjoyed having him as our 2010 Elder in Residence.

35th Annual Carolina Indian Circle Awards Banquet

The 35th annual Carolina Indian Circle awards banquet took place on April 10, 2010, in the Trillium Room at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. The event honors graduating seniors and freshmen who have successfully completed their first year at Carolina. Unheard Voices, an a cappella sub group of CIC entertained the guests with two musical performances. Brandi Brooks announced the graduating seniors, who received decorative cords from co-advisor Danny Bell and congratulations from co-advisors Associate Dean Marcus Collins and Chese’Qua Evans.

The 2010 CIC Member of the Year was present to Ms. Rachel Ensing, a rising senior, “for her outstanding dedication and service to the Carolina Indian Circle.” The Circle Award 2010, “for dedication and outstanding service to the Native American community at UNC-Chapel Hill” was presented to Ms. Brandi Brooks, program coordinator for the American Indian Center.

The Circle inducted executive council members for next year, including President April Hammonds, Vice President Chiara Oxendine, Secretary Melanie Hurtt, Treasurer Francesca Locklear, Treasurer-Elect Earnest Dial, Parliamentarian Christy Oxendine, and Historian Wendy Oxendine.

The awards banquet is a great way to honor individuals who have accomplished important things at Carolina. It brings together students, families, and members of the Native American community and is always a memorable highlight of the school year.

Class of 2010 American Indian Commencement Brunch & Pinning Ceremony

The University Room in Hyde Hall was the setting for the 2010 American Indian commencement brunch and pinning ceremony on May 8, 2010. Approximately 70 family members, friends, faculty and staff gathered to congratulate degree recipients and wish them well. This year’s event was particularly significant since we recognized the first two graduates of the American Indian Studies Concentration in the American Studies Department, Mr. Shane Locklear of Fairmont and Ms. Sarah Peele of Fayetteville, Dr. Tol Foster, a member of the American Indian Studies faculty, gave a blessing for the meal, and Ms. Meredith McCoy and Candice Locklear sang an honor song for the graduates. Clara Sue Kidwell, director of the American Indian Center, began the formal program with an introduction of Dr. Joy Kasson, chair of the American Studies Department, who, assisted by Dr. Foster, presented certificates to the American Indian Studies majors and minors who were graduating.

Dr. Foster made a special presentation to Dr. Townsend Lundington, professor emeritus of American Studies and former chair of the Department, under whose leadership Drs. Theda Perdue and Michael Green were hired to establish an American Indian Studies curriculum in 1997. Dr. Luddington expressed his deep feelings at seeing the first graduates of the program that he had helped to start.

The pinning of the American Indian graduates was conducted by Ms. Brandi Brooks, Clara Sue Kidwell, and Randi Byrd, staff of the American Indian Center.

Following the reading of a final poem, Dr. Kidwell congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to go forth and do good. Graduates and families took advantage of final photo opportunities, reminiscing, and discussion of future plans after the ceremony ended. The class of 2010 is now launched on its way to new accomplishments, and we wish them well.

This year’s honorees are:

Erika Lynnette Dean
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Juris Doctorate

Rebecca Dugan
Denver, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in History
Minor in American Indian Studies

Larissa Lynn Johnson (Lumbee)
Pembroke, North Carolina
Doctor of Pharmacy

Autumn Danylle Locklear (Lumbee)
Pembroke, North Carolina
Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Minor in American Indian Studies

Felton Shane Locklear (Lumbee)
Fairmont, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in American Indian Studies and Sociology

Kristin Ivey Locklear (Lumbee)
Winnabow, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in Music

Meredith Leigh McCoy (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in Music and Anthropology
Minor in American Indian Studies

Danielle McLean (Lumbee)
Rowland, North Carolina
Juris Doctorate

Kasey Jordan Oxendine (Lumbee)
Lumberton, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Sarah Catherine Peele (Eastern Band of Cherokee)
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in American Indian Studies and Biology

Erica Ashley Scott (Delaware)
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Master of Arts in Anthropology

Brittany Deanna Strong (Lumbee)
Laurinburg, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
Minor in American Indian Studies

Guest lecturers

The American Indian Center and the Department of History co-sponsored two very special guest lectures this spring in connection with Dr. Malinda Maynor’s History course on Lumbee History. On March 4, Rev. Mike Cummings, director of the Burnt Swamp Baptist Association in Pembroke, spoke about his long and influential career in the Baptist Church. He traced his educational progress from Pembroke public schools, through Red Springs High School, where he was the only Indian Student. Based on the strength of his academic performance at Red Springs he was encouraged to travel to France. This exposure to the non-Indian world gave him a deeper appreciation of his own Lumbee roots and the ability to move easily in the hierarchy of the Baptist Church.

“Rev. Mike,” as he is affectionately known among his Lumbee parishioners, is in great demand as a preacher throughout Lumbee country. He stressed to his audience at Chapel Hill the value of higher education, and he attributed his success to his mother’s insistence that he attend high school at Red Springs, where he learned to deal with the non-Indian world. In her introductory, Dr. Maynor also acknowledged his influence on her life since she is his niece. His inspiring words were deeply appreciated by the audience.

On April 28, our guest was Ms. Arlinda Locklear, Esq., who has been deeply involved for many years in the Lumbee Tribe’s struggle for full, federal recognition and federal services. The lecture was held in the George Hill Alumni Center and attended by about 100 people.

Currently in private practice in the Washington, D.C. area, Ms. Locklear is nationally known in the field of American Indian law. In the early 1970’s she became the first American Indian woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court of the United States. That case established an important precedent for the federal government to acknowledge previously unrecognized tribes. Ms. Locklear was influential in the establishment of the current Lumbee constitution in 2000.

She gave a brief historical background of the Lumbee Tribe, pointing out that the North Carolina state legislature had recognized it since 1885, but under a series of different names. The name Lumbee was put into state law in 1953. The failure of the federal government to acknowledge the Lumbee goes back to 1913, when the Commissioner of Indian Affairs refused a Lumbee request for support for Indian schools. In 1956 Congress responded to a request for formal recognition of the name Lumbee with legislation that recognized the name but denied federal services.

Native Faculty Book Launch

Malinda Maynor Lowery, faculty member in the History Department at Carolina, has published a new book on Lumbee history. Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, & the Making of a Nation was launched this spring by the University of North Carolina Press, and Malinda celebrated the event with a book reading at the Bull’s Head Bookstore on April 14, followed by a reception hosted by the American Indian Center in Abernethy Hall. Malinda’s husband, Willie Lowery, provided music for the event, and among the audience were Chancellor Holden Thorp and his wife Patti, long time fans of Willie’s music. Chancellor Thorp’s mother was actively involved with the production of the outdoor drama, Strike at the Wind, which was staged every summer in Pembroke from the early 1970’s until 2007, and Chancellor Thorp was a stage hand during his high school years. Willie Lowery wrote the music for the drama, which is based on the story of Henry Berry Lowery, whose guerilla war against the Confederate home guard in the Civil War era is an integral part of the Lumbee identity that Malinda Lowery explores in her book. We congratulate Malinda on her accomplishment and encourage readers of Voices to read her new book.

Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies

UNC is one of fourteen universities belonging to the Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies. The Newberry Library is an independent research library in Chicago, and this consortium draws on its collections to provide workshops, institutes, and fellowships to graduate students and faculty in member institutions. In 2009 Mikaela Adams participated in a month-long graduate institute sponsored by NCAIS, “Native Representations: From Colonialism to Sovereignty.” Mikaela is working on a dissertation on how four southeastern Indian peoples have decided who belongs to their tribes. Julie Reed (Cherokee Nation) and Katy Smith won fellowships that enabled them to conduct research on their dissertations. Julie is writing on social services in the late nineteenth-century Cherokee Nation, and Katy is exploring Indian conceptions of motherhood in the late eighteenth-century South. In 2010, Jonathan Hancock, who is researching Native reactions to the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes, attended a workshop, “Cartography and Spatial Analysis in American Indian Studies.” Brooke Bauer (Catawba) participated in the 2010 summer institute, “Teasing Indian Agency, Tribal Voice, and Persistence from the Record.” The director of this institute was Cary Miller (Anishinabe), who received her Ph.D. from UNC and now teaches at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Of the seven graduate fellowship winners in 2010, three are from UNC. In addition to Jonathan Hancock, who enjoyed the workshop so much that he wanted to return to explore the collections, recipients were Angela Calcaterra, who is working on “Locating Natives in American Literary History,” and Benjamin Reed, whose dissertation is “Devotion to Saint Philip Neri in Colonial Mexico City, 1659-1821.” For more information on NCAIS, go to http://www.newberry.org/mcnickle/ncais.html

Cherokee Language

UNC now includes Cherokee language in its curriculum, and successful completion of three semesters satisfies the “foreign” language requirement for undergraduates. In 2009-2010, fourteen students took the first two semesters of Cherokee (CHER 101 and 102), and the third semester (CHER 203) will be offered in fall semester. Julie Reed, a graduate student in history, has been the instructor for the first two semesters, and Lee Adcock, a graduate student in education, will be the instructor for the third semester. Both Julie and Lee are citizens of the Cherokee Nation, who learned Cherokee as adults. The class connects by closed circuit television with a language class at Western Carolina University taught by Tom Belt and Hartwell Francis. Professor Francis holds a Ph.D. in anthropological linguistics. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation who lives on the Eastern Band reservation in western North Carolina, Professor Belt speaks Cherokee as a first language. As a native speaker, he is able to provide students with interesting cultural and historical insights. For example, Cherokee speakers use the Cherokee word for “cold” to refer to members of the Republican Party and the word for “hot” to refer to Democrats. This usage probably dates to the period before 1960 when southerner voters, who live where it is hot, were mostly Democrats, and they associated the north, where it is cold, with Republicans. Things have changed, but the word usage has not! The Cherokee language courses are offered through the American Studies Department, where American Indian Studies is located. For more information visit: http://www.americanindianstudies.unc.edu/pages/home.html

Addressing Social Issues

A very important part of the mission of the American Indian Center is to work with the tribes in the state and mobilize campus resources around community issues. The Center is currently engaged in three major initiatives dealing with health, education, and child welfare, and this report gives us an opportunity to inform our readership about issues and how they are affecting the American Indian communities in the state.

Indian Child Welfare Task Force

The Center has taken on the role of facilitating the work of the American Indian Child Welfare Task Force that was established by the state Commission of Indian Affairs in 2008. The issue arises from the fact that there is federal legislation, the Indian Child Welfare Act, passed by Congress in 1978, that sought to prevent American Indian children from being removed from their homes by state Social Services departments and placed in non-Indian homes. The practice of taking Indian children from their communities was promoted particularly by the Mormon Church in the 1960’s on the Navajo reservation, but the placement of Indian children outside their home communities in the 1950’s and 1960’s occurred at a much higher rate than for non-Indian children. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) mandated that federally recognized Indian tribes be notified by state agencies who proposed to remove Indian children from their homes and that tribal courts would have the right to determine where the children would be placed.

The existence of ICWA has raised questions among social welfare workers in North Carolina since the state recognized tribes are not covered by its provisions. From the limited data available, however, it appears that children from state recognized tribes enter the state child welfare system in higher numbers than non-Indian children, and data from the state Division of Social Services support that conclusion. A state law in 2001 mandated that Indian children from state recognized tribes receive similar consideration to that afforded Indian children under ICWA, but the law was very vague about how that “similar consideration” was to be carried out. After the passage of that law, the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs initiated a Task Force to address the issue.

The Task Force did not become active until 2008 when Commission staff volunteered to initiate meetings to determine how best to implement the 2001 state law. Because of staff departures and budget cutbacks, however, the initiative languished. Mellicent Blythe, a staff member with the UNC Jordan Institute for Families and Children who has worked with Indian communities in the state, heard about the American Indian Center as a possible resource. We in turn contacted Greg Richardson, director of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, and offered to provide support to convene meetings of the Task Force and move the initiative forward.

The meetings that we have facilitated have serve to create a cohesive group of individuals dedicated to creating effective working relationships between the state Division of Social Services, county DSS agencies, and tribal governments to assure that American Indian children are appropriately identified, that tribes are represented in placement proceedings, and that members of our Indian communities are aware of and willing to take on the responsibilities of foster parenting for children in their communities. The Task Force is addressing issues of identification of Indian children, notification of tribes so they can be involved in placements, and training for DSS workers, tribal government personnel, and community members to the issues of identification of Indian children, notification of tribes, and making communities readily available for these children.

The placement of Indian children in foster homes or the adoption of Indian children by non-Indian families is a complex issue. The well-being of Indian children is the ultimate objective, but the continuation of Indian communities and cultures is significant, and cultural and family continuity certainly affect children’s self identity and emotional security. Balancing these issues within the legal concerns of federal legislation and state law is the work of the Task Force, and the American Indian Center is very pleased to be part of this initiative.

North Carolina American Indian Health Board

In 2007, the Center hosted a strategic planning retreat for the North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs. The Commission members spent a day and a half revisiting their 2003 strategic plan and discussing future plans. One of the ideas that emerged from the meeting was the development of an independent initiative to carry forward the work of the Commission Health committee. Under the leadership of Dr. Robin Cummings, chair of the Commission’s health committee, a group of Indian physicians has taken on an initiative to create a North Carolina American Indian Health Board to serve as an independent organization to advocate for policies and projects to improve health care for American Indian communities and to reverse the conditions that lead to current disparities identified at the state level in the incidence of health problems in the state’s Indian communities.

The current organization is developing under the wing of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Disparities at Wake Forest University. It has staff support through the Commission of Indian Affairs, and the American Indian Center hosted an initial organization meeting for the group and stands ready to support future meetings of the group as it develops into an independent organization.

An opportunity exists for the group and the Center to host a major state-wide meeting on American Indian health based on an assessment study of Indian health that was commissioned in 2005 by the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs through the state Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. Two researchers from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at UNC-Chapel Hill conducted the study and submitted it to the State Department in February of 2009. It has been presented to tribal leaders for review and comment, but it awaits a public release by the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. The public release of the report will provide opportunities for communities to review its findings and recommendations and consider future actions to improve health conditions in the Indian communities in the state. The American Indian Center is looking forward to being involved in these future initiatives and to supporting the future work of the American Indian Health Board.

The State Advisory Council on Indian Education

The American Indian Center originally established a working relationship with the State Advisory Council on Indian Education when we hosted a meeting of the Council on the campus in 2008. That relationship has solidified as the state Department of Public Instruction staff who support the Advisory Council have asked us to assist in the compilation of the Council’s annual report to the State Board of Education. This assignment allows us to respond to the Council’s need to have a truly American Indian perspective on the issues that the Council wishes to address.

The Council’s main areas of focus for this year’s report are the current national movement for common core standards and the underrepresentation of American Indian students in AP courses and Academically and Intellectually Gifted programs. Common Core Standards at the national level represent a significant departure from the idea that education is a matter of local control. The “No Child Left Behind” standard currently in place mandates achievement at grade level, measured by mandatory tests, based on local standards, but the Common Core Standards demand “college and career readiness” as the national criteria and attempts to define cognitive measures of understanding based on national criteria.

All states are currently engaged in revisions of state standards to bring them into conformity with the standards being mandated at the national level. The basic argument for this major movement is to provide equity in the access of children to quality education, The State Advisory Council wishes to address these issues in an informed way with regard to the special concerns of American Indian children.

Progress

We can report that the Center has made progress on these issues during the spring. On June 4, 2010, the Indian Child Welfare Task Force made a presentation to the quarterly meeting of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs and asked for the formal endorsement of its activities by the Commission and also asked Commissioners to take a formal resolution back to their tribal councils for adoption and for the appointment of official tribal representatives by tribes not currently represented on the Task Force. The Commission voted to adopt the formal resolution, with the modification that the Task Force was to be a standing committee of the Commission. This status creates a more formal affiliation for the Task Force with the Commission. Formal statements from tribal governments will assure that the Task Force (now Indian Child Welfare Committee) has “buy-in” from all the tribes in the state and will allow it to move forward with full support of tribal communities.

On June 7, the Center sponsored a luncheon for members of the North Carolina American Indian Health Board. Mr. Ralph Forquera, director of the Seattle Urban Indian Health Board, was the special guest at the luncheon. Mr. Forquera, a nationally known advocate for urban Indian health issues, was on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus to speak at the Sixteenth Annual UNC Public Health Research Institute and Videoconference. His conversation with the American Indian Health Board members over lunch provided insights into American Indian health issues at the national level, issues that the Health Board can discuss in more detail at its proposed administrative retreat planned for the fall of 2010. This event was a very good example of what the Center can do best, facilitate connections between campus resources and community concerns. Forquera’s presence on campus was a result of the videoconference, but he also proved an invaluable resource for members of the American Indian Health Board. Plus, we made a personal connection with Mr. Forquera that will allow us to call on his expertise in the future.

On June 28 the Center submitted the final draft of the annual report of the State Advisory Committee on Indian Education. On June 3, the North Carolina State Board of Education adopted the national Common Core Standards for education, making the state one of the first in the nation to do so. One of the State Advisory Committee’s recommendations in the report calls for inclusion of American Indian experts in revising the current state standards to conform more closely to these national standards. Statewide committees working on curriculum reform now have the official national standards as their benchmark, and input from American Indian scholars can lead to more American Indian content in course materials geared toward those standards.

Wall of Donors

We would like to recognize the following individuals for their gifts to the American Indian Center for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Don't see your name?   Make a Gift!  

Your generosity will help the Center make its presence known on campus and in the Indian communities. We hope you will keep us in your annual giving plans as we develop new programs and events.

Alumni Profile: Tonia Jacobs

Tonia Jacobs is the daughter of Barty and Mary Jacobs, of Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina. She is a member of the Waccamaw-Siouan tribe. She grew up in a very close-knit community with many friends and relatives around. She graduated from East Columbus High School in Lake Waccamaw.

She described her experience of “culture shock” when she first came to Carolina as a Freshman. She had been to the campus as a participant in Project Uplift, and she participated in the Educational Talent Search program in high school. Although she had the opportunity to visit several colleges, including UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Pembroke. She chose Carolina because it seemed “welcoming” and also because of its academic reputation. “I knew I would get a good academic education there.” Ultimately, she said “God placed me where I was supposed to be.”

She started out as a biology major with a goal of a medical career, but she finally settled on a double major in Psychology and Political Science. After graduation, she worked for three years while deciding on a graduate program. She wanted a career that would help people. She considered Law School but finally came back to Carolina as a master’s student in the School of Social Work. She chose the Management and Community Practice option for her academic program but took a number of courses in the Direct Practice track as well. She obtained a certificate in Nonprofit Management while in graduate school. She graduated with her MSW in 2008.

Tonia is currently employed as a Social Worker for the Wake County Department of Human Services. Her work is focused primarily on the safety of children who come into the Child Welfare system. She cited poverty, domestic violence and substance abuse as major factors that endanger children’s safety and bring them to the attention of the Department of Human Services. Her role is to work with families and make referrals for services, such as counseling, that will help them deal with the problems that are threatening children. The ultimate goal is to preserve families and keep them intact. She is also working on a P-LCSW (Provisionally Licensed Clinical Social Worker) credential that will allow her to do therapy. Her current job includes intensive in-home therapy with her clients.

A very important part of Tonia’s life is jingle-dress dancing at pow-wows. She said that she became interested in dancing when she was a junior in high school. She had attended pow-wows with her family while she was growing up, but in high school she began researching the jingle-dress style. She asked some female Elders in her community whether she should do the dance, and they said yes. She went to an older dancer in the community to learn the dance. I first met Tonia in Washington, D.C., where she was dancing at the pow-wow sponsored by the National Museum of the American Indian in August of 2008.

“Dancing” she said “is healing.” People have approached her to say that watching her dance has a healing effect on them. “People look up to you and honor you as a dancer.” For her, dancing is also a way of being close to the Creator, and it has helped sustain her through difficult times in her life.

When I asked her what was the most important skill she gained at Carolina, she said that the Social Work program taught her how to be an advocate. She described advocacy as a big part of her life. She advocates for her clients with her manager and with other agencies. She said that the most important lesson she learned was “Be true to yourself” She said that there are many expectations from people about Indians and from family and community members. There are pressures to conform. She stressed “I have to be true to who I am.” Mentors at Carolina helped her follow that principle.

Tonia’s most memorable event at Carolina was her undergraduate commencement ceremony. “Bill Cosby was the commencement speaker, and I was in awe. I had grown up watching his program on TV. But it was also the culmination of all my experiences at Carolina, and I felt a sense of gratitude that I was able to graduate.”

I asked if she worked with children in her own community to help them prepare for college, and she said yes. She is interested particularly in middle school children. “Not many children from Waccamaw go to college, and if they do they go to Pembroke or Wilmington, closer to home. Few have gone to Carolina, and not many of them graduate.” She would like to be more active in working with middle school children in the Waccamaw-Siouan community. She wants to “open their eyes to the opportunities that they have.”

She described the area around her community as culturally diverse, with significant Black and Hispanic populations. She had experience with people of different cultures, which helped her when she came to Carolina. What keeps the Waccamaw-Siouan together is that families help each other. She described her father as an example. “He is retired, and he has put in a really big garden—watermelons and corn and other vegetables. It is a lot more than our family can eat. He and my mother pick and can vegetables, and he takes food to people in the community who need it and to people who may want fresh fruits and vegetables but can’t afford them.”

Although there used to be a lot of tobacco farmers in the area, tobacco farming has largely disappeared. Now people grow corn and soybeans as cash crops. Hunting is still popular, and Tonia described the Waccamaw-Siouans as “deer connoisseurs” because so many people hunt. The annual Waccamaw-Siouan pow-wow happens around the time that the deer hunting season begins, and hunters take meat to share at the pow-wow. Tonia has been strongly influenced by family and community traditions of giving. Her father’s example and her community’s willingness to reach out to people in need inspire Tonia to want to give back to her community and to Carolina.

I asked Tonia if there were any final thoughts she wanted to share. Her words of advice were to undergraduate students and recent graduates who were faced with career choices—what to do with their future lives. “Evaluate yourself. Find out what really excites you, what you are passionate about.” People should not make career choices based on family pressure or desire for money. She said the passion for what you are doing is what makes it easy to get out of bed in the morning. At Carolina she learned that finding a mentor is very important. “Find someone you admire and ask them how they got to where they are.” She encourages students to gain experience of a profession through an internship, or by following someone at their work-place.

Tonia Jacobs has followed the values of her family and community, which has helped her keep true to herself. Her career choice in social work has allowed her to help people in need, and her jingle-dress dancing has helped her keep focused. Her concern for family and community is demonstrated through her active involvement with the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs Task Force on Indian Child Welfare. The Task Force recently became a standing committee of the Commission. Tonia has contributed her expertise on the policies and procedures of the state’s child welfare system and drawn on her own experience to raise issues for the Task Force to consider.

We are proud to feature Tonia Jacobs as an outstanding alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Student Profile: Tyler Thomas

"The connection I feel to my Lumbee heritage is very deep"

Tyler Thomas grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, but calls Pembroke home. “Robeson County is where all of my family is from,” he says. “I have a large family with lots of aunts and uncles, three brothers—one is my twin—and two sisters. Most of our summers were spent in Pembroke.” Tyler explains that his family is part of the Lumbee tribe. “My mother took an active role in ensuring we maintained a connection to our roots,” he says. “I appreciate that connection and really enjoy attending family gatherings and helping my grandmother in the garden. That’s when I hear great stories about our family’s past.”

A passion for helping

Tyler has always had a passion for helping people, an example he learned from his mother, who is a retired elementary school music teacher, and his father, who works for Goodwill. “I have always had a desire to give back, especially in the American Indian community. The connection I feel to my Lumbee heritage is very deep.”

In his application for the MPA program, Tyler wrote, “Every time I visit down home, I pass a tall white-columned landmark, the heartbeat of the first state-supported university for Indians, UNC-Pembroke. There, in that moment of recognition, I feel a deep connection to my surroundings—Robeson County, the land of the Lumbees, and my beloved homeland. I have a commitment and desire to serve America’s ‘First People,’ and I believe the nation’s first public university [UNC-Chapel Hill] can facilitate my accomplishing this goal.”

Making ethical decisions

Tyler believes that the ethics training he is receiving in the MPA program will also help and guide him in his career. “Growing up, I witnessed and read about a lot of corruption, especially misuse of public resources,” he says. “I think I have the people’s best interest at heart, and I hope to one day be making ethical decisions to better the communities where I work and live.”

Tyler received a degree in exercise and sport science from UNC-Chapel Hill. While an undergraduate, he was president of the Carolina Indian Circle and a member of the American Indian Center’s Internal Advisory Committee. As part of his work at the University’s Office for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, he encouraged high school students to attend college. At UNC’s Graduate School recruitment fair, he was drawn to the MPA program. “The values stated in the recruitment material really spoke to me,” he says, “and I find the MPA alumni network and small student cohort to be of real value. Also, I was interested in having a generalist degree. The skill set I acquire will be useful, regardless of where I go in my career.”

Helping his home county

Tyler is part of a first-year team evaluating the Work Mentor Program for Builders of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and job training. Through his internship with Robeson County local government this summer, Tyler is giving back to his home county.

Tyler is a 2009–2010 recipient of a Hayman-Howard-Wright Scholarship.

Upcoming Events

Welcome Extravaganza for Carolina American Indian Community & Friends

Thurs., August 26, 2010 - 5:30pm
Location: Side Lawn of Abernethy Hall (Corner of S. Columbia & Cameron Ave.)
Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Music and information about American Indian student organizations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be apart of a welcome event on campus at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 26.

The UNC American Indian Center will host a Welcome Extravaganza for the Carolina American Indian Community and Friends, on the lawn of Abernethy Hall at South Columbia Street and Cameron Avenue. The public, including Indians from the surrounding area, were invited.

Students will be able to renew acquaintances and make new friends at the American Indian Center. The event is part of a Week of Welcome at Carolina to start fall 2010 semester.

Native Foods Celebration

Mon., September 27, 2009 - 10:00am
Location: Side Lawn of Abernethy Hall (Corner of S. Columbia St. and Cameron Ave.)
Sponsored by: - UNC American Indian Center
Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm

Attendees will be able to sample of native foods including pumpkin, wild rice, succotash, quinoa (a native grain and nutty mixture), chocolate, nuts, corn and dried berries. Foods will be on display and included squashes, dried Indian corn and sunflowers with seeds and roots, probably the first native domesticates in North America.

There will be traditional Native storytelling and demonstrations for school children. Handouts will be shared with information about native foods, including their sources, their nutritional values and how they were prepared. Staff at booths will be able to educate visitors about American Indian culture and contributions to agriculture and world cuisine.

Announcements

2011 American Indian Women’s Conference

We are pleased to announce that the 2011 Conference for American Indian Women of Proud Nations (AIWPN) will be held in September 2011 in Downtown Raleigh.

The American Indian Center will serve as the host organization for the conference; however we would like to form a local planning committee to include tribes, organizations, schools, and individuals to join in the planning efforts. We would like for this event to be as inclusive and as empowering as possible and we need your assistance to do so.

The Center will be hosting a planning committee meeting for the 2011 Conference for American Indian Women of Proud Nations in Downtown Raleigh on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill towards the end of September.

If you would like to attend the meeting or volunteer to join the planning committee please email Brandi Brooks (brandi@unc.edu).

For those who are unable to attend the meeting, please consider having another representative of your organization attend this meeting to share additional thoughts.

The American Indian Women of Proud Nations organization is based out of Pembroke, NC and was created to support American Indian women’s efforts to build healthier lives for themselves, their families, and their communities in a spirit of holistic inquiry and empowerment. The organization is currently in the planning process for the 2010 AIWPN Conference held at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel in Cherokee, NC on September 16-17.

For more information about the 2010 conference in Cherokee, please visit the AIWPN web site at www.aiwpn.org. We are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aiwpn.

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