From the Open Heart of My Proud Lumbee Friend
As Smart in the City blog readers, I am sure that you also know, that there are 8 state-recognized tribes located in North Carolina. Last week, The Commission of Indian Affairs scheduled a gathering of American Indian war veterans, tribal chiefs, students, American Indian citizens and advocates and General Assembly members to celebrate their culture and openly protest negative stereotypes associated with their communities. The event materialized as a result of comments Bob Dumas made Tuesday morning on Bob and the Showgram on G105, referring to American Indians as lazy, among other things. Comments the group says warrant more than an apology and the three day suspension they received.
I would not be qualified to write a blog about “smart living” in North Carolina without the history and knowledge that one of my best friends, Ms. Regina Chavis, has shared with me about NC’s American Indian population over the years.
Regina is one of the smartest, fairest, most accomplished young women that I have the pleasure of knowing — not to mention strikingly beautiful! She is of Lumbee Indian descent (a NC-recognized tribe) and as a Hispanic woman she and I often have heated conversations about the professional and societal challenges associated with our roots.
Regina was present at the forum, last Wednesday, in Raleigh. I asked her to guest blog for Smart in the City to share her feelings associated with last week’s incident…As NC continues to grow more diverse, it is only right that we understand and enhance diversity, culture and ethnicity. To reflect the changing demographics of
North Carolina we can learn from incidents like the one that took place, last week. Smart bloggers, let’s continue to learn from one another and care about each other… 
“Although I’ve been exposed to many forums, in which “blogging” is not only popular but encouraged, I’ve chosen to restrict my thoughts and opinions to verbal communication. Not because I don’t value the power of the written word, it’s quite the contrary, but simply because I’ve never had something burning within me that could not be extinguished through everyday verbal transmissions. Fortunately for my own personal growth and whoever benefits from this black and white exchange, that day has come. I have flares to snuff out and thus am joining the blog community. Last week, I was confronted in an all out, one-on-one, battle with my most desired and most feared opponent: me. Who am I? What do I believe? What does where I come from say about where I’m going? These are just a few questions that my conscience demanded be resolved. What could initiate such an unexpected, internal battle? Surprisingly, it was a group of people in my local community with whom I have no personal relationship. As a result of their deprecating statements aimed toward Lumbee Indians I was faced with the raw and silent emotion that often accompanies a pointed finger followed by laughter. After the G105 controversy, several people inquired about my feelings on the topic. I must admit, I have listened to Bob & the Showgram in the morning on my way in to work. Sometimes I thought the commentary was tasteless but more often than not, I found it was quite amusing. Either way, the hosts always seemed to provoke some type of emotion and when you’re in the midst of bumper to bumper traffic on I-40, what more could you ask for? I simply formed a habit of passing it off as entertainment and went about my day. However on the morning when the finger was pointed toward the Lumbee people, and consequently me, suddenly things were not so comical. To make statements such as lazy and inbred about my tribal family just crossed my line in the sand. Even though I felt this way I still rationalized it in my mind as entertainment and went on about my day. It wasn’t until the comments provoked retaliation from other NC Native Americans that I realized, among many things, the multiple layers to what had happened. Despite my initial feelings of wanting to avoid the spotlight this situation had created, I have now realized that not only should I get involved, I have a responsibility to get involved. For all of my ancestors that paved the way to this very moment in my life, this is for you…THANK YOU and trust me, not a drop of sweat on your brow has been in vain! This subject obviously hit close to home for me and while I could write pages about how I feel, there’s one message I need to put out there more than the rest. I have worked hard, very hard, to be anything but a stereotype of ANY form. I have an engineering degree, a wonderful job, and am extremely involved in my community. I value my family, my friends, and every moment that God allows me to continue creating this unfinished story called my-life. What is most unfortunate, in my opinion, about what happened on our local air-waves is that certainly there were many people whom have never heard of the Lumbee Indians and just so happened to tune in to G105 on Tuesday, April 1st. And for those of you, for which that holds true, may I offer my deepest regrets and sympathy. For what you heard that day has no applicability in my life. You see, I am Lumbee and proud is the meekest way in which I know to express what that means to me. I come from a family that has worked hard generation after generation. From tobacco fields to corporate
America we are a people of dignity, moral character, and resilience. We have a rich culture laced with traditions and love for one another. We have every reason imaginable to hold our heads high and we will continue to focus on the promise of our future rather than the imposed indignities of our past. While these few words can not begin to scratch the surface of who we are, my hope is it will give those who believed the comments made on April 1st the desire to seek out truth. And my only other hope is that those who have the privilege of an attentive audience, in any forum and of any magnitude, never let the power of their words overshadow the importance of moral responsibility. Which elevates the question, where do we go from here? Consider me the ultimate optimist, but I see a plethora of opportunity on the horizon. The community is buzzing about what has happened but most of all it is buzzing about us! Good or bad the dialog has been started. So why not end on a high note? I encourage all Lumbee people, from 1% to 100%, to not get bogged down in the trap of idle words but to rise up to the challenge that has been presented to us. For the only manner in which to gain respect is to render it. And the only way to expose the truth is to create an image so powerful that anything shy of fact falls on deaf ears.”
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader or email.
Subscribe to RSS
Proud to see someone had the guts to speak up about it, “IN WRITING!” Than just complain and not take an active stand. Be Proud! BRAVO!