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Show WnuAu 11, 174 Hm ut PigeS NCAI Opposes Lumbee Fight For Federal Tribal Recognition - , if SAN DIEGO, Cal. (AIPA) In a strident and complex debate requiring two floor ?tes, delegates to the 31st annual conversion of the National T ;:. Congress of Amt NCAI) here on Oct. 25 vo... .i Lumbee Indians of North Carolina in their effort to gain federal tribal recognition status by a stunning and unexpected majority. Resolution 455, introduced by Eugene of the United Begay Southeastern Tribes, Inc. (USET), of Sarasota, Fla., stated in part: " Whereat , the claim by the Lumbee people of North Carolina to be Native Americans' within the meaning generally given to the term by Congress in providing federal services to Indians as apart of its moral and legal responsibilities to the Indian people is the v (Navajo-Chippew- a) doubt and subject of substantial controversy, now therefore be it resolved by NCAI that it recommends that Senate Bill 1015 be defeated. " Two Floor Votes The resolution, once introduced, was by motion of Ms. Janie Locklear offered for tabling-meani- ng the resolution would not come to a vote during the convention. In a secret ballot, that motion was ... rejected by a margin of 53 to 17. Then, $ following a exchange of views, 59 '"r tribes votedsharp voice vote to oppose the by Lumbee position, three tribes voted in support of the Lumbees, four tribes abstrained from voting, and 35 tribes were absent from the floor during the voting. Had all absent tribes been present, however, and voted for the Lumbee position it could not have won numerically. Ms. Locklear told the delegate the passage of the Lumbee recognition bill would .mean no infringements on the rights, privileges or benefites of the presently recognized tribes. She traced Lumbee history in North Carolina since 1885, when the North Carolina State Legislature recognized the Indian community. The following year she described the origins of the Lumbee school system, and in 1888 she pointed to legislathe beginning of Lumbee-federthe she In said, 1953, tive history. te Lumbees was designated community by the state legislature, and the same designation was continued by the U.S. Congress in 1956 during the Termination Period which excluded them from eligibility for services from the BIA. She called the 1956 congressional language "highly inflammatory and discriminatory. The removal of that language is all we seek. We' do not seek BIA recognition or benefits, or those of the Indian Health Service. We merely seek the same status Indians. " as other Ms. Locklear said she and her people understood that the NCAI constitution required the organization to promote the common welfare of American Indians and toe take this to mean aU -- v American Indians.... This resolution adds (T I insult to injury, this damnable resolution. In the 1960s the Ku Klux Klan regarded as Indians and we acted accordingly. A total of 13 Lumbee delegates were present. Another Lumbee delegate said his group had learned of the resolution just before midnight the night ' before. "Thats slapping you in the face and kicking you in the ass at the same time," he declared. Wkfl Is on Indian? Following the defeat of Ms. Locklears motion to table the resolution, Eugene Begay stated, "The long Indian struggle has been to maintain culture and identity and to develop our resources. The bask issue is this: Who is an Indian and who is not an Indiant Its time for us to decide, and then to teU Congress and federal agencies our conclusions. Maybe NCAI should establish a group to determine this." Robert Burnett, chairman of the al . u anti-Lumb- . ee Rosebud Sioux Tribe, told delegates, This issue is greater than you think. We may have from 10,000 to 79,000 persons to make an onslaught on waiting Congress-peop- le suddenly coming out of the woodwork. How many do we allow to become Indians, while we diminish our resources every day?" Another Lumbee, Dr. Brooks of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, retorted, We didn't crawl in from the woods. We came in on a plane. Let us not permit this to be the first time in 31 years that Indians, have come together so Indians con fight Indians. " Glenda Page, a Paiute from Portland, Ore., urged the delegates, Please you dont know the whole consider, history behind this amendment. Don't deny people who have a history as long as your own. Dolly Akers, a Ft. Peck Afisiniboine from Montana, stated, "The Lumbee people were sought out and set up under the 1931 Indian Reorganization Act. Thats a pretty late date to be going around finding Indians. Its fashionable to be Indians now, but. ... Jonathan Taylor, chairman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina, said, "This is an Indian issue. This is the reason the Eastern Cherokees want are caking for a roll call vote-- we the Indian people to decide what were AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AND PROBLEM-SOLVINTECHNIQUES -Were areas of discussion at the first annual travel sjriposium held earlier thia month at Denver, Colo. Representatives of Indian resorta throughout the country gave brief presentations of their properties and problems they are encountering. Bottle Hollow Resort was represented hy General Manager Jim Peltier and Assistant Manager Gilbert Gardner at the two-da- y session. Pictured are Peltier left and Kenneth Wright, executive of the American Indian Travel Commission. G vice-preside- nt Travel Commission Meets in Denver Thirty managers and representatives of Indian-ownevacation resorts met Nov. in Denver, Colo, to discuss the d 4-- 6 going to do. Indian tourism industry. The first annual Indian Travel Futures Symposium was hosted by the American Indian Travel .Commission at the Then the lopsided roll call vote was taken, decisively dooming NCAI support for the Lumbees before the U.S. Senate this session of Congress. Lumbee Walkout Just before a walkout of the 13 Lumbee delegates and other delegates from Eastern Indian seaboard communities, Dr. Brooks of UNC Chapel Hill declared before the full assembly, I would Wee to cast one vote for a person like Helen Scheirbeck, Brantley Blue, Parnell Swett, and other Lumbee persons who have worked hard in Washington, D.C., and who have helped the American Indians over the years. " Scheirbeck, until recently, was director of the Indian Education Office in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and Swett remains there; Blue is the only Indian commissioner on the Indian Claims Commission (ICC); all are Lumbees. Ernest Stevens, outgoing first of NCAI, said after the Lumbee walkout, 7 would hope the Lumbees would take on the responsibility for more explanations and more reasonable arguments and continue to fight I admire them. . NCAI President Mel Tonasket, & Cplville, called the vote "one of the best and toughest resolutions ever to come before this floor. " And William Farrison, a Papago and an asked NCAI area NCAI to create a standing committee io review the documentation of tribes which have petitions for recognition to establish their meritorious claim to same. Farrisons motion was passed by voice vote. vice-preside- nt : Cosmopolitan Hotel. Resort owners heard presentations by guest speakers and participated in panel discussions presented by representatives of the U.S. Travel Service, the Economic Development Administration and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The American Indian Travel Commission is a federally subsidized Denver based organization. Nine directors representing several tribes throughout the continental United States and Alaska govern the commission. Kenneth F. Wright is the executive non-profi- t, vice-preside- The AITC was established under the auspices of the EDA and BIA to assist the various Indian tourism facilities owners in the marketing of their properties to make them high profit centers. Representing Bottle Hollow Resort at the sessions were General Manager James Peltier, Assistant Manager Gilbert Gardner, and Maxine Natchees, Public Relations Officer for the Ute Tribe. Game Contest Winners Named A four power rifle scope was awarded to Allen Tahguv of Ouray, first place winner in the Fish and Game Department's Big Buck Contest, by Alfred Parriette, department director, Oct. 29. Mr. Tahguv brought in the dedr bearing the widest antler spead (26Vi") of thorn entered in the contest. Woodrow Appawoos buck, with an antler spread of 26, won him the second place award, a pair of binoculars. Third plgce winner Bonnie Van received a sleeping bag for her buck which sported 25 58 antler spread. , The annual contest was held during the state deer hunt t'dm YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE Please notify the Bulletin if yon are not receiving your paper or if. yon have a change of address! vice-presiden- t,, Judges Named To Appelate Court Two permanent judges and an alternate were appointed to the Tribal Appelate Court by the Business Committee last month. Fred Conetah, Fernando Nephi, Sr. and Alternate Wallace Tabbee have been appointed to six year terms on the bench. The appelate court will provide persons who are unsatisfied with a decision in the tribal court an opportunity to appeal it. Two of the judges, in addition to a visiting judge from another reservation, will hear and decide each case. OVER A HUNDRED IRIS BULBS-We- re planted by the Roosevelt Business and Club Hollow Bottle Resort. Members of the women's at Womens j Professional bulbs of the their civic participation program. a as donated part organization thumbs" left were from their Loya Gardner, little Michelle green Testing Marion Club President Irma Stewart, Irene Ida Behunin, Harrison, Gardner, Allen. and Ruth Lurrine Norma Veda Allen, Denver, Jensen, Cuch, |