á P ub lic P o licy an d Native Americans in Nort h Caro lina: Issues for the '80s Conference Proceedings Edited by Susan M. Presti Published by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research, Inc. Board of Directors Thad L. Beyle, Chairman Virginia Ann Foxx, Vice Chairman Walter DeVries, Secretary V. B. (Hawk) Johnson, Treasurer Thomas L. Barringer Daniel T. Blue, Jr. James S. Ferguson Charles Z. Flack, Jr. Joel L. Fleishman Karen E. Gottovi R. Darrell Hancock William G. Hancock, Jr. Watts Hill, Jr. Mary Hopper SandraL. Johnson Walter T. Johnson, Jr. Betty Ann Knudsen Thelma Lennon Hugh Morton Roy Parker, Jr. Donald D. Pollock Betty Chafin Rash Grace Rohrer McNeill Smith Robert W. Spearman Alfred W. Stuart Patricia H. Wagner Alfreda Webb Harrison Wellford Cameron West Betty H. Wiser Copyright 1981 by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research, 336 Fayetteville Street Mall, Room 412, Post Office Box 430, Raleigh, N.C. 27602. Typesetting by SeledIype; printing by Theo Davis Sons, Inc. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the individual members of the Center's Board of Directors. TABLE OF CONTENTS Conference Program ii Executive Summary 1 Keynote Address 4 Education 10 Health 26 Luncheon Address 45 Recognition 49 Economic Status 65 Conference Conclusions and Recommendations 82 Appendices 88 PREFACE On April 24, 1981 the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research sponsored a conference, "Public Policy and Native Americans in North Carolina: Issues for the '80s," which focused on the subjects of health, education, recognition, and economic status. The conference brought together approximately 100 Indians, policymakers, educators, and members of the press to discuss the effects of existing policies on Indians, how such policies could be made more responsive to the needs of Indians, and how policies could be initiated to better address problems of special importance to native Americans. Each panel session included panelist presentations and open discussions. This document reports the proceedings of the conference. The presentations of each panelist, as they appear in this text, have been edited to make them more readable, not to distort their meaning in any way. Following the presentations are summaries of the discussions held in the panel sessions. The final chapter provides a summary of the major points and recommendations that emerged from the conference. Also included are the remarks given by Adolph Dial in reaction to the general tenor and substance of the conference. Both the conference and this publication were funded in part by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Committee, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. i CONFERENCE PROGRAM 8:45 REGISTRATION 9:15 INTRODUCTORY SESSION Keynote Address: Adolph Dial, Chairman, Department of American Indian Studies, Pembroke State University 10:15 EDUCATION HEALTH Betty Mangum , Director, Division of Cherry Beasley , Professor, University Indian Education, N.C. Department of Tennessee College of Nursing of Public Instruction Carolyn Emanuel , Executive Director, Arnold Richardson , Economic Develop- Pembroke Medical Services ment Specialist, Haliwa-Saponi Wes Halsey, Chief of Urban Programs, Tribe, Inc. Division of Indian Community Helen Scheirbeck , Director of Program Development, U.S. Indian Health Development, White House Conference Service for Children and Youth; Project Co- Ronald Levine , Deputy Director, Division ordinator, Indian Information Project of Health Services, N.C. Department Joyce Wasdell , Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for Instruction, Durham County Moderator: William Flash , Professor, Schools School of Public Health, University of Moderator: Earl Oxendine , Director of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Compensatory Education, Hoke County Schools; member, State Board of Education 12:15 LUNCHEON Luncheon Address: James Abourezk , former U.S. Senator and Chairman, American Indian Policy Review Commission 2:00 RECOGNITION ECONOMIC STATUS Jeanne Chastain , Lumbee River Legal Norman DeWeaver, Economic Develop- Services ment Specialist, Center for Community Jo Jo Hunt , U.S. Senate Select Com- Change mittee on Indian Affairs Kenneth Maynor , Executive Director, Arlinda Locklear , Native American Guilford Native American Association Rights Fund Gary Shope, Director, Small Community Horace Locklear , N.C. State Repre- Economic Development, N.C. Depart- sentative (Robeson County) ment of Commerce Moderator: Sandra Wurth- Hough, Moderator: John G. Peck, Professor, Professor, Department of Political Department of Sociology and Anthro- Science, East Carolina University pology, North Carolina State University 3:40 PLENARY SESSION Summations: Panel Moderators Reaction: Adolph Dial 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The conference on "Public Policy and Native Americans in North Carolina: Issues for the '80s" examined many of the problems facing the state's Indians in the areas of education, health, economic status and recognition, and proposed remedial actions for some of the most pressing problems. In the area of education, Indians often perform poorly in school and frequently end their educations before completing high school. The discrimination many Indians encounter from teachers, administrators, and students does little to encourage them to continue their educations or to improve their educational performance. The conference participants agreed that, in order to enhance the educational environment for Indian students, teachers and administrators must demonstrate more respect for and understanding of Indian students. In addition, multi-ethnic studies, an essential ingredient for a complete education, must no longer be denigrated to the role of the mini-course. Minority education units must be integrated into the social studies and language arts curricula at all grade levels. Before this can happen, however, the conference participants agreed that Indians and other minorities must work to develop appropriate instructional materials, since existing textbooks frequently distort the history and culture of minorities. In the area of health, the North Carolina Indian fares more poorly than does his white counterpart. Although accurate statistics are difficult to obtain (because the 1970 Census grossly undercounted the North Carolina Indian population), it appears that North Carolina's Indian population has at least a 30 percent higher incidence of the following maladies than does the general North Carolina population: leukemia, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, kidney disease, motor vehicle and other accidents, and homicides. The Indian's health problems are compounded by his rurality (83 percent of the state's 1970 Indian population lived in rural areas) and his failure to utilize existing health services, especially those offered by the county health departments. This underutilization is the result of a number of factors. Indians are often unaware of the services available to them, too poor to pay for such services, unable to find transportation to health departments, and - perhaps most importantly - suspicious of the health providers' attitudes towards Indians. For their part, health department staffs frequently do not employ Indian personnel, are unaware of the number of Indians in their area, do not conduct effective outreach efforts to inform Indians of available health services, and harbor prejudicial attitudes towards Indians. The Indian's heritage and life-style provide him with a number of strengths upon which he can draw to improve his health status, among them his extended family support system, holistic view of health, and the ever increasing number of Indian health professionals. The conference participants feel that Indians will need to build on these strengths if they are to improve their chances of leading long and healthy lives. Similarly, Indians will have to draw on local resources and local capital to improve their socioeconomic status in the future. Although most Indians have traditionally farmed, more and more are being forced to abandon their small landholdings. Because of their low levels of education and their rural backgrounds, Indians lack the rudimentary skills necessary to secure and maintain high- paying jobs. Migrating Indians also face numerous difficulties in adjusting to the depersonalized atmosphere of cities. 1 Indians have formed a number of organizations, or Indian centers, to help address the socioeconomic needs of native Americans. These centers, such as the Guilford Native American Association and the Lumbee Regional Development Association, have worked to improve the Indian's economic opportunities, help native Americans gain access to social welfare programs, and provide a supportive atmosphere for Indians alienated from the majority society that surrounds them. These centers, however, have survived largely on federal funding and will have to develop self-sustaining, locally initiated programs if they are to continue in the future. Perhaps no other issue is as emotion-laden for North Carolina's Indians as the subject of recognition. Inconsistent policies at the state and federal levels have left many Indian tribes in this state unrecognized by either the federal or state governments. This has meant that North Carolina's Indians have lost millions of dollars in federal programs designed for federally or state recognized tribes. Recently, however, both the United States and North Carolina have attempted to clarify their recognition processes. At the federal