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Tribe Travels to Support Dream Catcher Project

Kendra Danielle Chavis, Lumbee Tribe Public Relations Practitioner
Office: 910.522.2202
Email:  Kendra.Chavis3@gmail.com

                 (August 2009) Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins and staff from the Lumbee Tribe traveled to Camp Rockfish on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 to support the Cumberland County Schools Department of Indian Education in the “Dream Catcher Project.”
                  The office of Indian Education funded a week long day camp, August 11th-14th, through the Dream Catcher project; a grant sought after for the past four years.  The Coordinator of Indian Education, Trudy Locklear(pictured left in white), along with Dream Catcher Project Coordinator, Darlene Ransom(second from the left);  also a Lumbee Supreme Court Justice, was presented with the proposal four years ago by non-Indian grant writers. “They knew there was Indian money to be had but they didn’t have any stories of our culture to tell, so they asked Trudy and me for our stories so our voices could be heard,” stated Ransom.  The program accepted 40 rising sophomores from Cape Fear, Douglas Byrd, Gray’s Creek, Jack Britt and South View High Schools. 
                  The project has a curriculum called Expanding the Circle, where the core concept is teaching the children they have to have a plan for the future whether it was college, trade school or the armed forces.  To support the curriculum, on Tuesday their theme was Movers and Shakers and the children were allotted time to speak with prominent and successful American Indians from the surrounding communities. Of those speakers was (l-r)Dr. Terry Lowry, M.D. representing Duke Southeastern Heart Center of Lumberton, Demetrius Hunt representing the NC Welcome Center and Fullers Barbeque, Lieutenant Colonel Kim Chavis representing NC National Guard, Kresa Cummings, PharmD representing Drugs America, Monica McVicker representing the Health Department and Lauren Fletcher representing Nutritionists, Sylvia Adamczyk representing Brentwood Elementary for Cumberland County Schools, Jessica Scott representing Locklear, Jacobs, Brooks & Hunt Attorneys At Law, Vickie Locklear, Robeson County Register of Deeds,  Jonathan Scott representing NC Highway Patrol, Mike Ransom representing Farm Bureau Insurance.
                  Chairman Jimmy Goins also spoke to the children in saying, “We have a Lieutenant Colonel in the room and by wearing that uniform she is saying ‘I’m ready to die for you, I care that much for you,’ so why don’t you care for yourself that much? Trust me you’re goingto make mistakes we’re not perfect, but don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over. In life we have to depend on God, we are asked to stay in the red world but live in the white world, you have to be able to create a balance and say no to these bad things in life so you can be a doctor, a lawyer, or even a four star general one day.” Young Society, the Pembroke Boys & Girls Club Drum Group, paid tribute to the camp and its participants with an honor song.
                  Tribal Youth Service Coordinators, Terry White and John Oxendine, taught the children how to bead bracelets and make corn shuck baby dolls while instilling cultural history in regard to both items.  The children had the opportunity to be exposed to a collegiate environment at UNC-P on Thursday, and concluded the program on Friday with a pizza party and a closing ceremony which featured Bostick Locklear.

 

Dream Catchers Camp teaches Indian students to dream
By Sarah A. Reid
Staff writer for Fayetteville Observer

Tanisha Attson's family was ready to move to a Navaho reservation in New Mexico last week.But when her parents learned that she would miss a five-day camp for at-risk Indian students, the family delayed the move.

"They thought it was a good experience for me," Tanisha said.

She was among 40 Indian students from five Cumberland County high schools who attended the camp this week at Rockfish Camp & Retreat Center.Dubbed the Dream Catcher Camp, the aim of the first-ever event was to instill confidence and sense of community in Indian students in danger of dropping out of high school.

Organizers offered $150 gift cards from Wal-Mart or Target to students who attended all five days. Those who attended four days got $120 cards.

Trudy Locklear, the coordinator of Indian Education, called the gift cards an incentive. Most of the county's Indian students come from lower income households, she said. And that is a major risk factor for dropping out."We get requests every year to help with food, clothing and school supplies or materials," Locklear said. "We just thought this would be a good way to incorporate the two."

During one session, a teen told campers that his family did not have enough money to buy clothes for school, counselors said. Another student brought the teenager name-brand apparel the next day.

"That was empowering to me," said Karen Williams, a counselor and a parent educator. "Something in him said, 'You have more than you need, and you have enough to share with someone who doesn't.' "Drop-out prevention
In November, the county's Office of Indian Education received a federal grant for nearly $1 million over four years to fund The Dream Catcher Project - an innovative drop-out prevention program. Proceeds from the grant paid for the camp, which left a positive mark on several students.

Travis Young, a 16-year-old rising sophomore at Douglas Byrd High School, smiled wide when the entire camp clapped raucously for him when he received his camp certificate Friday. Young dropped out of school in November, and he has been working at a relative's garage, he said.He re-enrolled last week."I'm glad I did what I did," he said.Chad Oxendine, a rising sophomore at Gray's Creek High School, didn't want to attend the camp. He wanted to learn more about his Lumbee heritage, but he thought the activities would be boring.On Monday, he hung back while other campers worked on icebreakers, he said. Counselors noticed, and they talked with him and his parents.He came to camp Tuesday with a new attitude, he said. He left Friday with the phone numbers of several new friends.Harold Bullard, a rising sophomore at Cape Fear High School, said he was going to share the exhilarating experience of riding down a zip line with his father, who is dying of cancer.

Bullard's family urged him to go to the camp, counselors said."I like being here," the teenager said. "I know he wants me to be here."Sabrina Amos, a Choctaw Indian, said the most important lesson that she learned is she can be whatever she wants to be."I'm not limited because I am Native American," she said.The rising sophomore at South View High School said she didn't feel that way before she heard presentations Tuesday by a pharmacist, a heart surgeon and a lawyer, all of whom were Indians.Last year, her grades were lackluster, she said. Adults told her she would never make anything of herself. But the presentation has spurred her to focus on her goal of becoming a psychologist or a pharmacist, she said."This is a lifelong lesson," Sabrina said. "That $150 will be gone. But this is something I will carry throughout my life."

Darlene Ransom, the coordinator of The Dream Catcher Project, said the camp may expand next year. An overnight may be added, and the camp may accept more than 40 students."It's been a huge success," Ransom said after the last student headed home.

Indians interested in information about the camp or The Dream Catcher Project should call 678-2460.

 
For More Information Regarding these stories or any Questions about the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina please feel free to Contact: Alex Baker,Public Relations Manager (910)522.2202