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Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery participated in the coin toss to start the play at the American Indian Heritage Game on Saturday at UNC Pembroke. The Braves played a great game against Concord. Miss Indian North Carolina Jayla Locklear sang the National Anthem for the game. The event was sponsored by UNCP Athletics and the Town of Pembroke. Thank you to UNC Pembroke and the town of Pembroke for honoring American Indian Heritage Month. Concord took the lead to win the game in the fifth overtime.

Lumbee Tribal Chairman John Lowery participated in the coin toss to start the play at the American Indian Heritage Game on Saturday at UNC Pembroke. The Braves played a great game against Concord. Miss Indian North Carolina Jayla Locklear sang the National Anthem for the game. The event was sponsored by UNCP Athletics and the Town of Pembroke. Thank you to UNC Pembroke and the town of Pembroke for honoring American Indian Heritage Month. Concord took the lead to win the game in the fifth overtime.

The Lumbee Tribe Housing Complex and all Lumbee Tribal Offices are closed in observance of Veterans Day on Friday, November 11, 2022.

Did you know the name plaques of the students serving in WWII was the only thing to survive the 1973 fire when Old Main burned on the campus of what is currently UNC Pembroke. Two years before World War II ended, the Pembroke State College for Indians was left almost empty as more than 100 hundred enlisted reserve college students were called up to active duty. They were immediately sent to Fayetteville on the train on Good Friday, April 23, 1943. Their bravery is marked by the World War II Service Roll Memorial inside the Old Main Foyer on the campus of UNC Pembroke. This memorial graced the walls inside the building for 37 years before Old Main burned in 1973. To the surprise of many, the memorials didn’t burn, but survived the fire with only soot on them. However it destroyed Old Main. Upon restoration of the building, the plaques were returned to their proper place. The painted wooden memorial has told the story of these brave men for more than 80 years. Immediately after the men were called to service on that Good Friday, a campus Art Class Project began to construct the service roll. The remaining student body on campus consisted mostly of women. According to information by Ms. Ira Lee Thomas Lowry (Class of ’45), the letters for the memorial were painted by Sadie Ray Locklear, (Class of ‘45). There was an auditorium in the original Old Main building, which was eventually named Memorial Auditorium in memory of the Pembroke State College for Indians Students and Faculty who served their country in World War I, World War II and the Korean conflict. The wooden plaques include the names of (4) men who were killed in action. These included Marvin Chavis, Wade Lowry, James Swett and Verl Thompson. This generation is considered by many the “Greatest Generation” in our nation’s history. These men truly gave of themselves in military service, but also returned home to do their part for their Lumbee Community. The more than 150 college students memorialized include Venus Brooks, Adolph Dial, Danford Dial, James Arthur Jones, Curt Locklear, Vincent Lowry, Cleo Maynor and Vernon Thompson, just to name a few. Celebrating American Indian Heritage Month! For more information or to see the full list of names on this WW II Memorial, visit Old Main on the campus of UNC Pembroke.

Today, our Lumbee Warriors joined the procession in Washington, DC along the National Mall for the special ceremony to open the new National Native American Veterans Memorial. The ceremony dedication took place in front of the US Capitol at 4 pm, but there was a full day of activities. The procession was also be livestreamed. The National Museum of the American Indian honored the exceptional military service of Native Americans in a formal dedication of the National Native American Veterans Memorial at our nation’s capital. The dedication and processional will honor American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian veterans and their families. There is a full day of activities To see the livestream, which is expected to begin at 2 pm visit https://americanindian.si.edu/livestream For more information about the National Native American Veterans Memorial visit https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/washington/nnavm

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina sent a delegation to the National Congress of American Indians annual conference. The conference, which regularly has more than 1,000 attendees, welcomes tribes from throughout the United States as they work together to address issues facing Indian Country. Lumbee Tribal Councilmen Gerald Goolsby, Homer Fields, Richard Jones, and Chairman John Lowery represented as elected officials of the Lumbee Tribe. Tribal Administrator Ricky Harris, Legal and Compliance Officer Danielle McLean, and Vocational Rehabilitation Director Celeste Hunt attended as well. The delegation has participated in breakout sessions regarding economic development, housing, health care, natural resources, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, Federal Recognition and much more. They also participated in the Southeast Caucus, which discussed issues facing tribes throughout our region, from Virginia to Louisiana. The conference ends today as delegates vote on a number of resolutions affecting the tribes of NCAI.

On Tuesday, UNC Pembroke held the grand opening of the new American Indian Heritage Center, which is named in honor of Mr. Curt and Mrs. Catherine Locklear. They are both dear to our Lumbee family and community. We wanted to spotlight their important role in the history of our community during American Indian Heritage Month. Mr. Curt was one of the first American Indian business owners in the town of Pembroke. Did you know that Pembroke Hardware was actually at 3 different locations? Most people know of the second location, which was at the corner of W. 3rd and Vance Street. The first location in the early 60’s was actually around the corner on Main Street facing the railroad track near the shoe store and the old post office. The first building is now gone. Mr. Curt and his brother Monroe Lowery operated the business. Mr. Monroe did the book work and ran an electrical business in the back of the store and Mr. Curt operated the Hardware in the front. The two brothers would eventually divide the two businesses in 1970. Mr. Monroe expanded the electrical business to large electrical jobs in other states. Overtime the hardware had 3 salesmen, but Mrs. Catherine also was instrumental in helping customers with catalog orders, layaways, housewares and finding items in the store. In 2006, after more than 40 years, at the corner of town, Mr. Curt moved the store to the current location on highway 711. It is one of the largest True Value stores in the country, but it is still known to many of us as “Curt’s” or the “Hardware.” Another interesting fact. Both Mr. Curt and Mrs. Catherine were teachers for short time. Mrs. Catherine taught 3rd grade at Pembroke Elementary for 5 years and taught for one year at Magnolia. Her first class at Magnolia in the late 1940's had 50 children. Mr. Curt was a tax preparer, but eventually taught Chemistry at the Pembroke High School. Their legacy lives on. Celebrating American Indian History