Native Americans – The Forgotten People is a phrase that is becoming quite bothersome to me. As a people, we have been through so much since the inception of the United States. We were not immigrants or transported. We were the original people of the land. The land and the people were one. Our People respected the land and learned to live off the land. We only took what we needed and gave back as much as we could. As People of the Land, We Native Americans embraced our culture and heritage. Our Ancestors were our guides. The elders our leaders and advisors. The Youth were taught to respect the land and the People. Our elders were respected and cared for.
As a Native American Indian, Lumbee Nation, it saddens me to see how your lands, cultures and heritage and general respect of nature and God has become so abominable. Although our culture is not perfect, I truly believe that our beliefs, practices and ability to rely on our past history and elders is what has kept me going and thriving.
Their New World – Not For Our Native Americans
As more people discovered the New World, the Native Americans, our People, were pushed further and further to the extremes. We were exposed to diseases, illnesses, slavery, and eventually ran off our lands. We were thrust into battles for our very survival fighting with bows and arrows, spears and axes and anything that we had on hand to defend ourselves. While the enemy had guns, dynamite and weaponry that was far more advanced than our primitive ones.
However, as they settled our lands and harvested our food, the settlers realized that they could not survive on their own. They had to learn the land. Unfortunately, our people were then enslaved in order to teach them how to work our lands to produce food and clothes to help them survive. Warriors become the savages the settlers proclaimed us to be. Our pride, heritage and culture was threatened. Our people enslaved and slaughtered. The land we loved so dearly and depended on was running red with the blood of our people. The Native American People refused to be defeated or forgotten!!!
THE AFTERMATH
After all was said and done, we Native Americans were defeated. We lost our lands, our livelihood, our lives and our freedom. Our women and children were taken to sell into slavery. The strong warriors were killed without any remorse and our dignity and our humanity was stripped from us. But through all of this, there was one thing that they could not take from us – OUR PRIDE!!!
Even in captivity, being placed on reservations, with no home to call our own and separated from our families, we kept our traditions and values strong and thriving. We taught our children our ways. Kept our knowledge of the land, plants, herbs, animals alive. We never showed our defeat and we never gave up.
OUR HERITAGE – NATIVE AMERICANS
Our heritage is our legacy to our children. It is a written and oral documentation of your history, culture, beliefs and traditions handed down through generations. This is how we show our pride in who we are as a people.
We fished the rivers, worked the lands for food and crops. We hunted wild game, the buffalo, deer, quail, squirrels, elk. Nothing goes to go to waste. We use hides to make clothes and shoes, intestines to make threads, bones to make beads, utensils, decorations and sometimes medicines. Trees are essential for housing, wood for warmth, decorations, sleds, storage. Bark and wood was trimmed, soaked and used to make baskets. The use of grasses and reeds to make baskets and many other useful things to help make life better is fast becoming a lost art.
The Native Americans may be the forgotten people; but, we will still be here when most cultures die or fade away. We were the first and we will be the last to stand tall and be proud of who we are as a people and as a Nation.
NATIVE PRIDE
There are several different tribes throughout the United States. Not all have fared as well as my tribe has. Some of the tribes are now on reservations. Their lands taken from them. Others live with poverty and alcohol and substance abuse. Nevertheless, we all still have our dignity and pride in our people, our lands, culture and heritage. When we get the chance, we support one another through song and dance. Showing our regalia that represents our tribe, culture and heritage.
I am a Native American from the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. I take pride in my culture, my beliefs, traditions and most of all my family. We, as a tribe, have tried to instill in our children our heritage and our pride for our people. Teaching them to love and honor the land, love and honor their elders, to uphold the laws of the land, the people, nature and most of all God the Heavenly Father.
Every year, we honor our Lumbee heritage and show our Lumbee pride with a week long celebration in the small but popular town of Pembroke, NC. Pembroke is a small college town and the home of one of the first Native American Universities, UNC at Pembroke. The original building, Old Main, still holds a place on this beautiful campus. It is now the the museum which holds our history, showcases our culture and displays some amazing works of art from local Lumbee artisans.
MY NATIVE AMERICAN LUMBEE TRIBE – HOMECOMING – PROUD AND STRONG
I would like to share with you my amazing and wonderful tribe. We are small in comparison to most tribes; but, we will hold our head high and carry on with the traditions of our forefathers. If you find our culture something you would like to see first hand, then I would like to invite you to visit us this homecoming season. Follow me on Instagram to stay up to date with all the happenings with upcoming pow-wows and events leading up to this years Lumbee Homecoming. Would love to see you there.
Here are some pictures and videos for you to enjoy in the meantime. Also, come great places for you shop for Native American Jewelry, arts and crafts.
Gallery of Native Americans Events
FOOD, FAMILY AND FUN
Having come together for this Native American homecoming is quite rewarding. Seeing family members, getting together to enjoy each other with food, drink and fellowship. Join us this year and let’s celebrate our Native Pride. Join us for homecoming in the lovely town of Pembroke. Every year from July 1 – 5. Explore our culture. See our ritual dances. Enjoy our arts and crafts. Embrace our culture by visiting our museum in Old Main. We would love to have you. Come and see what our Heritage, Culture and lives are all about for our Native American Lumbee Tribe.
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