|
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
|
In the Spring of 2002, the Lumbee River Fund hosted twelve undergraduates from Duke University who traveled to Robeson County to conduct fieldwork projects. The students were part of a class on Native American sacred places taught by LRF Advisor Charlie Thompson and LRF Coordinator Malinda Maynor (who also co-produced a film on the same subject, entitled In the Light of Reverence. The purpose of the fieldwork was threefold: to expose students to how a living Native American community experiences their homeland, to help students gain skills in community documentation work, and to produce materials for the interviewees' families and for the Lumbee River Fund's collection of materials on Indian life and culture. Each group of students interviewed members of the Lumbee or Tuscarora community, trying to determine what made their homelands sacred to them. The class only spent one weekend in Robeson County doing the interviews, but it took them over four weeks to prepare for the project, and then another six weeks to turn their raw material into a useful and enlightening presentation. The students were broken up into groups and the professors, in consultation with members of LRF's advisory board, chose members of the Indian community for the students to work with. Each group was required to conduct audiotaped interviews and take photographs with their interviewees. The students' preparation began with readings on Lumbees and Lumbee history, including:
The students also participated in a workshop with scholars and community experts on applying a place-centered interpretation to Lumbee history. Josephine Humphreys, Louise Cummings Maynor and Mary Sue Locklear spoke to the students about researching and living Lumbee history. Then, after completing a project prospectus and discussing the subject matter in detail with the professors, the students traveled to Robeson County to conduct their interviews, which had been pre-arranged with the help of the instructors and the staff and advisors of the Lumbee River Fund. The weekend was a tremendous amount of fun-everyone stayed at the Baptist Student Union House in Pembroke and enjoyed delicious meals prepared by Quae Cummings, Sally Locklear and Elisha Locklear. They learned a great deal about sense of place in Robeson County and about how to do documentary fieldwork. Each group was accompanied by a guide, who helped the students get around Robeson County and facilitated the interviews. The interviewees and guides were:
After the fieldtrip, each group put together a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation about sense of place from their interviewee's point of view. Their presentations all included audio clips and images from their fieldwork. Students did partial transcripts of all their audiotapes, made prints of their photographs, and digitized the material they used in their presentations, with the goal of putting their presentations on the Lumbee River Fund's website. Everything that they collected will also be deposited into the Lumbee River Fund's archives. The students gave their presentations at the Center for Documentary Studies, and interviewees Elisha Locklear, Mary Sue Locklear, and Bruce Barton were able to attend. Also in attendance were Indian and non-Indian professors, religious leaders, community activists and students. The project was a remarkable experience for everyone involved. View each group's project presentations by clicking the approriate name. Internet Explorer is required to view presentations.
|
||
|
The
Lumbee River Fund | www.uncp.edu/lumbeeriverfund/ |
|||
 |
|
|
|
