About

Becky Goins is the Associate Curator for the Museum of the Southeast American Indian and an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.  Becky has been employed with the museum, in various roles, for the past 22 years.  Becky earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Indian Studies and a Master Degree in Public Administration, both from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  Becky began her career in American Indian arts at the Guilford Native American Art Gallery in Greensboro, where she served full-time as the Assistant Gallery Director, and taught weekly American Indian culture classes for American Indian youth in the triad area.  Becky also served as the Co-coordinator for the Young First Americans dance troupe sponsored through Guilford Native American Association.

Becky’s role in the museum focuses heavily on collections management and care, integration of collections records into digital format through the collections database, and exhibit research, design and installation.  Becky also serves as the direct supervisor for the museum’s interns and work study students.  As an undergraduate at UNCP Becky served as secretary, vice-president, and president of the Native American Student Organization.  After returning to UNCP as a full-time staff member, Becky continued her work with the NASO organization as a faculty advisor and served as such for 20 years.

Becky has been culturally active in both traditional and powwow cultures from a very young age.  She is a Southern Cloth dancer and has been a women’s back-up singer for several different drum groups over the years.  Becky represented the Lumbee Tribe as Miss Lumbee 1991, and over the years, worked with other former Miss Lumbee ambassadors to move the Miss Lumbee pageant to a more traditional format.  Becky was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Winyah Rivers Alliance.  Becky has previously served with numerous organizations such as the American Indian Women of Proud Nations, serving on the executive board as secretary, treasurer, and chairperson, and she has been a member of the planning committee for the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Celebration sponsored by the NC Museum of History and the NC Commission of Indian Affairs for more than 15 years.  Becky is originally from Fayetteville, NC, and currently resides in Pembroke, NC with her teenage children, Joseph and Morgan Leviner.