New Documentary Video Premieres at UNCP

"Lumbee By Grace: Landmarks In Lumbee Identity," a 30-minute video premiered on September 12 to packed audiences for two shows in Old Main on the Campus of UNCP.

The documentary, produced by the Native American Resource Center (NARC), Mass Communications Department and Media Integration Project, speaks to the heart of Lumbee Indian identity.

Museum Director and anthropologist, Dr. Stan Knick, who directed the video, thanked the Lumbee community for its help and cooperation in the creation of the video.

"The Lumbee community has been so warm and welcoming over the years, and it made the making of this video so easy," Dr. Knick said.

He also thanked co-producer and video technical consultant George Johnson, the Media Integration Project and Two Hawk Employment Service owner Harvey Godwin. Mr. Godwin provided funds to reproduce the movie, which is on sale at the NARC.

Dr. Knick also thanked the six Lumbee speakers in the video: Becky Goins Leviner, Rev. Charles Locklear, Mike Clark, Ragan Jones, Barbara Braveboy-Locklear and Harvey Godwin.

The documentary focuses on core features of Lumbee culture: home and family; religion and spirituality; education and Old Main; the river and the land. Throughout the documentary, the six speakers express their views on how these critical issues relate to everyday Lumbee life.

"Outsiders may have difficulty seeing into the currents of history which flow in our river, in our stories, in our veins," says the opening narrative. "But we see. We know. We remain."

"We live in an intricate web of family, land and spirituality. We know who we are, and we recognize our own," continues the narrative.

Mr. Godwin said it is an important project. "This is about our identity and it is about how we value ourselves," Mr. Godwin said. "This video can be an important education tool for our children."

Lumbee speakers share their worldviews in a video that is set to music with historic and modern photographs woven into the script. Non-Lumbees get a view of a world they can see and relate to but one which they may never completely understand, and Lumbees are given a unique opportunity to see their heritage.

Copies of the video are currently available for $12 at the Native American Resource Center at UNCP. For more information call the Native American Resources Center in Old Main at 910.521.8282.

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