The Plaster Museum Exhibit's Lumbee Influences
Today, a remanent of Lumbee call Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. home. The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi. They are mainly located in what is now southern North Carolina. Many relocated to Virginia because of their jobs or military service, some as part of the U.S. 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Others are part of urban Indian Centers that survived the U.S. led 1950-1960s Indian Termination policies. No matter how the Lumbee got to Virginia, they bring a strong sense of kinship and connection to place.
Kin and Place - Lumbee IdentityBy Lisa Beth Campbell Crouch I interviewed a young woman named Carla Locklear. Carla is Lumbee. After spending time interviewing Carla, I feel like I should say Carla is LUMBEE. She is proud of her heritage and her family, and she was positively giddy during our interview because she had an opportunity to tell her story. We met for lunch in Lumberton, North Carolina. She kept saying to me “I never talk this much!” I said “really, because you haven’t stopped talking since I got here!” I arrived at the restaurant at 11:40am and we finally left the building at 3:10pm where she spent another 15 minutes talking in the parking lot. I think if she had not had to be somewhere at 4:00pm she could have talked all night. It was a fantastic interview, she is an amazing woman, and I am so glad I know her.
Carla dancing as a young Airmen at cultural events while in the Air Force.
Carla’s father was in the United States Military, and she lived on military bases around the world and the United States. She herself is a disabled Air Force Veteran. She already has her master’s degree and has come back to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in her 40s to earn a second bachelor’s degree in American Indian Studies. We met through another class that we are both taking online, Federal Policy and the American Indian. I always made a point to read her discussion posts because she wrote informative posts with fantastic ideas. We began messaging each other through that class, and when this paper came up, I thought she would be a great person to interview because of my familiarity with her discussions in our shared class. She was a great person to interview because of her passion for her history and she has a Lumbee perspective outside of Robeson County due to her military family background.
Carla was born in 1976, the United States Bicentennial. I think this is a fun fact because of her family’s military background. I asked her where she was born and she waved her hand vaguely and said “oh, I was born at the hospital.” I said, “In Lumberton?” She said yes, in Lumberton. This gesture put me in mind of an article I read recently, Is Urban a Person or a Place? by Susan Lobo, where she discusses Native American’s that are living in San Francisco, California, and when they meet one another, there is a common knowledge of Native American community places (Lobo 418-425). There is not a need to say an official name for a place, the culturally used identifiers work fine because everybody knows what that means (Lobo 418-425). Carla’s offhand gesture told me, as an outsider, that anyone from Robeson County would know she meant the hospital in Lumberton.
When she was 2 or 3 years old, her father joined the Army and they left Robeson County. She spent most of her childhood growing up on Army bases in Germany. She says living on an Army base in Germany, she knew she was American. She attended American schools with other American children. Her parents maintained close contact with her grandparents through tape recordings they made of Carla and her sister that they sent to the family back home in Robeson County, and the family would make recordings and send them back. Her parents had Pembroke State University yearbooks on the bookshelf at home and a first edition copy of The Only Land I Know by Adolph Dial, which was published in 1975, a year before she was born, among other Lumbee histories. She was American, and she was Lumbee because her parents made Lumbee tradition part of her daily life. She knew who her people were in Robeson County. Her mother cooked Lumbee style food at home. Carla said she thought everybody’s family ate collard greens and cooked with fatback. Being Lumbee was not something her family did only occasionally for holidays. Being Lumbee is who they are. She first realized Lumbee was something additional to being American when she started kindergarten at the American school on the Army base in Germany.
We all remember the Thanksgiving school play with children representing Indians and Pilgrims and telling the story of two peoples sitting down together and sharing a meal in love and brotherhood. Carla and her sister were chosen to be Pilgrims. Her mother and father had other ideas. Her parents were absolutely not going to have their Lumbee children represent pilgrims in the school play. Her mother found ribbon and the cloth she needed and made Carla and her sister Lumbee regalia. Wee little ribbon shirts with matching skirts and headbands and their hair in two little braids. What an amazing representation of Native American people that school play must have been. I remember some of my Thanksgiving school plays and the costumes were never great. Her parents turned an ordinary event that could have so easily been lost in the life of a military family living on a base overseas into an extraordinary opportunity to showcase the beauty of her young Native American children. This is Carla’s first memory of doing something outside her home that specifically represented Lumbee people. It is when she realized Lumbee was intrinsic to her American identity.
When Carla was little, no matter where they lived, her father kept a vegetable garden. Her maternal and paternal grandparents were farmers. Carla’s paternal grandfather was a tobacco farmer, and he also grew vegetable crops. She says her father told her tobacco farming was dreadfully hard work, and I know from our class discussions that tobacco farming was brutal. Her father carried on this tradition of growing food from the soil all over the world. She says if the soil was not good, he would plant cucumbers and tomatoes in pots. Sometimes his efforts were rewarded with good home garden produce, and sometimes not so much, but he always had some sort of vegetable garden.
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Southeastern Woodland indigenous design books are for sale in the museum. The 2024 Plaster Muesum exhibit in Bluemont, Virginia has a strong Lumbee Indian presence because of local Lumbee who call Bluemont home.
When she left the Air Force, she made herself a gorgeous Lumbee regalia using red, white, blue, and camouflage material from her Battle Dress Uniform, as her color scheme.
The big Lumbee tradition that her family made an effort to carry on every year was to come home to Robeson County for Lumbee Homecoming. Carla felt like being in Robeson County for Lumbee Homecoming was the time when she could build and reinforce family relationships with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Lumbee Homecoming was a time of family, gathering, community, and celebration. They did not make it to Lumbee Homecoming every year, but when they did, it was all about kin and place.
For Carla, being Lumbee is kin and place. This means love for her family, preserving her Lumbee history, protecting ancestral Lumbee lands, recognizing and appreciating each other as Lumbee, and sharing the joy and love of her Lumbee community. She remembers starting a new school in Germany when sisters approached them and asked if they were Lumbee. Their mother’s last name was Oxendine and she was from Robeson County. The sisters recognized Carla’s last name of Locklear as a typically Lumbee surname. This was Lumbee community in action across the ocean on a military base in Germany.
Who's Your People?Locklear is such a common name in Robeson County that both of Carla’s parents were born to the last name of Locklear. When Carla joined the Air Force, she was questioned by an officer about her mother’s maiden name being Locklear, and if her parents were cousins. She said she explained to him that they were not cousins, that Locklear was as common as the last name Jones where she was from, and that her parents came from two distinct family lines separate from each other. She also told me about an incident when she received a phone call telling her there was a Lumbee man who had just arrived at her duty station. They called her because they knew she was also Lumbee. She spoke to the new guy over the telephone and the first thing they said to each other was “Who’s your people?” which is the Lumbee way of finding out who you are, where you’re from, and who your family is (Lowery 32).
When Carla thinks about what Lumbee culture is and how she learned about it, she talks about food and Lumbee pride. She talked quite a bit about food during our interview. She said her mother treated the base commissary like it was Food Lion, and would request certain cuts of meat, including the old Southern staple, fatback, and bought collard greens and mustard greens. This was normal for Carla, she thought everybody ate these things. Her father’s backyard garden was part of their lifestyle. She learned about Lumbee culture by living it with her parents, no matter where they were stationed in the world, they lived Lumbee culture every day.
Land of the Free, Home of the BraveCarla loves dancing and singing and being part of posting military colors at powwows. Her son was a grass dancer until he was 11 years old, he is a teenager now. She hopes that one day he will want to dance again. When she left the Air Force, she made herself a gorgeous Lumbee regalia using red, white, blue, and camouflage material from her Battle Dress Uniform, as her color scheme. Her regalia is so beautiful and so personal to her. I asked her about how it felt to be Native American and in the United States military, given the vile history the United States had/has towards Native Americans. She said for her, it was not about the United States, it was about her people’s land. She felt she was protecting the ancestral lands of her people. She comes from a military background as far back as her great-grandfather who fought in World War I.
When we talked about Lumbee culture in the past, she was not in Robeson County during her childhood. Her parents both grew up in Robeson County and attended Pembroke State University. Her mother’s family was from the Back Swamp and Saddletree communities. Her grandparents were farmers. Her paternal grandfather was at the KKK route at Hayes Pond (L. Locklear, “Victory at Hayes Pond.”). Lumbee culture has always been about family and community. No matter where you are in the world, the kin and place foundation of Lumbee history has held through the years so that Lumbee anywhere in the world recognize and know each other.
As I have discussed already in this paper, Carla did not grow up in Robeson County because her father was in the United States Army. She grew up all over the world. Her background as a military brat meant her reactions from non-Indians was unique. In the military, everyone is American first. Race was secondary. She said she became a “chameleon” and could fit in with kids from all races. When she started high school, her father decided he did not want his children driving on the Autobahn in Germany, and he brought them home to Robeson County. That was a culture shock. They grew up as Lumbee, knowing they were Lumbee, knowing their family history and traditions. When they came home to Robeson County, they were treated like they were not part of the Lumbee community. She was told she wasn’t a “real” Lumbee because she had not grown up here and suffered like they had. She was told she was not “real” Lumbee because she did not have an accent.
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The Lumbee pinecone patch on a colonized black apron and modern yellow sundress in the exhibit.
I have spent some time considering this statement after our interview. Carla is Lumbee. She is LUMBEE. She knows her family history, cultural traditions, and local lore. She is aware of the political climate that existed in Robeson County during her lifetime and her parents lifetime, and her grandparents lifetime. She understands the overt racism in the United States now and during the years she did not live here. She has passed down her family stories to her son. She practices love and appreciation for Lumbee people, respect for Lumbee land, waterways, plant, and animal life, and she is proud to be Lumbee. She is here now, she is raising her son here, she is part of the Lumbee community. When she first came back to Robeson County, it was an emotional moment for her to participate in her first powwow on ancestral Lumbee lands.
Lumbee Legend Lives On Through AncestorsNow we get to a really good part of the interview! Carla is a descendant of Henry Berry Lowrie’s (your superhero, her superhero, and my superhero!) brother, Calvin. She said “Uncle Henry Berry Lowry and cousin Rhoda Strong are family heroes.” She wrote the lineage down for me, and it works out like this. Calvin is her great-great-great grandfather. Calvin had a son named Abner. Abner had a daughter named Bertie, and Bertie is her paternal great-grandmother. At one point after she was an adult, a documentary came out about the Lowrie War. Her father called from his duty station to her duty station and was very excited asking her “Are you seeing Henry? Are you seeing our family? Our people are on TV!” She became emotional and a little teary eyed when she told me about the family relationship and her father calling her about the Lowrie War documentary. I had tears in my eyes too and was fighting hard to keep them back.
I asked Ms. Carla Locklear, great-great-great-granddaughter of Calvin Lowrie, if there were any family stories about what happened to Henry. She became very mysterious, giggled, said it was a quiet honor to be descended from Henry’s family then changed the subject to tell me about meeting some people from Puerto Rico when she was in the Air Force who recognized her as Lumbee because they had learned about the Lowrie War in school. When she finished speaking, I said, “hey, you just totally changed the subject when I asked if there was any family information on what happened to Henry. So, are there any family stories?” She changed the subject again! She giggled and said she was keeping the mystery alive. I am afraid I could not get a conclusion on what happened to Henry from a descendant. We both agreed it would be lovely to think he escaped and lived to a grand old age.
When we talked about historical events in Carla’s lifetime, she said it was awkward because when they came home for Lumbee Homecoming in the 1980s, they knew about the corruption and scandal in Robeson County, but it was not something you would talk about (Haimes). They did not live here, so were not directly affected, but there was a veil of secrecy and a feeling that it was not something you discussed with anyone. Because her family did not live here, the impact on her was minimal. She was a child visiting her grandparents, felt tension in the environment, and was not old enough to process what it meant before she left to return to her family’s home on a military base elsewhere in the world. Since she has been an adult, the struggle for full federal recognition and what that would mean for all Lumbee people is of personal concern.
We talked about the possibility of casinos in Lumbee territory when (note I say when here, not if) the Lumbee gain full federal recognition. We both had the same feeling that casinos are evil, but they make money. There are other things the Lumbee could do in Robeson County. Carla had a great idea of a health retreat where people could come for natural and traditional Native American healing in the beauty of nature. That is a positive way to support other people, but it would not bring in the money a casino would. There just is no other way to generate as much income as gaming does.
Finally, when we discussed how the Lumbee are different from other American Indian tribes, she said it was the controversy about the “Indian-ness” of Lumbee. She said Lumbee are unique because their Native American heritage is in doubt by other Native Americans, people who are not Native American, and by other Lumbee. She was very clear that the Lumbee are federally recognized as Native Americans because of The Lumbee Recognition Act of 1956 (L. Locklear, “Lumbee_Act_STATUTE-70-Pg254.Pdf.”) and sees a “disconnect” between the Lumbee being allowed to call themselves Native Americans and being granted the federal benefits and services that other Native American tribes receive because of their full federal recognition status. Another point was that the Lumbee have always been in this land. They were not victims of Indian Removal. Lumbee have always been here to travel these roads, rivers, and swamps, and she is grateful for the connection and pride she feels to her land and her culture
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Veteran TributeRead about Carla's journey on the Healing Mountain of Bluemont, Virginia. Click on the photo below to read an article by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. 
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Grace and GritMy interview with Carla Locklear was great. She shared information with pride and grace. There were moments of frustration as well as joy. The first thing you told us in class was Lumbee relationships are about kin and place. Even though Carla did not grow up in Robeson County, her parents made sure she knew her connection to kin and place. Carla’s Lumbee identity is strongly tied to place. She spoke several times about walking the riverbank where her ancestors had walked and defending the land of her people. She brought her son to grow up in Robeson County because it is her ancestral homeland. The Lumbee people here have fought poverty and racism since before The Lowrie War (Evans), the KKK from South Carolina (L. Locklear, “Victory at Hayes Pond.”), through political corruption in the 1980s and 1990s (Haimes) and are still fighting in 2024. Both of Carla’s parents have college degrees and Carla herself has a master’s degree. Education was ingrained in her belief system. I have learned that Lumbee Identity is truly tied to kin and place. In Carla’s case, as well as so many other Lumbee who have left Robeson County, Robeson County is home, Robeson County is kin and place, Lumbee are in Robeson County in spirit no matter where they are in the world.
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Works Cited
Evans, William McKee. To Die Game: The Story of the Lowry Band, Indian Guerrillas of Reconstruction. Kindle Edition ed., Syracuse University Press, 1995.
Haimes, Nicole Lucas. “Who Killed Julian Pierce?” MEL Magazine, 30 Jan. 2019, melmagazine.com/en-us/story/who-killed-julian-pierce.
Lobo, Susan. “Is Urban a Person or a Place?” Native American Voices: A Reader, 3rd ed., Routledge, New York, New York, 2016, pp. 418–425.
Locklear, Carla. “Lumbee Identity.” 17 Apr. 2024.
Locklear, Lawrence T. “Lumbee_Act_STATUTE-70-Pg254.Pdf.” Classroom. History and Culture of the Lumbee, 11 Mar. 2024, Pembroke, North Carolina.
---. “Victory at Hayes Pond.” Classroom. History and Culture of the Lumbee, 19 Mar. 2024, Pembroke, North Carolina.
Lowery, Malinda Maynor. Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle. Kindle Edition ed., UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA P, 2018.
Haimes, Nicole Lucas. “Who Killed Julian Pierce?” MEL Magazine, 30 Jan. 2019, melmagazine.com/en-us/story/who-killed-julian-pierce.
Lobo, Susan. “Is Urban a Person or a Place?” Native American Voices: A Reader, 3rd ed., Routledge, New York, New York, 2016, pp. 418–425.
Locklear, Carla. “Lumbee Identity.” 17 Apr. 2024.
Locklear, Lawrence T. “Lumbee_Act_STATUTE-70-Pg254.Pdf.” Classroom. History and Culture of the Lumbee, 11 Mar. 2024, Pembroke, North Carolina.
---. “Victory at Hayes Pond.” Classroom. History and Culture of the Lumbee, 19 Mar. 2024, Pembroke, North Carolina.
Lowery, Malinda Maynor. Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle. Kindle Edition ed., UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA P, 2018.