College creates positions specializing in study of Native American history

By Michael Jaenicke - Assistant Features editor

PEMBROKE - Malinda Maynor is a Robeson County native who grew up in Durham but never forgot "her people."

In two months, the 32-year-old Lumbee Indian will become one of two Harvard professors specializing in Native American studies. The new tenure-tracked positions are the first at the university renowned throughout the world.

Maynor's path to Harvard may have started when her parents were children. She remained grounded in the Lumbee culture and heritage because her parents, Waltz and Louise, grew up in the Red Banks and St. Anna sections of the Pembroke community.

"Our summer vacation spot was Pembroke, and we were also there about once a month after moving," Maynor said.

Waltz and Louise were adamant about having their daughter know the Lumbee ways, thrusting her into situations to be influenced by their extended families - as well as Lumbee leaders like Adolph Dial, Earl Hughes Oxendine and Barbara Braveboy-Oxendine.

Her parents had no idea she would become an historian, writer, filmmaker and weave large pieces of the Lumbee patchwork into the fabric of her career.

"It wasn't until around the time I was in graduate school that I began to find my voice, my niche, and my calling if you will," Maynor said.

After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in history and literature, she earned a masters in film and video production from Stanford University.

Earlier this month, Maynor finished up work on her doctorate in history at UNC-Chapel Hill with a dissertation, "Native America Identity in the Segregated South: The Indians of Robeson County, North Carolina, 1872-1956."

"She's developed a passion and insatiable appetite for her heritage and ancestry, yet is as down-to-earth as anyone you'll ever meet," said Rev. Mike Cummings, director of missions for the Burnt Swamp Baptist Association.

State Rep. Ronnie Sutton echoes Cummings' words.

"She's extremely active in civic affairs and feels a connection to this place," he said. "She feels and understands the needs, the past and current history of this place and will do an outstanding job up there (Harvard) for us. She's going to contribute."

Louise Maynor thinks Massachusetts is just a stop.

"Harvard is a crossroads on her journey and I feel in my heart she'll be back," she said. "She wants to leave an impression on North Carolina. What I like is how she lives and believes in her work.

"She's very community orientated and loves the Pembroke and Robeson County area."

Louise Maynor is chairman of the English Department at N.C. Central. Waltz is a retired education professor at the university. Both are graduates of Pembroke State.

Growing up

"... My parents and grandparents set the tone to help me learn the importance of family and community," Malinda Maynor said. "It's a cultural thing where everyone looks out for one another and the parents model behavior for children. It's not so much what is said but what is seen.

"That's also how our values are transferred for things like faith and prayer. Like most Lumbees, we are a very tight-knit family. My parents were in education and we didn't have a lot of money, so they had to make sacrifices for important things we needed."

One of those sacrifices was making sure Malinda and her brother, Ben, 31, got the best education available. Both attended Durham Academy.

Another Maynor family emphasis was the arts. Malinda learned discipline and part of her work ethic while taking violin lessons. She was in Harvard's all-women Radcliffe Choral Society for four years.

"The joke at Harvard used to be that students were more involved with their extracurricular activities than their studies," said Maynor, who also enjoyed participating in theater and playing tennis.

Maynor made three documentaries about Indians. "In the Light of Reverence" - a 71-minute film about the struggles in three Indian communities - was seen by 3 million people when PBS aired it in 2001.

Two other films - the seven-minute "Real Indian" and the 14-minute "Sounds of Faith" - focus on the Lumbee identity and culture. Both were previewed at the Sundance Film Festival.

She says the films clear up misunderstandings about Indian culture.

"Education, in particular, is a problem," Maynor said. "Indian children come into a school system with a world view of helping the community and fitting into a family and then see it's all about me, me, me. That's why initially it was a little of a struggle for me. Be the first to answer, the smartest, was the way it is presented. Many Native American males also suffer because, by and large, they've been taught to learn by observing and not reading and studying."

Work with 'SATW!'

Maynor has always felt a tug to help her Lumbee family. Five years ago she founded the Lumbee River Fund, a project at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke that preserves history of the Lumbees by collecting photographs and developing a written and oral histories.

Her latest work in Robeson County centers around pumping new blood into "Strike At The Wind!" She helped form the Carolina Arts Network, a nonprofit organization created to revitalize the outdoor drama. "SATW!" was a summer event at the N.C. Indian Cultural Center that began in 1976, but hasn't been performed since 2003.

The group is trying to get money to refurbish the Adolph Dial Amphitheater, recruit a professional staff and crew and invest in marketing plan that will make the event a tourist attraction.

"It has the potential to draw 65,000 visitors to Robeson County every summer, with an estimated impact of $12.6 million annually," she said.

A year ago, Maynor married Willie French Lowry, who wrote the music for "SATW!"

Perhaps surprisingly, Maynor is ambivalent about federal recognition for the tribe - although she lives by the title of her husband's song, "Proud to Be Lumbee."

"I'm undecided because it's layered in politics," she said. "Unlike most of their Indian counterparts, Lumbees have done well in business adventures without help or restrictions from the government. We also had our own educational system at a time when it was revolutionary for a tribe. But there are many pitfalls to recognition that I don't think a lot of people have thought through. I pray our leaders make the right decision.

"We've survived economically and still kept our values intact. There's just something special about this place that stays with you. It also brings you back."