On The Trail of the Lumbees

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky

October 1967 VISTA Volunteer issue Vol. 3 No. 10 features an in-depth story about Edith Murphy, a VISTA volunteer in East Baltimore working with Lumbee Indians through the Baltimore Community Action Agency. The article describes community conditions, the staff’s outreach efforts, local rumors and migration links to North Carolina, and a trip that helps reveal attitudes shaped by housing, welfare needs, and discrimination. The narrative also highlights legal barriers and land loss affecting Lumbee families.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time49 min

AccessFree to download

Are You Moving?

Contents for October, 1967, Vol. 3, No. 10

On the Trail of the Lumbees

You'll Do Anything

The Ripples Reach All Shores

The Roots of Violence

On the Trail of the Lumbees

OCTOBER,1967VISTAVOL.3,NO.10VOLUNTEER "One of the biggest differencesbetween the lower economic classes and the middle classis the ability to control yourown destiny...”Story on page 10 # Are You Moving? If you are,please let us know your newaddress so that you'll continue to receive theVISTA Volunteer.Print your name and oldaddress here and mail to VISTA,Washing-ton,D.C.20506 Name Address State Zip Code City Print new address here: Address Zip Code State City VOLUNTEER Published Monthly by Volunteers In Service To AmericaOffice of Economic Opportunity.11ll 18th St.,N.W.,Washington,D.C.20506Susan Dooley,Editor Use of funds for printing this publication approved by theDirector of the Bureau of the Budget,July 11,1967. CONTENTS FOR OCTOBER,1967,VOL.3,NO.10 On The Trail Of The Lumbees………………………………3 A VISTA in East Baltimore traces theresidents of her neighborhood back totheir home county in North Carolina You'll Do Anything …………………………………………10Four VISTAs discuss the problems thatconfront a member of the middle class onmoving into a poor neighborhood The Ripples Reach All Shores …………………… ………16Francis Tighe looks back on hisexperiences working with the Job Corps The Roots of Violence ………… ……… …………22 Americans must try to understand the realcauses of the Negro riots that have beensearing the nation,says Richard N.Goodwin,a former special assistant to PresidentsKennedy and Johnson On the Trailof the Lumbees STORY BY EDITH MURPHYPHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL D.SULLIVAN On the Trail of the Lumbees一Edith Murphy,aVISTA Volunteer with the Baltimore CommunityAction Agency,works at a center on E.BaltimoreSt.She and the other VISTAs at the center workprimarily with the Lumbee Indians.“We wonderedwhy we weren't getting through to these people,”she said.“We wanted to know where they camefrom.” The Baltimore Community Action time the staff consisted of three were the only group to successfullyAgency located a branch neighborhoodVISTAs and a neighborhood coun-take a stand against the Ku Klux Klan,center on E.Baltimore St.quite byselor,Mrs.Regina Sloane.whom they ran out of their homeaccident in the winter of 1966.TheOn E.Baltimore St.,we found thecounty,Robeson,N.C.original center had been located twoLumbee Indians,known throughoutblocks to the south,in a neighborhoodOur contact with the Lumbees be-Baltimore as the roughest group in thecomposed primarily of Polish workinggan through case work—helping withcity.The Lumbee Indians are a hand-class residents.These people felt thatsome,dark-skinned group with blueproblems of welfare,unemploymenttheir lives were in order;they did noteyes and kinky hair.While it isand emergency food.I was intriguedworry about the future and had nothought they have some Negro blood,by the isolation and apathy of thedesire to fortify their neighborhoodthey consider themselves a race untogroup.They never complained aboutagainst the blight which would hitthemselves.Proud of their Indianthe deplorable housing conditions.within five years.origin,they will show their birth certif-They showed open hostility towardicate at a moment's notice.the white man and condescension to-ward the Negro.I felt that I mightunderstand more about their attitudes Because of this we set up a tempo-rary center in a Methodist store fronton E.Baltimore St.until we couldfind a permanent home base.At that There were rumors in the area thatthey were descended from Sir WalterRaleigh's Lost Colony and that they I〕11I Edith Murphy,right,in the East Baltimore St.neighborhood. if I took a trip to Lumberton,N.C.front of the Holiday Inn,five miles Thirty percent of the residents of oursix block area had originally comefrom Lumberton. from town.I didn't know if Mr.Huntwas impressed,but I was,after myyear in the Baltimore slums. Someone suggested cooling off witha dip in the pool,but Mrs.Sloane andI were anxious to talk to the people. I asked Mrs.Sloane if it would bepossible to make the trip,

FAQs

Who is the VISTA volunteer featured in “On the Trail of the Lumbees”?

Edith Murphy, a VISTA volunteer with the Baltimore Community Action Agency, works at a center on E. Baltimore St. with the Lumbee Indians.

Where does the story’s outreach connection extend beyond Baltimore?

The article links the East Baltimore neighborhood residents to Lumberton, North Carolina, and includes a trip to North Carolina to meet local Lumbee contacts.

What problem does the article say the staff wanted to understand about the community?

The staff wondered why they weren’t getting through to the people and wanted to know where they came from, including how attitudes were formed.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky