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We begin with family because family is what we are. Baltimore’s contemporary American Indian community formed through kinship ties that span over 400 miles and at least as many years. An overwhelming majority of folks are Lumbee, with roots in North Carolina. Members of neighboring tribes and tribes from across Turtle Island also made Baltimore home, as well as some whose ancestral home includes the place today known as Baltimore. We are all related. Notice the power, strength, and grace of the women of our community, both young and old, through their physical presence and in the spaces they have created for their families.
“<span class="small-caps">indian craft</span>, believe it or not, is one of the subjects 10-year-old Kirby Locklear learns as a Cub Scout. He proudly shows his efforts to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Locklear, all descendants of the Lumbee Tribe living in Baltimore.” Photo by Vernon Price for the News American, October 30, 1966, permission from Hearst Corporation.
“<span class="small-caps">raising plants</span> from seeds is the hobby of these two members of the Locklear family, Ramona, 11, and Anna Marie, 8 [both Lumbee]. The two smaller plants are lemon and orange while the larger one at left is a pineapple, raised from the top of this tropical fruit.” Photo by Vernon Price for the News American, October 30, 1966, permission from Hearst Corporation.
“<span class="small-caps">tropical fish</span>” fascinate cute Greer Locklear, 6, whose rich heritage as a member of the Lumbee Indians, is traced by many to the Lost Colony of Roanoke.” Photo by Vernon Price for the News American, October 30, 1966, permission from Hearst Corporation.
This photo was taken by Anne Brigid Globensky in the course of research for her doctoral dissertaion, “At Home in Baltimore: An Ethnographic Approach to the Study of Lumbee Domestic Material Culture,” PhD diss., (University of Maryland, 1999), with permission from Dr. Anne Brigid Globensky.
This is the dining room of Dorothy Chavis (Lumbee) on Bank Street in Fells Point. This was the first home she and her husband bought in Baltimore after their migration. This was the home that Dorothy loved. (L – R) David Chavis, Wm. Smitty Chavis, and Henry Oxendine (all Lumbee), ca. 1970s, courtesy of Carolyn Chavis.
This is Dorothy Lee (Locklear) Chavis (Lumbee) sitting at the kitchen table of her apartment on East Baltimore Street. Dorothy was the matriarch of her family. No matter where she lived, she could be found in her kitchen hosting friends and family over a glass of sweet tea or black coffee served from her stovetop percolator. ca. late 1980s, courtesy of Carolyn Chavis.
Dorothy Lee (Locklear) Chavis (Lumbee) would regularly be found in her backyard hanging clothes on the line. She and her husband, Wm. Britton Chavis (Lumbee), divorced. He moved back to North Carolina, but would always return to Baltimore to visit and stay with his ex-wife. ca. 1990s, courtesy of Carolyn Chavis.
Family gatherings at local parks to cook out and swim were always part of summers in Baltimore. This family was swimming at Gunpowder State Park. (L – R) Peggy (Chavis) Hutter, Teresa (Locklear) Matute, Patrissia (Locklear) Victorson, Lisa (Chavis) Webster, and Gloria (Locklear) Harrison (all Lumbee), ca. early 1970s, courtesy of Carolyn Chavis.
