Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

This periodical’s purpose is to combat stereotypes of American Indians; to serve as a teaching tool for classroom teachers or parents, a training tool for businesses, or a learning tool for individuals; and to provide book/media reviews and interviews with tribal professionals or elders. 

I found this issue very disappointing. First, it is closer to a pamphlet than a periodical issue. It is only 26 pages long, and some of those pages are taken up by descriptions of the journal, an order blank, the table of contents, a photograph that does not relate to the Lumbee, a message from the editor, guidelines for contributors, ads for a Native American conference (in Phoenix) and a Native American artist (in Coolidge, Arizona), and an author and title index to the 6 multimedia reviews included in this issue. Of the six multimedia reviews, none were of books or media dealing specifically with the Lumbee (and there are certainly items on the Lumbee in print that could have been reviewed). The information on the Lumbee is quite sketchy and sparse. It looks as if it all came from Web pages and brochures.

In sum, I cannot recommend this issue for any of the purposes it claims to serve. Educators and independent learners would do better to read and use the other items listed on on this Web site—especially given the periodical’s $9.50 price.