Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Through scenes of a family gathering at Thanksgiving, a pow-wow, and a church service, Maynor clearly delineates ways in which singing and music are different - but not conflicting - expressions of Christian faith for the Lumbee.  The primary voices heard are hers as narrator; and two of her relatives, the Rev. Michael Cummings and his son Jody.  The large Thanksgiving gathering at the home of her grandparents, Foy and Bloss Cummings, shows preparation and serving of traditional Lumbee food (collard greens, fried cornbread, fried chicken), family interaction, and family singing of gospel songs.

Rev. Michael Cummings comments that in church, Lumbee people sing with vigor, fervency, and enthusiasm and that church is a connecting force which allows the Lumbee to continue striving and improving.  As the film moves from Cummings's church service to a pow-wow, Maynor comments that each generation is finding its own way to be Lumbee.  Jody Cummings then comments that chanting and drumming are for him a way of praising God.  Maynor notes that the pow-wow songs, drumming, and costumes are not native to the Lumbee but have become, for some, a way to express Indianness. 

Maynor produced a CD-ROM disk to accompany this videotape. A Web version of the CD-ROM disk's content can be viewed at: http://www.unc.edu/~mmaynor/