The Hickory Grove UMC is sponsoring a GED course Monday & Tuesday 5:30 to 7:30 pm, there is an open enrollment, come enroll and get your GED. There is also a Computer Class every Tuesday 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Every Wednesday evening 7:00 to 8:00 pm the Pee Dee Indian Tribe of SC & Hickory Grove UMC conduct special tutoring classes for all grades to help the students that are not up their grade level for any and all subjects.

 

Parents you are not left out, If you want to improve your reading or maybe sit in on a subject, then see one of the program leaders at the Church or contact the Pee Dee Indian Tribe of SC and we will help you.

 

The Pee Dee Indian Tribe of SC will continue to seek out available educational and employment opportunities for the Indian People.

 

 " Indian Education Title VII Program"

 

This program has been made available for assistance to the Indian Students, who themselves are on the tribal roll with a roll number, one of the parents or a Grandparent on the Pee Dee Indian Tribe of South Carolina's Roll.

 

The requirement to participate in the program are, The Student, Parent or Guardian must complete the Federal Form 506, which will become a part of the students record and is not required to be completed each year. The Federal Government will pay so much per student that can be used only for the purpose of helping the students stay at the level required for their grade. This money cannot be used to pay any of the Tribal Members a salary. If you are reading this, please contact Chief Caulder or any Tribal Council member for more information. The completing of the 506 Forms is an on going process and can be completed at any time in the year. The new application for the educational assistance must be completed by January 31, each year unless a new dead line is set. You are too late this year, but you have one whole year to do the following to help your children, If you know you are on the roll, then come get your file updated to receive an ID card, If your  family ancestry is Indian and you are not on the roll, then complete an application for membership and get a genealogy of your ancestors to prove you are Indian.

 

The people that are on the roll, but have no genealogy on file have an advantage over those that are not on the roll. The Tribal Council has voted to honor any names that are on the roll from years ago and will give them a card good for four years, but to have that card renewed they also will have to provide genealogy proof of being and Indian.

 

I am sorry, but there are many people with their name on the tribal roll that have said they did not put it there. The tribe has established a ruling that no one will be put on the tribal roll unless they can provide documentation as being Indian. The Council also rule that a person would have the right to remove themselves from the roll if they did not want to be there.

 

You may not have had an opportunity to attend college or even finish high school, but with your support of this Indian Education program, your children and many others can have the opportunities that I an others of my age never had. This program is not for you and I, it is for the children to come. I will come to your house and explain the program and help you complete the 506 form and even notarize your signature on the Parents Consent form that will allow me to have the 506 form put in the students school record. I believe that this is the best educational opportunity our children has ever had or will have, and as parents and leaders it is our responsibility to do what is necessary to make it work. My Phone # is 843-862-3566.

 

Please pass this information on to everyone that has children. We can improve and meet the educational needs of our children. The Office of Indian Education in Washington, DC wants to help our children, but we have to provide the data that is needed. No child can be counted as Indian unless they have a 506 form in their school file. Lets get these 506 Forms into those school records so our children can be tested as Indians and not as white and others.

 

Thank all you that have completed the 506 Forms for school year 2006-07. School year 2007-08 can have a lot more 506 forms completed and done correctly if we try harder.

 

I want all that read this and to the ones that need to know it, The Federal and State governments require that a person must prove they are Indian before they will be recognized as being Indian. A name on a tribal roll with a card number means nothing to the Government unless the documentation is on file to back up your claim. This is not a requirement of the Pee Dee Indian Tribe. All Indian tribes come under this rule.

 

Yes! You know you are Indian and I may know you are Indian, but we must still prove that we are Indian. Don't fight the Government, just do the genealogy and prove it.

 

Do not let your self or your child be denied of the right to be recognized as Indian because some one has said or might say, " you are not dark enough, too White, you do not have Black hair, you are too dark. Many other remarks can be made that will cause you to not claim your Indian Heritage, Please remember this, The Pee Dee Indian Tribe does not use, skin color, percent of Indian Blood to recognized a person as Indian. We use the Genealogy of your family, and if your Great Grandfather or Great Grandmother was Indian, then so are you, If you want to be. I have said this to say, your child can be recognized as Indian if that is your desire.

 

There is 201 Indian Students on the school rolls for the Marlboro County School System. I do not know the names of these students and parents, except for the 41 that have been enrolled in the Indian Education Program for the school year 2008-09. I ask that those unknown parents contact me to enroll their students in the program. The tribe is to be awarded $ 8,441.00 for the 41 students, which will be used for tutoring of the students that need help. If the tribe could get all 201 students enrolled, it would get enough funds to hire special Teachers for one on one Tutoring and also to design a year round Indian Education Program to teach, the history of our people, teach culture classes, Craft classes where students would learn how to do bead work, make Indian Regalia items of clothing and be taught Pow Wow Dancing. All of this would give the students the motivation to stay in school and go on to college.

 

The Marlboro County School System is now aware that they must have testing results data for the Indian students by grade; this is a requirement by the Office of Indian Education for the tribe to apply for the Title VII Grant. The school Officials have worked very hard with the tribal Educational Officer, which has helped to set up the data base on our Indian Students.

 

What we need now is to get all Indian students listed as Indians who are Indian. I am not asking anyone to identify their children as Indian unless that is what they want to do. I only will say this, why not claim your Indian Ancestry if it will help your children to get a better education and improve their chances for college scholarships because of a high grade point average when they graduate from High School. Think on this subject.