Boughman, Arvis Locklear 1964-

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Boughman, Arvis Locklear 1964-

PERSONAL:

Born August 20, 1964, in Robeson County, NC; son of Charles I. (an electrician) and Adelaide (an educator) Boughman; married Kimberly Sherrill (an educator), July 11, 1998; children: Micah, Clara-Ann. Ethnicity: "Native American—Lumbee." Education: Appalachian State University, B.S., 1987, M.A., 1997. Politics: Independent. Religion: Southern Baptist. Hobbies and other interests: Native American culture and folklore, wood carving, fishing, Native American herbal lore, University of North Carolina basketball, family activities, Southern Appalachian music and folklore.

ADDRESSES:

Office—P.O. Box 597, Dillsboro, NC 28725. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Elementary schoolteacher in Jacksonville, NC, 1987-89, and Morganton, NC, 1989-94; speech pathologist at public schools in Lumberton, NC, 1998-2000; Swain County Schools, Bryson City, NC, speech pathologist, 2003—. University of North Carolina at Pembroke, adjunct professor, 2000. Lumbee Tribal Council, member of advisory council on education, 2002.

MEMBER:

National Indian Education association, American Speech, Hearing, and Language Association, North Carolina Association of Educators.

WRITINGS:

Herbal Remedies of the Lumbee Indians, McFarland Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Arvis Locklear Boughman told CA: "I am a son of Charles Boughman, whose family has lived in the Appalachian foothills for over 300 years, and Adelaide Boughman, whose family has lived in the swamps and lowlands of present-day southeastern North Carolina for perhaps thousands of years. My mother and I would travel often to Robeson County, North Carolina, from our mountain home in Burke County, North Carolina. As I visited my Lumbee Indian relatives, I developed an interest in the native traditions and herbal lore of my people. In my early thirties I decided to live and work among my people. Although I was a teacher of communication skills, I learned so much more from my colleagues, students, and relatives. I also had an opportunity to become friends with elders such as Ray Littleturtle, Pete Spotted Turtle Clark, Herman and Loretta Oxendine, Welton Lowry, and Earl Carter. While I lived there I witnessed the anguish and strife that our 100-year failed quest for federal recognition and disputes with the Eastern Band of Cherokee administration had produced. After a while, I came to work with many Eastern Band of Cherokee children as an educator in Swain County.

"I have made it my goal in life to be a strong Christian, a good husband and father, a creator of unity between the Lumbee and Cherokee peoples, and a preservationist of Lumbee/Native culture, stories, and traditions. Joseph Bruchac, Native American author (Abenaki), has been a great encourager. I hope in the future, like Joseph, to preserve in writing and pictures the Native American tribes and Lumbee culture and stories."