Guide to Indigenous Baltimore Preview

Norman J. Emanuel (Lumbee) came to Baltimore in 1956 and first entered the tire business in 1957. He ran his company from this Booth Street location until approximately 1974.

1. Personal communication with Norman J. Emanuel, July 21, 2021.

The oldest congregation in Baltimore City founded by Lumbee Indians (presently known as South Broadway Baptist Church) was known as West Cross Street Baptist Church when it occupied the building at 1117 W. Cross Street, from 1967–1978. This was the first church building the congregation owned since its beginnings in 1952.

1. South Broadway Baptist Church 50th Annual Homecoming, March 18, 2018, Program. From Historical Summary of South Broadway Baptist Church, 4.

Native American LifeLines was established in 2000 to meet the somatic and behavioral health needs of Urban Indians residing in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area.

1. See http://www.nativeamericanlifelines.org

Native American LifeLines was established in 2000 to meet the somatic and behavioral health needs of Urban Indians residing in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. LifeLines relocated from 106 West Clay to 1 E. Franklin Street in 2019.

The McKim Center was first established as the McKim Free School by sons of Quaker merchant, John McKim. Construction of the iconic Greek-revival style building at 1120 E. Baltimore Street was completed in the 1830s.

In the mid-1950s, the McKim Center held social dances for neighborhood youth. Jeanette W. Jones (Lumbee) recalls on Saturday nights, the McKim Center was “the place to be!”
In 1957, a photographer for Ebony magazine attended a dance and so did Jeanette Jones. Much to her surprise, she and other Lumbee youth later appeared in the September 1957 issue of Ebony, in an article entitled “Mystery People of Baltimore: Neither red nor white nor black strange ‘Indian’ tribe lives in world of its own.”

1. See “An Eduring Legacy,” The McKim Center, Accessed August 9, 2019.
https://www.mckimcenter.org/about/history/

2. See “McKim’s School,” Maryland’s National Register Properties, Maryland Historical Trust, Accessed August 9, 2019. https://mht.maryland.gov/nr/NRDetail.aspx?NRID=139 which cites 1833 as the date of construction, although the McKim Center website cites 1835 as the year of completion.

3. Jeanette W. Jones, interview with Ashley Minner, August 8, 2019, Baltimore, Maryland, transcript.

4. Lumbee youth are referred to as Croatan Indians in the article. See “Mystery People of Baltimore: Neither Red nor White nor Black, Strange “Indian” Tribe Lives in a World of its Own,” Ebony 12, no. 11 (September 1957): 70-73.

5. “Mystery People of Baltimore: Neither Red nor White nor Black, Strange “Indian” Tribe Lives in a World of its Own,” Ebony 12, no. 11 (September 1957): 70-73.

In the 1960s, Junior Sampson (Lumbee) left his job at General Motors to open a tire shop with Ray Locklear (Lumbee) in a garage space at 1000 S. Caroline Street. They kept their shop open until sometime in the 1970s.

1. Personal communications with James Bowen, Gerald Butler, and Heyman Jones, August 21, 2021.

In 1991, The Baltimore Harbor Endowment, a citizen's group that had launched a "Buy-A-Brick" campaign to help raise funds for a brick promenade from Canton to South Baltimore, started to sell engraved bricks for a section of the promenade on the Broadway Pier in Fells Point. Bricks could be purchased for $50 each, or 15 hours volunteer work, or they could be requested by area nonprofit community organizations, free of charge. Linda Cox (Lumbee), daughter of Elizabeth Locklear (Lumbee), a co-founder of the American Indian Study Center, requested a brick on behalf of the Center and two of its co-founders, and a brick on behalf of South Broadway Baptist Church, and its founding pastor. The bricks can be found on the pier today. Look for “HERBERT & ELIZABETH LOCKLEAR B.A.I.C” and “REV. JAMES MILLARD DIAL SOUTH BROADWAY BAPTIST CHURCH.”

1. See Edward Gunts, “Bricks Are Sold for Promenade in Fells Point,” The Baltimore Sun, November 17, 1991, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-11-17-1991321167-story.html

2. See Rafael Alvarez, “Walkway paved with city’s memories,” The Baltimore Sun, April 6, 1992, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-04-06-1992097070-story.html

3. Personal communication with Linda Cox, September 20, 2018.

4. Personal communication with Linda Cox, September 20, 2018.

George Vasiliades worked in the Moonlight Diner (1 N. Broadway) as a teenager. In 1965, when he was in his early 20s, he set out on his own. He purchased the original Sip & Bite, which had opened on the west side of Van Lill Street in 1948, and learned how to cook. A few years later, he moved the diner to its present location, 2200 Boston Street, on the east side of Van Lill. The Indian community followed the business from Broadway to Boston Street, as the Moonlight Diner closed in 1972, during Urban Renewal. For many years, Sip & Bite was a favorite after-church lunch spot for members of both South Broadway Baptist and East Baltimore Church of God.

1. “Our History - Timeline,” Sip & Bite, Accessed August 8, 2019,
http://www.sipandbite.com/index.php?/history/timeline

2. Rafael Alvarez, “The Story of Sip & Bite, Part 3,” The Arbutus Patch, October 25, 2012, https://patch.com/maryland/arbutus/the-story-of-sip-bite-part-3

3. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 2962, p. 0418, MSA_CE168_13280. Date available 11/18/2004. Date printed 07/31/2019.

The bar that once stood at 1829 E. Pratt Street had a very musical past. It was known as “Moe’s Musical Bar” in the early 1950s, and “Lee’s Musical Bar” in 1955. Ads for “New Jazz City” began to appear in 1958. This became another popular Indian hangout, although slightly removed from “the reservation” proper. A Trustee’s Sale was held on the premises in 1960, and the bar was listed as being closed and for sale in 1969. It has since been razed and a community garden occupies its former site.

1. Display ad 60 -- no title. (1953, Dec 23). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/539155565?accountid=34685

2. Classified ad 7 -- no title. (1955, Apr 07). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/539998199?accountid=34685

3. See Display ad 65 -- no title. (1958, Oct 01). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/533578184?accountid=34685

4. Personal communication with Carl “Mr. Charlie” Locklear, October 4, 2019.

5. Classified ad 18 -- no title. (1960, Sep 21). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/542219503?accountid=34685

6. Classified ad 9 -- no title. (1969, Apr 25). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/539179639?accountid=34685

This church is the oldest in the Upper Fells Point Historic District, completed in 1848. Originally dedicated as a “mariner’s church,” it has been home to several community institutions over the past 170+ years.

South Broadway Baptist Church is the present-day name belonging to the oldest congregation established by Lumbee Indians in Baltimore City. The congregation’s first meetings are recorded as having taken place in 1952, but services were held in different Lumbee homes and rented storefronts until 1967, when the congregation purchased its first building at 1117 W. Cross Street, and adopted the name West Cross Street Baptist Church. As the church grew, so did the Indian community’s interest in it. West Cross Street Baptist got permission from the Fells Point Methodist Board of Missions to use the church at 211 S. Broadway for their annual homecomings, due to its capacious size and location on “the reservation.” In 1977, Mayor William Donald Schaefer attended a homecoming celebration and the congregation shared with him their desire to purchase the building at 211 S. Broadway. The City of Baltimore helped to arrange a loan for the down payment and funds to rehabilitate the historic structure. Members of the church organized fundraising efforts to pay back the loan. On June 11, 1978, they lined up at a vacant lot at the corner of N. Ann and E. Baltimore streets for a “victory march” to their new space. A majority Lumbee congregation attends South Broadway Baptist Church to this day.

South Broadway Baptist wasn’t the first Indian institution to occupy 211 S. Broadway. In 1970, the Southeast Community Action Agency (CAA) leased 211 S. Broadway on behalf of the American Indian Study Center. The Center used the back entrance of what was still “the Methodist church” at that time. It occupied an office adjoining the sanctuary, an office on the second floor, and held culture class in the fellowship hall, until it acquired its current facility at 113 S. Broadway, in 1972. In partnership with the Baltimore City Board of Education, the Center made a successful application for federal Indian Education funding and Baltimore’s Indian Education Program began in 1973. Its first office was the room on the second floor of 211 S. Broadway that the American Indian Study Center had previously occupied. The office later relocated to a Baltimore City Public School.

1. National Register of Historic Places, Upper Fells Point Historic District, Application. From Medusa, the Maryland Historical Trust’s online database. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1452.pdf (Accessed July 2, 2019), section 7, page 34.

2. See Richards, Karen. "Centenary of the 'Mariner's Church'." The Sun (1837-1994), Feb 22, 1948. https://search.proquest.com/docview/542698663?accountid=34685.

3. See South Broadway Baptist Church 50th Annual Homecoming, March 18, 2018, Program, Historical Summary of South Broadway Baptist Church, p. 4, which suggests 1952 was the year the congregation that would become South Broadway Baptist Church began to meet, and Philip and Mary Morris, eds. “East Baltimore Church of God” in Our Living Legacy: Delmarva-DC Churches of God CELEBRATING the JOURNEY, 90th Anniversary, 1919-2009, (Cleveland, TN: Derek Press, 2010), p. 308, which cites 1955 as the year the congregation that would become East Baltimore Church of God began to meet.

4. South Broadway Baptist Church 50th Annual Homecoming, March 18, 2018, Program. From Historical Summary of South Broadway Baptist Church.

5. Pietila, Antero, “Indian Study Center Set to Open,” The Baltimore Sun, June 12, 1970.

6. Cox, Keith, “The Story of the Baltimore American Indian Center and the Part My Grandmother Played in it,” May 2006.

7. Personal communication with Minnie S. Maynor, July 25, 2019.

8. Personal communication with Minnie S. Maynor, July 25, 2019.

In 1975, Earl Brooks (Lumbee) purchased a storefront building at 207 S. Broadway and opened Hokahey Indian Trading Post with his friend, Solomon Maynor (Coharie). The store primarily sold silver and turquoise Indian jewelry purchased in New Mexico. Brooks sold the property in 1977 and it is part of El Salvador Restaurant today.

1. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 3211, p. 0449, MSA_CE168_13531. Date available 02/01/2005. Date printed 05/20/2019.

2. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 3532, p. 0759, MSA_CE168_13852. Date available 10/04/2004. Date printed 05/20/2019.

The original portion of this building was constructed in Greek revival style, in 1843, for a sea captain and his family. The captain and his wife placed it into trust for their daughter, who willed it to the Baltimore Humane Impartial Society to be used as an old folks’ home, but the Society sold the property to an individual instead. It remained a private residence until it was donated to The Little Flower Corporation, in 1920. The neighborhood was predominantly Polish during this time and the house was remodeled and accommodations were furnished for the care of Polish children. The first floor had lounging rooms and a dining room, the second floor was a day nursery and library, and the top floor was converted into dormitories for girls.

The American Indian Study Center acquired the property from The Little Flower in 1972. In its original location, at 211 S. Broadway, the Center offered a library on Indian cultures and social counseling services. It hosted monthly meetings open to anyone interested in “Indian culture.” “Culture class” included workshops on traditional arts, crafts, histories, ways of knowing, and being. With the move to 113 S. Broadway, the Center also opened a restaurant and offered housing for a time. The American Indian Study Center, which changed its name to the Baltimore American Indian Center in 1980, has offered an array of social and cultural programs in the decades since.

In 1999, Maryland State Bond Bill was passed to assist the Center in a capital project to construct the “multipurpose room,” a gymnasium-like addition to the original structure, completed in 2008. In 2004, longtime friend to the Center, Stanley Markowitz, was awarded an Open Society Institute Baltimore fellowship to work with community members to begin envisioning what would become the Baltimore American Indian Center Heritage Museum. Additional federal funding was acquired to rehabilitate the first floor of the original part of the building, to house the new museum. Frieda Minner (Lumbee) was instrumental in the development of the museum and a gift shop, facilitating much of what was truly a community effort. Men of the Center’s Native American Senior Citizens program did the finishing work on the first floor. The Museum officially opened in 2011. In 2018, the Baltimore American Indian Center celebrated 50 years of existence and it is still open today.

1. National Register of Historic Places, Upper Fells Point Historic District, Application. From Medusa, the Maryland Historical Trust’s online database. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1452.pdf (Accessed July 31, 2019), section 7, page 6.

2. See "LOCAL MATTERS." The Sun (1837-1994), Aug 29, 1843. https://search.proquest.com/docview/533033196?accountid=34685.

3. See Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) SOL 2657, p. 0092, MSA_CE168_2665. Date available 03/17/2005. Date printed 10/04/2019.

4. See Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 2958, p. 0756, MSA_CE168_13276. Date available 11/18/2004. Date printed 12/17/2018.

5. See Church to Mark Feast of Patronal Saint, The Sun (1836-1993); June 26 1920; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Baltimore Sun, page 4; Confers with Cardinal, The Sun (1836-1993); June 26 1920; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Baltimore Sun, page 4.

6. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 2958, p. 0756, MSA_CE168_13276. Date available 11/18/2004. Date printed 12/17/2018

7. Pietila, Antero, “Indian Study Center Set to Open,” The Baltimore Sun, June 12, 1970.

8. Powell, Mike “Baltimore’s Lumbee Indians: Problems, Promise,” The News American, May 17, 1973.

9. See American Indian Study Center, Inc. Articles of Amendment, March 24, 1980. Baltimore American Indian Center Archives. Baltimore, Maryland.

10. “Stanley Markowitz,” OSI Community Fellow, Open Society Institute Baltimore. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/

https://www.osibaltimore.org/fellow/stanley-markowitz/

The Baltimore American Indian Center purchased the building at 118 S. Broadway in 1983, with assistance from the Religious Society of Friends. The front part of the first floor was a museum and gift shop, and the back room was used for dance class. Rooms on the upper floors served as workshop space and lodging for cultural consultants. The Center sold the property in 2002.

1. See Real Property Data Search, Baltimore City, 118 S. Broadway, Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Accessed July 31, 2019. https://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/Pages/default.aspx, as well as Kovner, Joseph. Joseph Kovner, Religious Society of Friends, to Barry Richardson, Baltimore American Indian Center, May 12, 1983. Letter. From the Baltimore American Indian Center Archives, property files. Baltimore, Maryland.

2. Personal communication with E. Keith Colston, August 1, 2019.

3. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) FMC 2699, p. 0020, MSA_CE164_11850. Date available 06/01/2005. Date printed 07/31/2019.

The oldest congregation in Baltimore City founded by Lumbee Indians (presently known as South Broadway Baptist Church) rented this storefront for approximately one year, just prior to moving to 1117 W. Cross Street.

Claudie and Mabel Hunt (Lumbee) purchased the Sinclair service station at 100 S. Broadway, ca. 1967. It had a three-bay garage and six gas pumps. After about a year, the station was converted to BP. The Hunts sold the station when they moved back to North Carolina, ca. 1973. It is the site of a popular 7/11 today.

1. Personal communication with Kirby Hunt, May 27, 2020.

The commercial property at this location actually spans 1623–1633 E. Lombard where there were once 6 individual houses. The current structure was built in the late 1960s and served as a blood bank, ca. 1979–1988. The Baltimore American Indian Center acquired the property in 1990. The Center’s Vera Shank Daycare occupied one half of the building and had a playground in the backyard. Once a major source of income for the Indian Center, the daycare was intended to provide employment for Indian mothers and a safe environment for Indian children to learn and grow together. It was named for Vera Shank, a Quaker woman and former colleague of Indian Center co-founder, Elizabeth Locklear (Lumbee). The Native American Senior Citizens program occupied the other half of the building. “The Seniors” were a big support to the Indian Center. They held their own fundraisers, usually involving the sale of traditional foods, which they would also prepare weekly, on the premises, to eat and fellowship for hours on end. They hosted annual holiday parties and sponsored holiday meals for families of the community in need. They took trips to various destinations across the U.S. and worked together on traditional arts and crafts. The Center sold the property in 2017.

1. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Baltimore City, Maryland. Sanborn Map Company, Vol. 3, 1914. Collection of the Baltimore Department of Planning Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation.

2. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Baltimore City, Maryland. Sanborn Map Company, Vol. 3, 1936, most recently edited in 1971. Collection of the Baltimore Department of Planning Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation.

3. See various Baltimore Sun ads, such as "Classified Ad 2 -- no Title." The Sun (1837-1994), Dec 18, 1984. https://search.proquest.com/docview/535732718?accountid=34685, and 1600 Lombard Street, Washington Hill. Photograph. Baltimore, Maryland, May 20, 1972. From the collection of the Baltimore City Department of Planning Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP).

4. Real Property Data Search, Baltimore City, 1623 E. Lombard Street, Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Accessed August 7, 2019. https://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/Pages/default.aspx

5. See Eleanor B. Therien, “How the American Indian Study Center Began,” The Smoke Signal, no. 1 (January 1970): 5, and "OBITUARY: FINAL EDITION]." The Sun, May 10, 2001. https://search.proquest.com/docview/406483886?accountid=34685.

6. Real Property Data Search, Baltimore City, 1623 E. Lombard Street, Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Accessed August 7, 2019. https://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/Pages/default.aspx

The Baltimore American Indian Center opened the Inter-Tribal Restaurant at 17 S. Broadway, during the tenure of Director Barry Richardson (Haliwa Saponi), ca. 1989. Board members of the Indian Center wanted to try another restaurant venture as part of their economic development activities. They felt that the Center had a fair amount of experience selling food due to its work with the concession stands at Orioles baseball games. One could “eat in” or “carry out” at the restaurant, which sold foods like sandwiches, shrimp, chicken, and french fries, and also cigarettes and beer. The Center closed the restaurant after only a couple of years because it was not profitable.

1. Personal communication with Barry Richardson, August 9, 2019.

The Rainbow Restaurant was Greek-owned, and open ca. 1952-1962. Located in the heart of “the reservation,” it was frequented by American Indian community members.

The Moonlight Restaurant was Greek-owned. It was one of the first restaurants in which many Lumbee Indians arriving from the Jim Crow South could sit down and eat. Much of the planning for what would become South Broadway Baptist Church and the Baltimore American Indian Center took place in The Moonlight. However, the establishment was also known for fights and general discord, sometimes also attributed to the presence of Indians. The building was sold to Baltimore City in 1972. It is a house today.

1. George Vasiliadis, interview with Ashley Minner and Sean Scheidt, February, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland, transcript.

2. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 2962, p. 0418, MSA_CE168_13280. Date available 11/18/2004. Date printed 07/31/2019.

1727 E. Baltimore Street housed a series of ethnic food establishments from the turn of the century through the early 1960s, reflecting greater migration patterns in the neighborhood. In 1917, it was the Shub Bros. Bakery; in 1947, it was the Warsaw Bakery, and around 1959, Hartman Hammonds (Lumbee) rented the storefront and opened Hartman’s BBQ Shop. Mr. Hammonds sold Lumbee-style BBQ with traditional sides like coleslaw, as well as hotdogs and hamburgers. The shop was frequented by construction workers who lived in East Baltimore. Mr. Hammonds made lunches at night and the workers would come pick them up in the morning, then they would come back on Fridays to pay for their lunches for the week. 1725 and 1727 E. Baltimore were eventually merged and converted into a church.

1. See "Other 3 -- no Title." The Sun (1837-1993), Jul 09, 1917. https://search.proquest.com/docview/534900688?accountid=34685.

2. See "Classified Ad 5 -- no Title." The Sun (1837-1993), Jan 21, 1947. https://search.proquest.com/docview/542745032?accountid=34685.

3. 1959 year is a rough estimation. Personal communication with Rev. Redell Hammonds, December 12, 2018.

4. Rev. Redell Hammonds, phone interview with Ashley Minner, December 12, 2018, transcript.

East Baltimore Church of God began in 1955, under the leadership of a Lumbee woman, Rev. Lounita Hammonds. It was originally known as the “Upper Room” Church because services were held above Gordon Cleaners, located at the corner of Baltimore and Wolfe streets. Sometime after establishing the church, Rev. Hammonds felt called “home,” to North Carolina, to begin another work. In her absence, the church closed, and its members relocated to other area churches. Soon after, “a group of Native Americans had a desire to have a church with which they could identify; thus the current East Baltimore Church of God came into existence.”

It was Rev. Haywood Johnson (Lumbee) who assembled what would grow into the current congregation. In 1961, Rev. Johnson and a small group of parishioners purchased a storefront building that had originally been a restaurant, spanning 1714-1716 E. Baltimore Street. The church history cites growth in the congregation as the reason for a move to its next location, 2043 E. Baltimore Street, in 1972. Rev. Johnson and the trustees of the church sold 1714-16 to the City and it was razed during Urban Renewal.

In 2003, East Baltimore Church of God moved to its current location, 800 S. Oldham Street. The church is active unto this day and many American Indian people continue to attend. It is pastored by Rev. Robert E. Dodson Jr., who trained under Rev. Redell Hammonds (Lumbee), the son of Rev. Lounita and Hartman Hammonds (Lumbee).

Sid’s Ranch House Tavern occupied a building that had been converted into a movie theater during the first part of the twentieth century. It had been the Teddy Bear Parlor ca. 1908 - 1919, and the Mickey until 1920 or ‘21. Sidney Silverman, a retired boxer turned bartender, opened his tavern in the late 1950s. It became a popular neighborhood hangout for people of different races, and it had a reputation for racial trouble. According to one Lumbee patron, Mr. Silverman “had a habit of every time the Indians would get in fights there, he would bar ‘em from the bar for a while. Wouldn’t let no Indians come in his bar…He’d do it for a while and then he’d open up. I guess he missed our business, and he’d open up and let ‘em back.” Mr. Silverman likely sold the property at 1741 E. Baltimore Street to the City during Urban Renewal and it was razed.

1. Robert Kirk Headley, Jr. A History of Movies in Baltimore (University Park, Maryland: Robert Kirk Headley, Jr. 1974), 127-128.

2. "Street Fighter Given Long Count of 60 Days in Jail." The Sun (1837-1993), Jul 29, 1959. https://search.proquest.com/docview/540473285?accountid=34685.

3. Personal communications with Jeanette W. Jones and Edward Mattison, September 20, 2019. Also see Legal notice 2 -- no title. (1960, Jun 06). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/542276150?accountid=34685

4. See Races mix in bar row. (1966, Jun 27). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/539592911?accountid=34685

5. Rev. Redell Hammonds, phone interview with Ashley Minner, December 12, 2018, transcript.

It is likely that the property at 1801 E. Baltimore Street was a corner store / Jewish deli at least since the 1920s, and it was certainly known as “Belman’s” since the 1940s. Located in the very heart of what came to be known as “the reservation,” Belman’s was frequented by members of the Indian community and it employed at least one—Sarah (Bowen) Arnold (Lumbee). The property at 1801 E. Baltimore Street was sold to the City in 1973, as part of Urban Renewal, and has since been converted into a residence.

1. "Classified Ad 3 -- no Title." The Sun (1837-1993), Dec 09, 1948. https://search.proquest.com/docview/538652717?accountid=34685.

2. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 3073, p. 0630, MSA_CE168_13393. Date available 02/01/2005. Date printed 08/01/2019.

Jesse B. Revels Jr. (Lumbee) and his wife, Lucy May Revels, bought the property at 1819 E. Baltimore Street in 1962 and opened a grocery store. They and their children ran the store until 1968, when they moved to Baltimore County. They sold the property to Baltimore City in 1973 during Urban Renewal.

1. Cynthia Gayle Revels Haas, interview with Ashley Minner, July 7, 2020, transcript.

East Baltimore Church of God, the second oldest congregation established by Lumbee Indians in the City of Baltimore, was in 1955 known as the “Upper Room” Church because services were held above Gordon Cleaners at the corner of Baltimore and Wolfe streets. Sometime prior to 1961, the church ceased to meet at this location. This property was auctioned in 1963.

1. Philip and Mary Morris, eds. Our Living Legacy: Delmarva-DC Churches of God CELEBRATING the JOURNEY, 90th Anniversary, 1919-2009. Cleveland, Tennessee: Derek Press, 2010, 308.

2. Classified ad 36 -- no title. (1963, Oct 27). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/540024613?accountid=34685

The Volcano Bar is easily the most infamous Indian bar of Baltimore’s “reservation” era, but it was in existence long before the clientele was mostly Indian. It first appears in a Sun ad as the “Volcano Restaurant” in 1944. In the 1960s through 1972, the Volcano was owned by Greek WWII veteran, Costas “Gus” Themelis, and his wife, Stella Themelis. It became almost exclusively an Indian bar during this time and had a reputation for erupting every weekend. A July 1978 Baltimore Magazine article deemed The Volcano “the meanest bar of all time,” and claims it was “the only local bar that has ever had a patron shot off his bar stool with a bow and arrow.” Mr. Themelis and his wife sold the bar to the City in 1972. It was since razed and housing occupies its former site.

1. Classified ad 7 -- no title. (1944, Mar 24). The Sun (1837-1993) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/542932406?accountid=34685

2. See Schaaf, Dale. Mean Bars. Baltimore Magazine, July 1978.

3. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 2945, p. 0231, MSA_CE168_13263. Date available 11/08/2004. Date printed 08/01/2019.

Vince’s Bar was owned by Vincent Staico. His wife, Matilda, “Ms. Til,” often ran the bar. Former patrons describe it as a quiet neighborhood bar, where there was seldom, if ever, fighting. Vince’s had pool tables and American Indian community members made frequent use of them. Staico sold the building to the City in 1972.

1. Rev. Redell Hammonds, phone interview with Ashley Minner, December 12, 2018, transcript.

2. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) RHB 2959, p. 0553, MSA_CE168_13277. Date available 11/18/2004. Date printed 08/01/2019.

In 1956, the oldest congregation in Baltimore City founded by Lumbee Indians (presently known as South Broadway Baptist Church) rented the storefront at 1918 E. Fairmount Avenue and adopted the name “Fairmount Avenue Missionary Baptist Church” under the ministry of Rev. Geneva Locklear (Lumbee), and her husband, Smitty (also Lumbee). The church remained at 1918 E. Fairmount until 1967. The entire area bounded by E. Fayette, N. Wolfe, E. Baltimore, and N. Washington streets has since been razed and redeveloped.

1. “Historical Summary of South Broadway Baptist Church” in South Broadway Baptist Church 50th Annual Homecoming, (Baltimore: South Broadway Baptist Church, 2018), 4.

The rowhome at 1921 E. Baltimore Street was owned and occupied by American Indian people for approximately 37 years, ca. 1970-2007. It was owned and sublet by The Baltimore American Indian Center 1988-2000.

1. See Deed, 1921 E. Baltimore Street, October 8, 1988. Baltimore American Indian Center Archives. Baltimore, Maryland and Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) FMC 50, p. 0047, MSA_CE164_9201. Date available 05/26/2005. Date printed 08/09/2019.

In 1972, East Baltimore Church of God, the second oldest congregation established by Lumbee Indians in the City of Baltimore, sold its first home at 1714–16 E. Baltimore Street to the City and purchased the church at 2043 E. Baltimore Street, just three blocks east. The church stayed at 2043 E. Baltimore Street until 2003, when it relocated to 800 Oldham Street, in Greektown.

1. Philip and Mary Morris, eds. Our Living Legacy: Delmarva-DC Churches of God CELEBRATING the JOURNEY, 90th Anniversary, 1919-2009. Cleveland, Tennessee: Derek Press, 2010, 309.

Donald Gibson purchased this property in 1979 and it became the Ken Ten Tavern, or just “the corner bar.” The corner bar became a hangout for area American Indian workers. By the time it opened, the community had largely moved “up the hill,” having been displaced from “the reservation” by Urban Renewal in the early 1970s.

Ken Ten participated in a pool league. Many American Indian people played and won, representing the tavern. Because the corner bar was located directly across the street from Baltimore City Public School #27, traditionally one of the schools most highly populated by Indian students, many parents would have their children meet them at the bar to go home together at the end of the school day. Ken Ten Tavern, arguably Baltimore’s last Indian bar, was sold in 2014. In short order, it was transformed into a succession of high-end eateries / wine-tasting establishments.

1. Baltimore City Superior Court (Land Records) WA 3800, p. 0900, MSA_CE168_14120. Date available 12/21/2009. Date printed 08/08/2019.

2. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) FMC 16185, p. 0428, MSA_CE164_25340. Date available 04/30/2014. Date printed 08/08/2019.

Gerald Butler (Lumbee) ran his tire service in a garage at 2109 Lamley ca. 1963 until he retired in 2005.

An American Indian family purchased the house at 2107 Lamley Street in 1989. In 1993, the family experienced financial hardship. The Baltimore American Indian Center was able to assist by purchasing the home and allowing the family to continue to live there as tenants. In 1997, the family bought their home back from the Baltimore American Indian Center. Sadly, the house was sold for taxes by the city in 2005.

1. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) SEB 2162, p. 0377, MSA_CE164_2162. Date available 12/30/2009. Date printed 08/09/2019.

2. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) SEB 3911, p. 0465, MSA_CE164_3911. Date available 09/07/2006. Date printed 08/09/2019.

3. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) SEB 6333, p. 0159, MSA_CE164_6333. Date available 05/26/2005. Date printed 08/09/2019.

4. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) FMC 6747, p. 1319, MSA_CE164_15898. Date available 10/31/2005. Date printed 08/09/2019.

In 1986, The Baltimore American Indian Center purchased the rowhomes at 2205 and 2207 E. Baltimore Street to be rental properties. Eleven years later, the Center sold both properties to Donald Gibson (owner of Ken Ten Tavern, aka “the Corner Bar”).

1. See Real Estate Contract of Sale, 2205 and 2207 E. Baltimore Street, September 30, 1997. Baltimore American Indian Center Archives. Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1986, The Baltimore American Indian Center purchased the rowhomes at 2205 and 2207 E. Baltimore Street to be rental properties. Eleven years later, the Center sold both properties to Donald Gibson (owner of Ken Ten Tavern, aka “the Corner Bar”).

1. See Real Estate Contract of Sale, 2205 and 2207 E. Baltimore Street, September 30, 1997. Baltimore American Indian Center Archives. Baltimore, Maryland.

DC “Slim” Hunt (Lumbee) (1942 - 2016) and other American Indian community members had been hanging out on this corner, near Slim’s house, for decades prior to the addition of this bench. In the 1990s, Johnny Thompson (Lumbee) (1945–2017) built the bench for Slim. Slim’s surviving family members and many American Indian elders still spend time there.

1. Personal communication with Earl Strickland, August 25, 2021, and with Sue Hunt Vasquez, August 26, 2021.

In 1978, James Bowen (Lumbee) and his wife, Rosalie Bowen nee Machlinski (Polish), opened a bakery in Baltimore’s Northeast Market (2101 E. Monument Street, Chester Street door). Widely known throughout the Lumbee community and well beyond, Rose’s has been in business ever since.

James and Rose’s daughter, Rosie Bowen (Lumbee), currently runs the bakery. In addition to cakes, pies, and pastries, Rosie offers traditional Lumbee foods for sale, and to share, at different times throughout the year. Rosie regularly travels to Lumbee tribal territory in North Carolina and returns to Baltimore with traditional ingredients like sweet potatoes, pecans, and cornmeal. In 2019, she was recognized by the State of Maryland with a Maryland Traditions apprenticeship grant to teach her daughter, Adriana Bowen-Herrera (Lumbee and Mexican), to make chicken and pastry, a traditional Lumbee dish. Rose’s Bakery remains open and is still heavily patronized by the Lumbee community today. It is not uncommon to find elder members of the community socializing there from time to time.

1. Personal communication with Rosie Bowen, August 8, 2019.

2. See Tkacik, Christina “A Taste of Home,” Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD), November 16, 2016.

3. See National Council for the Traditional Arts, “Rosie Bowen and Adriana Bowen-Herrera – Lumbee chicken and pastry,” YouTube Video, September 13, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS91Cse9U9g&t=27s

The Baltimore American Indian Center purchased this property in 1989. The Center sold the property in 1990.

1. See Deed of Assignment, 12 N. Clinton Street, April 14, 1988, Baltimore American Indian Center Archives. Baltimore, Maryland.

In the 1990s, George Thompson and his wife, Myrtle Thompson, both Lumbee, rented the store at 165 N. Potomac Street and opened George’s Grocery & Grill. They sold groceries as well as prepared foods—especially George’s famous BBQ. After some years, George left the store but continued to sell BBQ from his Dundalk home until he moved back to North Carolina. The sign for George’s Grocery and Grill still hangs from the formstone at the corner of N. Potomac and E. Fayette Streets, although the property is now home to a different business.

In 1988, the Baltimore American Indian Center purchased the property at 12 N. Clinton Street. The Center sold the property in 1997.

1. See Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) PMB 6707, p. 0165, MSA_CE164_6707. Date available 05/04/2007. Date printed 09/30/2019.

The original Patterson High School was located at 101 S. Ellwood Avenue. The building later became home to Hampstead Hill Junior High, and later still, Highlandtown Middle. Now it’s luxury apartments.

Hampstead Hill Junior High (#43) was one of the original Baltimore City Public Schools visited by Indian Education Program staff, as its Indian student population had been one of the highest in the district since the height of the Lumbee migration to Baltimore. From the mid 1970s until 2008, school #43 housed Baltimore’s Indian Education Program’s central office, in Room 14. Room 14 was an enormous classroom on the first floor. It was a safe haven for generations of students. The outer wall featured a giant eagle mural and the words “Native American Program.” Inside was a trove of artifacts, art supplies and school supplies. And the program staff was there, eager to listen, tutor, and assist.

Highlandtown Middle School closed in 2008, and the Indian Education Program’s central office relocated to the former Canton Middle School (801 S. Highland Avenue). Later, the office relocated to the “new” Patterson High School (100 Kane Street). Finally, in 2016, the office relocated to the third floor of the Baltimore American Indian Center (113 S. Broadway), where it remains today.

1. Patterson High School relocated to 100 Kane Street in 1960. Personal communication with former principal, Laura D’Anna, August 9, 2019. Also see Polk's Baltimore City Directory, 1942. Baltimore, Maryland: R.L. Polk.

309 S. Ellwood Avenue was the second home of Mohawk Bridge & Iron, a concrete reinforcing construction company founded by Allen Thomas Satekoronhes Snow (Mohawk), a third generation master ironworker from Kahnawake.

1. Personal communication with Allan Snow, June 14, 2021.

Burnetha “Pat” Locklear (Lumbee) purchased the property at 105 S. Conkling Street in 1991. She registered the Mt. Pleasant Inn as a business in 1994 and sold this property in 2015.

1. Baltimore City Circuit Court (Land Records) SEB 2974, p. 0109, MSA_CE164_2974. Date available 02/24/2005. Date printed 11/23/2019.

2. “LOCKLEAR, BURNETHA: L09067703,” Maryland Business Express, accessed July 21, 2021, https://egov.maryland.gov/BusinessExpress/EntitySearch/Business.

3. “105 S. Conkling Street,” Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, accessed July 21, 2021, https://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/Pages/default.aspx.

In 1994, Allen Thomas Satekoronhes Snow (Mohawk), a third generation master ironworker from Kahnawake, founded Mohawk Bridge & Iron, a concrete reinforcing construction company specializing in reinforcing steel placement and post tensioning for concrete reinforcement. Mohawk Bridge and Iron’s first office was Allen’s Highlandtown basement.

1. See https://mbisteel.com/about/, accessed July 20, 2021.

2. Allen Snow, interview with Ashley Minner, July 2, 2021, phone, transcript.

East Baltimore Church of God, the second oldest congregation established by Lumbee Indians in the City of Baltimore, relocated from 2043 E. Baltimore Street to 800 Oldham Street, in Greektown, in 2003. The church is still active and many American Indian people continue to attend.

1. See Philip and Mary Morris, eds. “East Baltimore Church of God” in Our Living Legacy: Delmarva-DC Churches of God CELEBRATING the JOURNEY, 90th Anniversary, 1919-2009, (Cleveland, TN: Derek Press, 2010), p. 309.

3901 Curtis Avenue is the present-day home of Mohawk Bridge & Iron, a concrete reinforcing construction company founded by Allen Thomas Satekoronhes Snow (Mohawk), a third generation master ironworker from Kahnawake. Mohawk Bridge & Iron is still owned and operated by the Snow family, and they continue to train and employ American Indian workers.

1. Personal communication with Chris Snow, June 15, 2021.

Beginning in the 1940s, a small contingent of American Indian people who moved from North Carolina to Baltimore settled in Brooklyn and made Brooklyn Church of God their church home. As Baltimore’s greater American Indian community formed, other church-going members of the community would travel to Brooklyn to support and participate in events. There was a regular American Indian presence in the congregation for many years. The church’s original location was 901 Pontiac Avenue. In 1965, the church purchased a parsonage and built this current church building nearby at 3800 Ninth Street.

1. Personal communication with James Bowen, November 22, 2019, and Personal communication with Roy Maynor, January 8, 2021.

2. See Philip and Mary Morris, eds. “Brooklyn Church of God” in Our Living Legacy: Delmarva-DC Churches of God CELEBRATING the JOURNEY, 90th Anniversary, 1919-2009, (Cleveland, TN: Derek Press, 2010), p. 299-300.

Beginning in the 1940s, a small contingent of American Indian people who moved from North Carolina to Baltimore settled in Brooklyn and made Brooklyn Church of God their church home. The church’s original location was here at 901 Pontiac Avenue. As Baltimore’s greater American Indian community formed, other church-going members of the community would travel to Brooklyn to support and participate in events. There was a regular American Indian presence in the congregation for many years.

1. Personal communication with James Bowen, November 22, 2019, and Personal communication with Roy Maynor, January 8, 2021.