Agenda - 06-18-2024; 8-j - Resolution Naming the John Blackfeather and Lynette Coles Jeffries Memorial Bench at River Park

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 18, 2024 Action Agenda Item No. 8-j SUBJECT: Resolution Naming the John Blackfeather and Lynette Coles Jeffries Memorial Bench at River Park DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners, Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation, & County Manager ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Resolution Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board, 919- Picture of Bench 245-2130 David Stancil, DEAPR Director, 919-245- 2522 PURPOSE: To adopt a resolution naming of a replacement bench at Occaneechi Village in River Park after John Blackfeather Jeffries and Lynette Coles Jeffries. BACKGROUND: John Hayles Blackfeather Jeffries (1939-2023)was widely known as a longtime member and leader of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. Jeffries was often described as a "warrior" for his tireless efforts to honor, preserve, and teach his tribe's heritage to the public and helped younger tribal members reconnect with their roots. Jeffries played an important role in helping his tribe gain official state recognition in 2002. One of Jeffries' proudest and most visible contributions to the community is the landmark replica village of his ancestors, which he helped establish and construct in the late 1990s working under the guidance of UNC's Research Laboratories of Archaeology. Located in Orange County's River Park in Hillsborough, just off the Riverwalk, the replica village served as a popular site for cultural education programs where Jeffries worked with other tribal members to hold demonstrations and living history events to help raise awareness of the Occaneechi tribal heritage of this area. Jeffries worked with tribal members to organize a wide variety of public educational programs at the village, including outdoor cooking, storytelling, tribal dance, and methods of hunting and fishing. Jeffries was later instrumental in a community volunteer project to rebuild the replica village between 2017 and 2022, working in partnership with Orange County and the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. In memory and appreciation of Jeffries' dedication and commitment to his tribe and local history, a proposal was made to name a bench at a location he often frequented adjacent to the Occaneechi Village replica in his name (picture attached).