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