The Department of Aviation’s Racial Equity Council (REAC) celebrates Native American and Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Month.
Industry Spotlight
Erin M. Locklear, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority
Erin Locklear (she/her) is from Fairmont, a Robeson County small town in southeastern North Carolina where her mother and father still live in her childhood home. Erin is a citizen of the Lumbee Tribe. She has an A.B. from Princeton University cum laude (Sociology, American Studies) and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. She has a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. Erin is also a Trustee for her high school alma mater, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, serves on the UNC Law School Alumni Association Board, and co-chairs the Minorities in the Profession Committee for the NC Bar Association.
Erin Locklear is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, which operates the RDU International Airport. In that role, she provides legal advice on matters involving the Airport and the Authority. Her areas of practice include state and federal legal and regulatory compliance, land use, employment, airline and concessions agreements, public art, ground transportation, contracts, and first amendment issues. Erin also manages the procurement, human resources, FAA civil rights, minority and women owned small business program, ADA, and internal audit functions.
Erin has been a part of the Airport Authority since 2007. Prior to that, she practiced law in private practice in Durham, NC, where she and her partner, Simeon, still live.
Philadelphia Land and Life Acknowledgement
The land that became Philadelphia was home to and cared for by native peoples, including the Lenni-Lenape People of Lenapehoking and the Poutaxat (Delaware Bay). The City recognizes these Tribes’ strength and history of resistance to colonization. Read the City of Philadelphia's Land and Life Acknowledgement here.
Learn about Native American and Indigenous Peoples in Philadelphia and Across the US
Below are links to articles, books and TV programs that can help start your journey to learning more about Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples throughout North America.
- The Original People and Their Land: The Lenape, Pre-History to the 18th Century
- Philadelphia’s Forgotten Forebears: How Pennsylvania Erased the Lenape From Local History
- Celebrate Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month | PBS
- 10 books by Native American authors to read during National Native American Heritage Month
Check out this interactive map to discover the Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples that lived in your area: