Waccamaw Siouan Indians facts for kids
Official seal of the
Waccamaw Siouan Tribe |
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| Named after | Waccamaw people Waccamaw River |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1910: Council of Wide Awake Indians, 1977: Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe (nonprofit) |
| Type | state-recognized tribe, nonprofit organization |
| Legal status | school, educational service provider, charity |
| Purpose | P84: Ethnic, Immigrant Centers and Service Provider |
| Headquarters | Bolton, North Carolina |
| Location |
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Membership (2000)
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2,313 self-identified 1,245 enrolled |
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Official language
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English |
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Revenue (2020)
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$391,626 |
| Expenses (2020) | $399,935 |
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Staff (2020)
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17 |
The Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state-recognized tribes in North Carolina. They are also known as the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe. While North Carolina officially recognizes them, the United States government does not yet.
Their main office is in Bolton, Columbus County. Members of the tribe also live in Bladen County in southeastern North Carolina. In 1910, the tribe formed a group called the Council of Wide Awake Indians. They later opened a public school in 1933.
The Waccamaw Siouan Indians are not connected to the Waccamaw Indian People, a state-recognized tribe in South Carolina. They also have no link to the Waccamaw Sioux Indian Tribe of Farmers Union, which is not recognized by any government.
Waccamaw Siouan Indians live in areas like St. James, Buckhead, and Council. Their tribal homeland is near the Green Swamp. This area is about 37 miles from Wilmington, North Carolina, seven miles from Lake Waccamaw, and four miles north of Bolton, North Carolina.
Contents
Helping the Community
In 1977, the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This means they are a group that helps people and does not aim to make a profit. Their main office is in Bolton, North Carolina.
Services for Members
The Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe runs a housing program. This program helps tribal members with things like fixing up homes, making down payments on new homes, and getting emergency money for housing needs. They also have a day care center for children.
Tribal Population
In 2010, the total Waccamaw Siouan population in Columbus and Bladen counties was 1,896 people. This number includes 1,025 in Columbus County and 331 in Bladen County. This group makes up about 2.7% of all Native Americans in North Carolina. Currently, the tribe has 2,594 enrolled members.
Between 1980 and 2000, the number of people in these two counties grew by 6.7%. This was much slower than the 37% growth rate for all of North Carolina. Most of the growth in the two counties was among Native American and Hispanic people.
Tribal Government
The Waccamaw Siouan Tribal Council, Inc., leads the tribe. This council has six members who are chosen by tribal members in elections. Their terms last from one to three years. The Tribal Chief used to be chosen by family or personal appointment, but now this position is also elected.
The tribe also has an Elders Review Committee. This committee holds monthly meetings to share important information with tribal members. During these meetings, tribal members can share their ideas and suggestions. These ideas are then used in the tribe's decision-making process.
The tribal council hires a tribal administrator. This person manages the tribe's daily activities and oversees grant programs. They also report on how grant money is being used to different agencies and tribal members.
State Recognition
The state of North Carolina officially recognized the Waccamaw Siouan Indians in 1971. Because of this, they are part of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs.
Federal Recognition Efforts
The Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe is not yet recognized by the United States government. In 1948, their representative in Congress tried to pass a bill for federal recognition, but it did not succeed. The tribe is still working through the process to gain federal recognition.
Where the Tribe Lives
The tribe's main area is on the edge of the Green Swamp, about seven miles from Lake Waccamaw. Their headquarters is in Bolton, North Carolina.
Tribal History
The Waccamaw Siouan Indians have a special story about how Lake Waccamaw was formed. They say that thousands of years ago, a huge meteor fell from the sky. It hit the earth, creating a deep hole. Water from nearby swamps and rivers flowed into this hole, cooling it and forming the beautiful blue lake. Some historians believe this story was created in the mid-1900s.
Early Encounters (1500s)
An archeologist named Martin T. Smith thinks that a Spanish trip in 1521 might have met a Waccamaw village. This Spanish group traveled inland from the Carolina coast along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers. They described the people living there as semi-nomadic, meaning they moved around but also did some farming.
In 1521, Spanish explorers captured and enslaved several Native Americans. One of these men, known as Francisco de Chicora, described over twenty different indigenous peoples living in what is now South Carolina. Historians believe these groups included the Waccamaw.
European Contact (1600s)
About 150 years later, an Englishman named William Hilton wrote about meeting ancestors of the Waccamaw Siouan people, calling them the Woccon. In 1670, a German surveyor named John Lederer also mentioned them. By the early 1600s, the Woccon (Waccamaw) and other tribes were pushed north by Spanish forces and other Native American groups.
Some of the first English travelers to the Carolinas, like John Lederer and John Lawson, said the Waccamaw were an Eastern Siouan people. They heard this from others, as they did not visit the swampy areas where some Waccamaw were seeking safety.
Life in the 1700s
John Lawson wrote in 1700 that the Woccon lived south of the Tuscarora. By 1705, these tribes had split up. Some Woccon moved north to the Lower Neuse River. In 1712, the Woccon (or Waccamaw) were first mentioned in English writings. The South Carolina Colony tried to get the Waccamaw to join them in a war against the Tuscarora in the Tuscarora War.
British leaders started calling the Woccon who moved south the Waccamaw, as they settled near the Waccamaw River. The spelling of tribal names often changed because different groups wrote them down differently.
The Waccamaw continued to live along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers until 1718. Then, they moved to the Weenee, or Black River area. In 1720, they joined families from other tribes like the Tuscarora and Cheraw along Drowning Creek (now called the Lumber River). Some Waccamaw families stayed there until 1733, when they sought safety near Lake Waccamaw and Green Swamp.
By the 1720s, many Waccamaw were living northeast of Charleston, South Carolina. In 1749, a war broke out between the Waccamaw and the South Carolina Colony. After this war, the Waccamaw found safety in the swampy area near Green Swamp and Lake Waccamaw. They settled four miles north of today's Bolton, North Carolina, along a path still known as the "Old Indian Trail." Old land records support the Waccamaw Siouan Indians' stories about living in the Green Swamp region for a long time.
Changes in the 1800s
After hundreds of years of contact with Europeans, the Waccamaw Siouan Indians had adopted many European ways. They farmed like Europeans and claimed land for their individual farms.
In 1835, after a slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, North Carolina passed laws that limited the rights of free Black people. Native Americans were often grouped with "Free people of color" (people of mixed heritage). Because of these laws, the Waccamaw Siouan Indians and other groups lost their political and civil rights. They could no longer vote, carry weapons, or serve in the state army.
Local white people treated the Waccamaw Siouan Indians worse after North Carolina passed this unfair state constitution. White people often called them "black" instead of recognizing them as Native American.
Education Challenges
For much of the 1800s, Waccamaw Siouan children did not have public schools to attend. After the American Civil War, public schools were created, but they were separated by race. The Waccamaw Siouan people, who had been free before the war, did not want their children to go to school with the children of freedmen (formerly enslaved people). The public schools only had two groups: white, and "all other" (which included Black people and mixed-race people).
Later in the 1800s, the Croatan Indians of Robeson County gained state recognition and support for their own separate school. The Croatan Indians of Samson County also built their own schools. The Waccamaw-Siouan Tribe followed this example by starting the Doe Head School in 1885. This school in the Buckhead Indian community was only open sometimes. It closed in 1921 after the state sent a Black teacher, and the community asked the teacher to leave.
The 1900s and Beyond
The first county-supported school for Indian students, open to Waccamaw Siouans, was called the "Wide Awake School." It was built in 1933 in the Buckhead community in Bladen County. Welton Lowry, a Lumbee teacher, taught classes there. Waccamaw Siouan students who wanted to attend high school with other Native American students went to schools like East Carolina High School or Fairmont High School.
The Waccamaw Siouan Indians received state recognition in 1971. They then formed a nonprofit group, which became their elected government. They are still working on getting federal recognition from the United States government.
Tribal Activities
The tribe holds an annual cultural festival and powwow. This event happens on the third Friday and Saturday of October at the Waccamaw Siouan Tribal Grounds in the Buckhead Community of Bolton, North Carolina. Everyone is welcome to attend. The powwow includes:
- Dance competitions
- Drumming competitions
- A horse show
- A gospel music sing
There is also a crafts fair where you can see and buy items made by Waccamaw tribal members. People also show how these crafts are made.
See also
In Spanish: Waccamaw para niños
