Named after | Meherrin people |
---|---|
Formation | 1976, [2] incorporated: February 15, 1977 [1] |
Founded at | Winton, North Carolina [3] |
Type | state-recognized tribe, nonprofit organization |
Foundation: EIN 56-1394419 [4] | |
Purpose | Cultural, Ethnic Awareness (A23) [4] |
Location |
|
Membership (2022) | 900 [5] |
Acting Chief | Jonathan Cadill [6] |
Revenue (2021 [6] ) | $85,454 |
Expenses (2021 [6] ) | $49,050 |
Staff | 0 [6] |
Website | meherrinnation |
The Meherrin Indian Tribe is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in North Carolina. Its members identify as descendants of the Meherrin people. This group is not federally recognized as a Native American tribe. [2]
The Meherrin Indian Tribe says their autonym is Kauwets'a:ka, which translates to "People of the Water." [7] [8]
The Meherrin Indian Tribe was founded in 1976 and incorporated a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on February 15, 1977. [2] [1] George E. Pierce of Winton, North Carolina, is the registered agent. [1]
The officers as of 2021 were:
They have more than 900 members. [5]
In the 1990s, the member claimed descent from Sallie M. Smith Lewis (ca. 1844–1904), who they described as "the last full-blooded Meherrin Indian." [2] In 2011, they identified as descendants of Meherrin people who they said lived on Potecasi Creek in North Carolina. [2] The historical Meherrin people were last described as living in North Carolina in 1763. [2] The proposed finding by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Acknowledgment found that "evidence does not demonstrate that Sallie M. (Smith) Lewis or the historical landowners allegedly near Potecasi Creek were Indian, Meherrin Indian, or members of a Meherrin Indian or other Indian tribe." [2]
The State of North Carolina designated the Meherrin Indian Tribe as state-recognized tribe in 1986. [2]
In 1995, the Meherrin Indian Tribe filed a petition with the Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal acknowledgment of existence as an Indian tribe. [3] The proposed finding by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) declined their petition and ruled that "The petitioner has not documented, nor has the OFA identified a historical Indian tribe, or tribes that combined, from which its members descend." [2]
The Meherrin Indian Tribe hosts an annual powwow [4] held on their dance grounds between Ahoskie and Murfreesboro. [9] They also maintain a garden. [6]
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation have given grants to the Meherrin Indian Tribe. [6]
Hertford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the Inner Banks.
The Schaghticoke are a Native American tribe of the Eastern Woodlands who historically consisted of Mahican, Potatuck, Weantinock, Tunxis, Podunk, and their descendants, peoples indigenous to what is now New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The remnant tribes amalgamated in the area near the Connecticut-New York border after many losses, including the sale of some Schaghticoke and members of neighboring tribes into slavery in the Caribbean in the 1600s.
State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established under assorted state government laws for varying purposes or by governor's executive orders. State recognition does not dictate whether or not they are recognized as Native American tribes by continually existing tribal nations.
The Meherrin people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who spoke an Iroquian language. They lived between the Piedmont and coastal plains at the border of Virginia and North Carolina.
The Nipmuc Nation was a non profit entity of the state-recognized tribe Hassanamisco Nipmuc, an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in South Grafton, Massachusetts.
The Saponi are a Native American tribe historically based in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. They spoke a Siouan language, related to the languages of the Tutelo, Biloxi, and Ofo.
The Duwamish Tribe, officially known as the Duwamish Tribal Organization, is an unrecognized tribe of Duwamish people, and those who identify as their descendants, based in Seattle, Washington.
The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band is the sole state-recognized tribe in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They were recognized in 1976 by Governor Michael Dukakis via Executive Order 126. They were briefly known as the Nipmuc Nation, a union of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc and the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck bands, during their attempt to receive federal acknowledgment as a Nation. The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band owns three and a half acres of reservation land in what is present day Grafton, Massachusetts. The Nipmuc are native to Central Massachusetts, Northeastern Connecticut, and parts of Rhode Island.
Native American recognition in the United States, for tribes, usually means being recognized by the United States federal government as a community of Indigenous people that has been in continual existence since prior to European contact, and which has a sovereign, government-to-government relationship with the Federal government of the United States. In the United States, the Native American tribe is a fundamental unit of sovereign tribal government. This recognition comes with various rights and responsibilities. The United States recognizes the right of these tribes to self-government and supports their tribal sovereignty and self-determination. These tribes possess the right to establish the legal requirements for membership. They may form their own government, enforce laws, tax, license and regulate activities, zone, and exclude people from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money.
The Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., was a civic group interested in cultivating a Native American identity. The group is named after the Kaweah people and has applied for status as a federally recognized tribe in the USA in the 1980s, a petition which was denied.
The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe (East of the Mississippi), also known as the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, is a state-recognized tribe in Georgia. The organization was denied federal recognition in 1981.
The Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Multiple nonprofit organizations were formed to represent the Seaconke Wampanoag.
The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina.
The Waccamaw Indian People is a state-recognized tribe and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Conway, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs on February 17, 2005 and holds the distinction of being the first state-recognized tribe within South Carolina. The Waccamaw Indian People are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe and are one of two organizations that allege to be descended from the historic Waccamaw, the other being the Waccamaw Siouan Indians, a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The two organizations are not affiliated with one another.
The Sappony are a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. They claim descent from the historic Saponi people, an Eastern Siouan language-speaking tribe who occupied the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia.
The Accohannock Indian Tribe, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in Maryland and a nonprofit organization of individuals who identify as descendants of the Accohannock people.
The Lipan Apache Band of Texas is a cultural heritage organization of individuals who identify as descendants of Lipan Apache people The organization LABT is based in Edinburg, Texas; with members living in Texas, Louisiana, California, and Mexico.
The Pokanoket Nation, also known as the Pokanoket Tribe, is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. They formed a nonprofit organization called the Council of Seven & Royal House of Pokanoket & Pokanoket Tribe & Wampanoag Corporation in 1994.
The Wyandot Nation of Kansas is an self-identifying tribe and nonprofit organization headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas. They identify as being Wyandot.