Members of the Waccamaw Indian People trace their origins to the Dimery Settlement, a tri-racial isolate population once located near Dog Bluff in Horry County, first established during the early 19th century.[9] Members of the organization allege that the Dimery Settlement originated as an 18th-century Waccamaw village.[9] However, existent historical records can presently only demonstrate the settlement as being identified as an indigenous community beginning in the early twentieth century.[9][10]
Government
On October 28, 1992, the Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People first formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.[2][4][11] The organization's agent, president, and inaugural chief is Harold D. "Buster" Hatcher.[2][5] The organization was established following Hatcher's departure from the Chicora Indian Tribe of South Carolina due to a disagreement with then chief, Gene Martin, during the early 1990s.[3][12] In 2002, the organization voted to remove the term "Chicora" from its name to avoid confusion with the nearby Chicora Indian Tribe.[1] On February 17, 2005, the Waccamaw Indian People was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the SCCMA, becoming the first ever state-recognized tribe within South Carolina.[6]
Historic origins
Members of the Waccamaw Indian People trace lineal descent from the historic Dimery Settlement, an isolated population once located in Horry County near Dog Bluff.[9][13] The Dimery family are considered to have comprised a distinct tri-racial isolate population, being descended from African, European, and Native American ancestors.[13] Hatcher and many members of the Waccamaw Indian People descend from John Dimery, who is said to have founded the settlement near modern Aynor, South Carolina during the early 19th century.[9] During the era of segregation, the community maintained its own church, and later a school, as members of the settlement refused to send their children to schools built for local African American children.[10] During this era members were often referred to as "free coloreds" or "croatans".[9] The settlement was the subject of speculation in newspapers within Horry County during the early 20th century, particularly regarding the racial origins of its inhabitants. This uncertainty fostered a local mystery and led to several legal cases when residents of the settlement were accused of marrying outside of their race due to anti-miscegenation laws of the time.[10]
In the fall of 1994, historian Forest Hazel was hired to assist the Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People, supported by a grant from the Administration for Native Americans, in compiling historical documentation for their federal recognition bid.[10] During his research, Hazel explored various local theories about the origins of the Dimery Settlement's origins, including the idea that community members might have been the descendants of the historic Waccamaw people, a foreign population of Spaniards or Portuguese, an amalgamation of Civil War deserters, runaway slaves, and Native Americans who settled near Gunter's Island, or an offshoot of the Lumbee people of Robeson County, North Carolina, who were also referred to as "croatan" by locals.[10] Hazel was unable to substantiate any of these theories with historical records available at the time of his research.[10]
Research was able to confirm that the settlement's patriarch, John Dimery, first appears marrying his wife, Elizabeth Hardwick, in Marion County, South Carolina in 1809 and by 1813 had moved to Horry County, where he purchased three hundred acres from William Lewis.[10] Dimery is classified as a "free colored" in the 1850 United States census, presumably residing near Dog Bluff.[10] This census also indicates that John Dimery was born in North Carolina.[10] It was speculated that he may have been born in Anson or Columbus County, North Carolina due to the presence of individuals carrying the Dimery surname in these regions at the time.[10] Hazel noted the possibility of indigenous people inhabiting the Dog Bluff area at the time Dimery's arrival, given the nearby late Woodland Period village site near Jordanville, with excavated pottery shards dating to the 17th century.[10] Yet, this theory, in Hazel's opinion, lacked concrete evidence and was not able to be supported by hard fact.[10] Members of the Dimery Settlement, as evidenced in historical records from the 19th century, led lives comparable to their neighbors, showing no distinctive indigenous customs or language, and were to some limited extent integrated into the local rural society.[10]
Furthermore, Hazel investigated several other prominent surnames within the community, such as Hatcher. He discovered a broad connection of this family to early 18th-century traders operating along the North Carolina-Virginia border, known for their dealings with various Carolinian tribes.[10] Findings also included the presence of Hatchers, Dimerys, and Coopers within the Lumbee Tribe.[10] Specifically, he traced the Lumbee Coopers back to Marlboro County and noted their claims of Cheraw ancestry.[10] Hazel postulated that many of these families, including those prominent in the Dimery Settlement, likely originated near the historical Cheraw settlement in Marlboro County.[10]
Subsequent researchers have highlighted the fluidity of racially mixed population's movement across Horry, Marlboro, Dillon, and the neighboring Robeson County, noting that members of the Waccamaw Indian People are often closely related, within one or two generations, to families like the Ammons, Coopers, Dimerys, Hatchers, and Turners in the McColl, Clio, Maxton, and Pembroke areas.[14]
Pursuit of federal recognition
On October 5, 1994, while still named the Chicora-Waccamaw People, the organization submitted a letter of intent to submit a petition for federal acknowledgement of existence as a tribe to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.[15]
In 2021, US Representatives Tom Rice and Nancy Mace (R-SC-7) introduced HR 1942 Waccamaw Indian Acknowledgment Act to attempt to secure federal recognition for the organization.[16][17] However, no vote ever happened, and the bill was never mentioned during its two years in Congress.[17]
As of December of 2023, the office of U.S. Representative Russell Fry has been actively engaged in discussions and collaborative efforts with both the Waccamaw Indian People, supporting their pursuit of federal recognition.[17]
Chicora name dispute
Before the Waccamaw Indian People, also formerly called the Chicora Indian Nation[1], chose to formally remove the term "Chicora" from its name, there were public disputes and legal confrontations over the organization's use of this term.[18] A key incident occurred in 1993 between Chief Gene Martin of the Chicora Indian Tribe and Second-Chief Bill "Kicking Bear" Fowler of the Chicora-Waccamaw. The dispute escalated into a public altercation at a powwow hosted by the Lumbee Tribe in Pembroke, North Carolina.[17] The focus of the dispute was on the right to use the "Chicora" name.[17] Subsequently, Martin faced disorderly conduct charges, which were dismissed due to the incident occurring outside of Horry County's jurisdiction.[17] Martin, citing his organization's proper entitlement to the term "Chicora", considered filing a civil suit against the Chicora-Waccamaw for a name change.[17] Hatcher defended local use of the term "Chicora", clarifying it as a regional designation rather than being an assertion of tribal heritage.[17] In 1994 Hatcher expressed that he and Martin had put their dispute over the use of the name "Chicora" behind them.[3] Later, in 2002, the Waccamaw Indian People dropped "Chicora" from the organization's name by popular vote in order to avoid being confused with the Chicora Indian Tribe.[1]
Other activities
In 2004, the Waccamaw Indian People acquired twenty acres that once comprised part of the historic Dimery Settlement near Dog Bluff.[14] This land is referred to as the "Waccamaw Tribal Grounds" and is used by the organization to host cultural events and an annual powwow every November.[14][19]
The Horry County Museum showcased the exhibition The Waccamaw Indian People: Past, Present, and Future in 2021.[20]
1 2 3 Hill, S. Pony (2009). Strangers in Their Own Land South Carolina's State Indian Tribes (1sted.). Palm Coast, Florida: Boxes & Arrows, Inc. p.70-71. ISBN9780939479344.
Horry County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 351,029. It is the fourth-most populous county in South Carolina. The county seat is Conway.
Columbus County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina, on its southeastern border. Its county seat is Whiteville. As of the 2020 census, the population is 50,623. The 2020 census showed a loss of 12.9% of the population from that of 2010. This included an inmate prison population of approximately 2,500.
Conway is a city and the county seat of Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in the 2010 census, making it the 18th-most populous city in the state. The city is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University.
The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, an Indigenous tribe historically inhabiting the region.
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties in North Carolina.
The Waccamaw people were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who lived in villages along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers in North and South Carolina in the 18th century.
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 Winyaw were a Native American tribe living near Winyah Bay, Black River, and the lower course of the Pee Dee River in South Carolina. The Winyaw people disappeared as a distinct entity after 1720 and are thought to have merged with the Waccamaw.
The Battle of Hayes Pond, also known as the Battle of Maxton Field or the Maxton Riot, was an armed confrontation between members of a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization and Lumbee Indians at a Klan rally near Maxton, North Carolina, on the night of January 18, 1958. The clash resulted in the disruption of the rally and a significant amount of media coverage praising the Lumbees and condemning the Klansmen.
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 Pedee people, also Pee Dee and Peedee, were a historic Native American tribe of the Southeastern United States. Historically, their population has been concentrated in the Piedmont of present-day South Carolina. It is believed that in the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists named the Pee Dee River and the Pee Dee region of South Carolina for the tribe. Today three state-recognized tribes, one state-recognized group, and several unrecognized groups claim descent from the historic Pedee people. Presently none of these organizations are recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with the Catawba Indian Nation being the only federally recognized tribe within South Carolina.
The Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians or Wassamasaw Tribe is a state-recognized tribe and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs in November 2009, becoming the sixth state-recognized tribe within South Carolina. The Tribe is not federally recognized as a Native American tribe by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Catawba Indian Nation is the only Tribe in South Carolina that is federally recognized by the U.S. Government.
Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state-recognized tribes in North Carolina. They are also known as the "People of the Fallen Star." Historically Siouan-speaking, they are located predominantly in the southeastern North Carolina counties of Bladen and Columbus. Their congressional representative introduced a failed bill for federal recognition in 1948. North Carolina recognized the group in 1971.
The Cheraw people, also known as the Saraw or Saura, were a Siouan-speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, in the Piedmont area of North Carolina near the Sauratown Mountains, east of Pilot Mountain and north of the Yadkin River. They lived in villages near the Catawba River. Their first European and African contact was with the Hernando De Soto Expedition in 1540. The early explorer John Lawson included them in the larger eastern-Siouan confederacy, which he called "the Esaw Nation."
The Croatan were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them.
The Beaver Creek Indian Tribe or Beaver Creek Indians is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization headquartered in Salley, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs on January 27, 2006. They are not a federally recognized Native American tribe and are one several recognized nonprofit organizations within South Carolina that allege to be descended from the historic Pee Dee. The organization is not to be confused with the Pee Dee Indian Nation of Beaver Creek, a "state-recognized group" recognized by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs in 2007.
The Cusabo or Cosabo were a group of American Indian tribes who lived along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in what is now South Carolina, approximately between present-day Charleston and south to the Savannah River, at the time of European colonization. English colonists often referred to them as one of the Settlement Indians of South Carolina, tribes who "settled" among the colonists.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They do not hold federal recognition as a Native American tribe.
The history of Native Americans in Baltimore and what is now Baltimore dates back at least 12,000 years. As of 2014, Baltimore is home to a small Native American population, centered in East Baltimore. The majority of Native Americans now living in Baltimore belong to the Lumbee, Piscataway, and Cherokee tribes. The Piscataway people live in Southern Maryland and are recognized by the state of Maryland. The Lumbee and Cherokee are Indigenous to North Carolina and neighboring states of the Southeastern United States. Many of the Lumbee and Cherokee migrated to Baltimore during the mid-20th century along with other migrants from the Southern United States, such as African-Americans and white Appalachians. The Lumbee are state recognized in North Carolina as the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, but have no state recognition in Maryland. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina are a federally recognized tribe. There are three state recognized tribes in Maryland; the Piscataway-Conoy Tribe of Maryland, the Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory, and the Accohannock Indian Tribe. Maryland has no federally recognized tribes.
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