Waccamaw Indian People

Waccamaw Indian People
Named afterWaccamaw people
Waccamaw River
FormationOctober 28, 1992; 31 years ago (1992-10-28)[1][2]
FounderHarold D. Hatcher[3]
Typestate-recognized tribe, nonprofit organization
EIN 57-0970329[4]
Legal statusschool, educational service provider, charity[4]
PurposeB90: Educational Services[4]
HeadquartersConway, South Carolina[4]
Location
  • United States
Official language
English
President
Harold D. Hatcher[5]
Websitewww.waccamaw.org
Formerly called
Chicora Indian Nation[1]
Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People[1]

The Waccamaw Indian People, formerly the Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People, is a state-recognized tribe and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Conway, South Carolina.[5][4] 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.[6] The Waccamaw Indian People are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe[7] and are one of two organizations that allege to be descended from the historic Waccamaw, the other being the Waccamaw Siouan Indians, who have been a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina since 1971.[8][9] The Tribal Council of the Waccamaw Siouan Indians has issued a public proclamation stating that the two tribes share no relationship or association, and that the North Carolina Waccamaw do not recognize the Waccamaw Indian People as an Indian tribe or tribal entity.[9]

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.[10] Members of the organization allege that the Dimery Settlement originated as an 18th-century Waccamaw village.[10] However, existent historical records can presently only demonstrate the settlement as being identified as an indigenous community beginning in the early twentieth century.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b c "WACCAMAW INDIAN PEOPLE THE". businessfilings.sc.gov. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference open was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference soraghan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference cause was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "South Carolina's Recognized Native American Indian Entities". South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Meet Harold Hatcher, Chief of the Waccamaw Indian People". South Carolina ETV. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Indian Affairs Bureau. Federal Register. 22 January 2022. pp. 7554–58. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  8. ^ "NC Tribal Communities". ncadmin.nc.gov. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b Crediford, Gene J. (2009). Those Who Remain: A Photographer's Memoir of South Carolina Indians. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780817355180.
  10. ^ a b c Mishoe, Peggy (3 April 2003). "American Indians aim to preserve culture". The Sun News. Vol. 53, no. 92. newspapers.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference hazel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).