Newly recognized tribes celebrate traditions

Posted on Sat, Nov. 19, 2005
By Carolyn Click
Knight Ridder

The honor song began as a single stirring drum beat. Then one American Indian voice joined another, as representatives of five newly recognized S.C. tribes and groups were gathered Friday into the folds of an Honor Circle, a ceremony recognizing the sacred and enduring traditions of the state's tribal communities.

For Harold Hatcher, chief of the Waccamaws, the ceremony was long overdue and, momentarily, overwhelming. Tears streamed down his face as he accepted the framed state resolution from Janie Davis, executive director of the S.C. Commission for Minority Affairs.

Hatcher has worked since 1992 for tribal recognition, but his private battle for acknowledgment really began as a youngster when he said he was "called every name you can imagine." He fought in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, only to return to Horry County and be told to move when he sat down to dine at a restaurant.

His frustration at his people's treatment and invisible status culminated with the death of his father in the early 1980s.

"On his death certificate, he was listed as mulatto," said Hatcher, referring to a description of mixed race lineage that has long since been discarded.

"I said things have got to change and they have changed."

Hatcher's tribe, the Waccamaw Indian People of Conway, and the Pee Dee Indian Nation of Upper South Carolina were formally recognized as tribes by the Legislature in February.

The three recognized groups include the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians, located in Berkeley County; the Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois and United Tribes of S.C., scattered in six counties; and the Chaloklowa Chickasaw Indian People of S.C., located in Williamsburg County.

The Catawba Indian Nation in the Upstate is already recognized by the federal government. There are 17 other tribes and groups in South Carolina that have yet to receive state recognition.

To gain state recognition, a tribe must have at least a century-long presence in South Carolina and use a American Indian form of government, among other things, said Barbara MorningStar Paul, conference organizer and program coordinator for the minority affairs commission.

As she stood among those attired in carefully selected American Indian regalia, Paul described the day-long conference and the honor circle ceremony as a "resurgence of pure joy" for the state's indigenous people.

The event, the state's first conference devoted to American Indians, included sessions on issues from health care to community development and cultural and spiritual survival, as well as inspirational speakers and musicians.

Bill Miller, a Grammy-Award-winning musician, writer and activist, delivered an emotional address detailing his upbringing on a Wisconsin reservation and urged participants to overcome the divisions among the races.

Friday seemed a start to Mingo Uly Joe Tanner, assistant chief of the Chaloklowa Chickasaw group.

He suggested things had come a long way since his childhood, when his parents never spoke of their American Indian heritage.

"Our elders were taught don't let the census taker know you are Indian," he recalled. "You just put 'white' on the form."

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Last updated on November 22, 2005