ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
living in the coastal areas of what is now
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them.
The Croatan lived in current Dare County, an area encompassing the Alligator River,
Croatan Sound
Croatan Sound is an inlet in Dare County, North Carolina. It connects Pamlico Sound with Albemarle Sound, and is bordered to the east by Roanoke Island; Roanoke Sound is on the other side of the island. Its name comes from the Croatan Indians who ...
,
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke (tribe), Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the ar ...
,
Ocracoke Island
Ocracoke , from the North Carolina Collection website at the
, and parts of the
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...
, including
Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island (historically Croatoan Island) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carol ...
. The Croatan people who exist today live in
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
,
Sampson Sampson may refer to:
Military
* , several Royal Navy ships
* , several US Navy ships
* Sampson-class destroyer, a World War I US Navy class
* Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake, New York, closed in 1956
* SAMPSON, a multi-function radar ...
, and Harnett counties predominantly.
The chiefs, called werowances ("he who is rich"), controlled from 1 to 18 towns. The greatest were able to muster 700 or 800 fighting men. Chiefs and their families were held in great status and with respect, but they were not all powerful. In order for any particular direction from leadership to be followed through, chiefs had first to convince their followers that said course of action or cause was wise/in the tribe's best interest. The role of the chief was to spread the wealth to his tribe, and, if unable to do so, the same level of respect was no longer conferred to the chief in command.
Phillip W. Evans, a linguist, suggested the word ''Croatan'' means "council town" or "talk town," which likely indicates the residence of an important leader and a place where councils were held.
Beliefs
According to
Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his cont ...
, the Native Americans living in coastal North Carolina believed there was "one only chief and great God, which has been from all eternity" and made petty gods, "to be used in the creation and government to follow." They believed in the immortality of the soul. Upon death, the soul either enters heaven to live with the gods or goes to a place near the setting sun called Popogusso, to burn for eternity in a huge pit of fire. The concept of heaven and hell was used on the common people to respect leaders and live a life that would be beneficial to them in the afterlife. Conjurors and priests were distinctive spiritual leaders. Priests were chosen for their knowledge and wisdom and were leaders of the organized religion. Conjurors, on the other hand, were chosen for their magical abilities. Conjurors were thought to have powers from a personal connection with a supernatural being (mostly spirits from the animal world).
European colonization
It is known that the arrival of
English Settlers
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
upset some pre-existing tribal relationships. The
Algonquian people
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
advocated cooperation while others (the
Yamasee
The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...
,
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
and
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...
, for example) resisted. Later, this conflict between tribes and settlers would lead to the
Yamasee War
The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...
. Tribes that maintained mutually beneficial contact with the settlers gained power through their access to and control of European trade goods. While the English may have held great military superiority over the Carolina
Algonquians
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
, the Native Americans' control over food and natural resources was a much more decisive factor in the conflict with early settlers. Despite the varying relationships among tribes, the Roanoke and Croatan were believed to have been on very good terms with
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Settlers of the
Roanoke Colony
The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...
. Wanchese, the last leader of the Roanoke, accompanied the English on a trip to England.
The Lost Colony
Some of the survivors of the
Lost Colony
The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...
of Roanoke may have joined the Croatan. Governor White finally reached
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke (tribe), Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the ar ...
on August 18, 1590, three years after he had last seen them there, but he found his colony had been long deserted. The buildings had collapsed and "the houses eretaken down." The few clues about the colonists' whereabouts included the letters "CROATOAN" carved into a tree. Croatoan was the name of a nearby
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
(likely modern-day
Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island (historically Croatoan Island) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carol ...
) in addition to the local tribe of Native Americans. Roanoke Island was not originally the planned location for the colony and the idea of moving elsewhere had been discussed. Before the Governor's departure, he and the colonists had agreed that a message would be carved into a tree if they had moved and would include an image of a
Maltese Cross
The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically.
It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...
if the decision was made by force. White found no such cross and was hopeful that his family was still alive.
The Croatan, like other Carolina Algonquians, suffered from epidemics of
infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
such as
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
in 1598. These greatly reduced the tribe's numbers and left them subject to colonial pressure. They are believed to have become extinct as a tribe by the early seventeenth century.
Speculation of the fate of the "Lost Colony"
Based on legend, some people said that the
Lumbee
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in North Carolina. They also live in surrounding states and Baltimore, Maryland.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recog ...
tribe, based in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, were descendants of the Croatan and survivors of the
Lost Colony of Roanoke Island
The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...
. For over a hundred years, historians and other scholars have been examining the question of Lumbee origin. Although there have been many explanations and conjectures, two theories persist. In 1885, Hamilton McMillan, a local historian and state legislator, proposed the "Lost Colony" theory. Based upon oral tradition among the Lumbees and what he deemed as strong circumstantial evidence, McMillan posited a connection between the Lumbees and the early English colonists who settled on Roanoke Island in 1587 and the Algonquian tribes (Croatan included) who inhabited coastal North Carolina at the same time. According to historical accounts, the colonists mysteriously disappeared soon after they settled, leaving little evidence of their destination or fate. McMillan's hypothesis, which was also supported by the historian Stephen Weeks, contends that the colonists migrated with the Indians toward the interior of North Carolina's and by 1650 had settled along the banks of the
Lumber River
The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is the name of its headwater. The waterway known as ...
. It is suggested the present-day Lumbees are the descendants of these two groups.
Other scholars believe the Lumbees to be descended from an eastern Siouan group called the Cheraws. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, several Siouan-speaking tribes occupied southeastern North Carolina.
John R. Swanton
John Reed Swanton (February 19, 1873 – May 2, 1958) was an American anthropologist, folklorist, and linguist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United States. Swanton achieved recognition in the fields of ethnology and et ...
, a pioneering
ethnologist
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...
at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, wrote in 1938 that the Lumbees were probably of Cheraw descent, but were also genealogically influenced by other Siouan tribes in the area. Contemporary historians such as James Merrell and William Sturtevant confirm this theory by suggesting that the Cheraws, along with survivors of other tribes whose populations had been devastated by warfare and disease, found refuge from both aggressive settlers and hostile tribes in the
Robeson County
Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...
swamps in eastern North Carolina.Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Houghton Mifflin /ref>
In 1914, when Special Indian Agent O.M. McPherson was reporting on the rights of various Indian groups, he published a list of names of the Lost Colony. Numerous names on the list were typical Indian names in the North Carolina counties of Robeson and Sampson, at the time of his report. Many of the surnames included were that of surviving Croatan Indians. Late twentieth-century research has demonstrated that among surnames established as Lumbee ancestors were numerous mixed-race
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s free in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
before the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
and their descendants who migrated to Virginia and North Carolina frontiers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These "free people of color" were mostly descendants of European men and African women who worked and lived together in colonial Virginia. These connections have been traced for numerous individuals and families through court records, land deeds, and other existing historical documents. In Robeson County, they may have intermarried with Native American survivors and acculturated as Native Americans.
Research
The Lost Colony Center for Science and Research has excavated English artifacts within the territory of the former Croatan tribe. The artifacts may also be evidence of trade with the tribe or of natives finding them at the former colony site. The Center is conducting a DNA study to try to determine if there are European lines among Croatan descendants.
Researchers from the University of Bristol, UK, have also been excavating on Hatteras Island in conjunction with the Croatoan Archaeological Society.
Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island (historically Croatoan Island) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carol ...
is the main locus for the settlement of the Croatoan tribe and to date, they have discovered a large contact/pre-contact period settlement, midden deposits, and European trade items.
19th century
Historian Malinda Maynor (
Lumbee
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in North Carolina. They also live in surrounding states and Baltimore, Maryland.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recog ...
) wrote that, in 1890, a group of about 100 people who identified as Croatan descendants, or
Lumbees
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in North Carolina. They also live in surrounding states and Baltimore, Maryland.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-reco ...
, left
Robeson County, North Carolina
Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...
, for southern Georgia. By building a church and a school for their people outside of the influence of publicly-funded or pre-existing buildings in the area, they established an identity for themselves that subverted the racial barriers of the time which, prior to 1890, had operated under a very clear distinction between "black" and "white." This group, instead, considered themselves to be "Indians." They headed back to Bulloch County where they could keep their people together as "Indians." They used the segregation of
Jim Crow South
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
to develop themselves as an entire community. In 1910, the North Carolina state legislature renamed the Croatan Indians in North Carolina to "Cherokee."
A historical marker placed by the state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
states: "In 1870 a group of Croatan Indians migrated from their homes in Robeson County North Carolina, following the turpentine industry to southeast Georgia. Eventually many of the Croatans became tenant farmers for the Adabelle Trading Company, growing cotton and tobacco. The Croatan community established the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Adabelle, as well as a school and a nearby cemetery. After the collapse of the Adabelle Trading Company, the Croatans faced both economic hardship and social injustice. As a result, most members of the community returned to North Carolina by 1920."
State-recognized tribes
The North Carolina state legislature recognized the
Croatan Indians of Robeson County
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.
With an estimated 55,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe of North Caroli ...
and the
Croatan Indians of Sampson County
The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina.
Formerly known as the Coharie Indian People, Inc. and the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, the group's 2,700 me ...
in 1911. They were also granted the right of "Indians and their descendants shall have separate school for their children, school committees of their own race, and shall also have the right to choose their own teachers based upon the general assembly of North Carolina. Today, these two groups are
state-recognized tribes
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 ...
, known as the
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.
With an estimated 55,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe of North Caroli ...
and the
Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc.
The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina.
Formerly known as the Coharie Indian People, Inc. and the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, the group's 2,700 m ...
, respectively.
Unrecognized groups
The Croatan Indian Tribe of South Carolina, an unrecognized organization, claims to descend from Croatan people.
Notable people
* Manteo disappeared after 1587, ambassador and mediator.
See also
*
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic languages, Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language f ...
*
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
*
Aquascogoc
The Aquascogoc is the name given to a Native American tribe of Secotan people and also the name of a village encountered by English colonists during their late 16th century attempts to settle and establish permanent colonies in what is now Nor ...
*
Dasamongueponke
The Dasamongueponke (or Dasamonguepeuk) is the name given to a Native American tribe of Secotan people and also the name of a village encountered by the English during their late 16th century attempts to settle and establish permanent colonies ...
*
Hatteras Indians The Hatteras Indians were a tribe of Native Americans in the United States who lived in the North Carolina Outer Banks. They inhabited a village on what is now called Hatteras Island called Croatoan. They lived in a small village consisting of 80 pe ...
*
Pamlico
The Pamlico (also ''Pampticough'', ''Pomouik'', ''Pomeiok'') were American Indians of North Carolina. They spoke an Algonquian language also known as ''Pamlico'' or ''Carolina Algonquian''.
Geography
The Pamlico Indians lived on the Pa ...
*
Roanoke people
The Roanoke (), also spelled Roanoac, were a Carolina Algonquian languages, Algonquian-speaking people whose territory comprised present-day Dare County, Roanoke Island and part of the mainland at the time of English exploration and colonization. T ...
*
Secotan
The Secotans were one of several groups of American Indians dominant in the Carolina sound region, between 1584 and 1590, with which English colonists had varying degrees of contact. Secotan villages included the Secotan, Aquascogoc, Dasamonguep ...
Notes
References
* K.I. Blu: "Lumbee", ''Handbook of North American Indians'', vol. 14: 278-295, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004
* T. Hariot, J. White, J. Lawson: ''A vocabulary of Roanoke'', vol. 13, Merchantville: Evolution Publishing, 1999
* Th. Ross: ''American Indians in North Carolina'', South Pines, NC: Karo Hollow Press, 1999
* G.M. Sider: ''Lumbee Indian histories'', vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993
* S.B. Weeks: ''The lost colony of Roanoke, its fate and survival'', New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1891
* J.R. Swanton: "Probable Identity of the Croatan Indians." U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, 1933
* J. Henderson: "The Croatan Indians of Robeson County, North Carolina", U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, 1923
*K.O. Kupperman: "Roanoke, the Abandoned Colony", Rowman and Littlefield, 1984
{{authority control
Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsAlgonquian peoplesNative American history of North CarolinaNative American tribes in North CarolinaAlgonquian ethnonyms