434:. For more than 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. 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 and by 1650 had settled along the banks of the
299:, the Native Americans living in coastal North Carolina believed there was "one only chief and great God, which has been from all eternity" and which 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 concepts of heaven and hell were impressed upon the common people to encourage them to respect leaders and live a life that would produce rewards in the afterlife.
518:, 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, locally 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
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280:("he who is rich"), each controlled up to 18 towns. The greatest were able to muster 700 or 800 fighting men. Chiefs and their families were held in great status and received respect, but they were not all-powerful. To pursue a collective goal, chiefs had to convince their followers that the action would be in the tribe's best interest. The chief was responsible for spreading wealth to his tribe, and, if unable to do so, they received less respect, or even lost respect entirely.
39:
457:, 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
371:
399:) 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
464:
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
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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
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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 taken down." The few clues about the colonists' whereabouts included the letters "CROATOAN" carved into a tree. Croatoan was the name of a
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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
497:
Roberta Estes founded the Lost Colony Center for
Science and Research which 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 conducted the Lost
477:
and their descendants who migrated to
Virginia and North Carolina frontiers in the late 18th and early 19th 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
976:"O. M. (Orlando M.) McPherson. Indians of North Carolina: Letter from the Secretary of the Interior, Transmitting, in Response to a Senate Resolution of June 30, 1914, a Report on the Condition and Tribal Rights of the Indians of Robeson and Adjoining Counties of North Carolina"
538:, 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."
498:
Colony DNA Project to try to determine if there are
European lines among Croatan descendants. However, no bones from the Lost Colony have been found to sequence DNA, and, as of 2019, the project had not identified any living descendants.
478:
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.
338:. 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
358:, the last leader of the Roanoke, accompanied the English on a trip to England, although he was distrustful of the English. In 1586, Wanchese finally severed his former good relations with the English, leaving Chief
533:
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
438:. It is suggested the present-day Lumbees are the descendants of these two groups. However this theory is contradicted by written and archaeological evidence that the colonists relocated to Croatoan.
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342:, 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
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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
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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.
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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 17th century.
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to develop themselves as an entire community. In 1910, the North
Carolina state legislature renamed the Croatan Indians in North Carolina to "Cherokee."
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means "council town" or "talk town," which likely indicates the residence of an important leader and a place where councils were held.
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J. Henderson: "The Croatan Indians of Robeson County, North Carolina", U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, 1923
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490:, United Kingdom, have also been excavating on Hatteras Island in conjunction with the Croatoan Archaeological Society.
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states: "In 1870 a group of Croatan Indians migrated from their homes in Robeson County North Carolina, following the
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J.R. Swanton: "Probable Identity of the Croatan Indians." U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, 1933
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The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina: their origin and racial status: a plea for separate schools
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The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina. Their Origin and Racial Status. A Plea for Separate Schools
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if the decision was made by force. White found no such cross and was hopeful that his family was still alive.
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445:. During the 17th and 18th centuries, several Siouan-speaking tribes occupied southeastern North Carolina.
334:, for example) resisted this approach. Later, this conflict between tribes and settlers would lead to the
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510:) wrote that, in 1890, a group of about 100 people who self-identified as Croatan descendants, or
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Other scholars believe the Lumbees to be descended from an eastern Siouan group called the
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The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke
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K.O. Kupperman: "Roanoke, the Abandoned Colony", Rowman and Littlefield, 1984
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Big Chief Elizabeth - How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World
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Johnson, Guy B. (1939). "Personality in a White-Indian-Negro Community".
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The Croatan, like other Carolina Algonquians, suffered from epidemics of
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430:, self-identified as descendants of the Croatan and survivors of the
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938:"People and Place: Croatan Indians in Jim Crow Georgia, 1890–1920"
1156:, vol. 14: 278-295, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004
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The Lumbee Problem: The Making of an American Indian People
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261:. The Croatan people who exist today live predominantly in
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and Croatan were believed to have been on good terms with
829:
Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Houghton Mifflin
1030:. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln. p. 174.
660:"Indian Towns and Buildings of Eastern North Carolina"
1177:, vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993
1163:, vol. 13, Merchantville: Evolution Publishing, 1999
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in 1590 to find the word "Croatoan" carved on a tree.
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793:. London: Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 265–266.
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The North Carolina state legislature recognized the
63:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
591:, ambassador and mediator; disappeared after 1587.
318:upset some pre-existing tribal relationships. The
1182:The lost colony of Roanoke, its fate and survival
857:"Lumbee origins: The Weyanoke-Kearsey connection"
283:Phillip W. Evans, a linguist, suggested the word
1207:Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands
1198:
1124:South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs.
822:
575:The Croatan Indian Tribe of South Carolina, an
306:being (mostly spirits from the animal world).
226:. They might have been a branch of the larger
861:The Lumbee Indians: An Annotated Bibliography
1001:"Croatan Indian Community historical marker"
942:American Indian Culture and Research Journal
863:. Glenn Ellen Starr Stilling. Archived from
754:. Sturtevant and Fogelson. pp. 323–326.
418:Speculation of the fate of the "Lost Colony"
525:A historical marker placed by the state of
222:living in the coastal areas of what is now
1170:, South Pines, NC: Karo Hollow Press, 1999
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144:
1242:Native American history of North Carolina
1099:National Conference of State Legislatures
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579:, claims to descend from Croatan people.
322:advocated cooperation, while others (the
123:Learn how and when to remove this message
1247:Native American tribes in North Carolina
915:. New York: Doubleday. pp. 311–14.
386:of Roanoke may have joined the Croatan.
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309:
1252:Pre-statehood history of North Carolina
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818:. Sturtevant and Fogelson. p. 155.
769:. Rowman and Allanheld. pp. 45–65.
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1184:, New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1891
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891:Croatoan Archaeological Society, Inc
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362:as the colonists' sole native ally.
163:Regions with significant populations
61:adding citations to reliable sources
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954:10.17953/aicr.29.1.w18126107jh11566
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749:
664:Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
13:
1168:American Indians in North Carolina
1154:Handbook of North American Indians
816:Handbook of North American Indians
752:Handbook of North American Indians
695:. Durham, NC: The Seeman Printery.
649:
565:Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc.
461:swamps in eastern North Carolina.
365:
14:
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1222:Cumberland County, North Carolina
887:"Croatoan Archaeological Project"
681:
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552:Croatan Indians of Sampson County
548:Croatan Indians of Robeson County
395:nearby island (likely modern-day
1159:T. Hariot, J. White, J. Lawson:
374:Governor John White returned to
314:It is known that the arrival of
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1237:Harnett County, North Carolina
1232:Extinct Native American tribes
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561:Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
516:Robeson County, North Carolina
28:Croats (European ethnic group)
16:Historic Native American tribe
1:
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855:Stilling, Glenn Ellen Starr.
767:Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony
432:Lost Colony of Roanoke Island
382:Some of the survivors of the
233:The Croatan lived in current
230:people or allied with them.
1053:American Sociological Review
7:
1227:Dare County, North Carolina
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481:
237:, an area encompassing the
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840:Butler, George E. (1941).
706:Evans, Phillip W. (2006).
506:Historian Malinda Maynor (
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1095:"State Recognized Tribes"
577:unrecognized organization
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936:Maynor, Malinda (2005).
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26:Not to be confused with
21:Croatan (disambiguation)
1175:Lumbee Indian histories
1161:A vocabulary of Roanoke
1024:Blue, Karen I. (2001).
911:Lawler, Andrew (2018).
691:Butler, George (1916).
557:state-recognized tribes
542:State-recognized tribes
455:Smithsonian Institution
1126:"SC tribes and groups"
789:Milton, Giles (2000).
422:Based on legend, some
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738:National Park Service
668:National Park Service
488:University of Bristol
486:Researchers from the
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310:European colonization
198:Related ethnic groups
1212:Algonquian ethnonyms
1152:K.I. Blu: "Lumbee",
602:Algonquian languages
57:improve this article
19:For other uses, see
571:Unrecognized groups
531:turpentine industry
475:American Revolution
276:The chiefs, called
253:, and parts of the
193:Indigenous religion
140:
1217:Algonquian peoples
1105:on 25 October 2022
765:Kupperman (1984).
708:"Croatoan Indians"
607:Algonquian peoples
408:infectious disease
380:
158:extinct as a tribe
138:
844:. pp. 23–25.
800:978-0-340-74881-7
467:African Americans
350:colonists of the
320:Algonquian people
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390:finally reached
316:English Settlers
153:Total population
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492:Hatteras Island
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449:, a pioneering
447:John R. Swanton
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397:Hatteras Island
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251:Ocracoke Island
239:Alligator River
217:Native American
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46:This article
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1180:S.B. Weeks:
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1173:G.M. Sider:
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1107:. Retrieved
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982:. 1914-06-30
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948:(1): 37–63.
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894:. Retrieved
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869:. Retrieved
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814:Blu (2004).
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670:. 2015-04-14
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55:Please help
50:verification
47:
473:before the
451:ethnologist
426:, based in
384:Lost Colony
340:Algonquians
336:Yamasee War
255:Outer Banks
235:Dare County
1201:Categories
1166:Th. Ross:
1147:References
1109:26 January
1010:2020-11-23
986:2020-11-23
717:2020-12-10
674:2020-11-23
612:Aquascogoc
278:werowances
273:counties.
263:Cumberland
182:Algonquian
83:newspapers
1073:0003-1224
962:0161-6463
332:Chickasaw
303:Conjurors
180:Carolina
175:Languages
72:"Croatan"
596:See also
563:and the
550:and the
536:Adabelle
482:Research
471:Virginia
469:free in
412:smallpox
410:such as
356:Wanchese
328:Cherokee
188:Religion
1081:2084322
1005:usg.edu
980:unc.edu
871:30 July
637:Secotan
627:Pamlico
527:Georgia
514:, left
512:Lumbees
453:at the
443:Cheraws
424:Lumbees
376:Roanoke
348:English
344:Roanoke
324:Yamasee
291:Beliefs
285:Croatan
271:Harnett
267:Sampson
228:Roanoke
213:Croatan
204:Roanoke
139:Croatan
97:scholar
1079:
1071:
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960:
919:
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589:Manteo
508:Lumbee
360:Manteo
269:, and
99:
92:
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78:
70:
1136:(PDF)
1129:(PDF)
1077:JSTOR
896:1 May
643:Notes
104:JSTOR
90:books
1111:2022
1069:ISSN
1032:ISBN
958:ISSN
917:ISBN
898:2024
873:2008
795:ISBN
330:and
211:The
76:news
1061:doi
950:doi
59:by
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