Coharie
Encyclopedia
The Coharie are a Native American
Tribe who claim to descend from the Carolina Algonquian Neusiok Indians. They are located chiefly on the Little Coharie River, in Sampson
and Harnett
counties in North Carolina
. The Coharie are one of eight state-recognized Native American
tribes in North Carolina.
and Sampson
counties has steadily increased from 755 in 1970 to almost 2,700 estimated in 2007. Since 1960 individuals may self-identify ethnicity on the census. The age distribution within the Coharie tribal nation in the TDSA is predominantly adults between the ages of 21 and 65.
According to the 2000 census, the Coharie population in Sampson County is 1029, and 752 in Harnett County, for a total of 1,781. The Coharie Tribe consists of 2,632 enrolled members, with approximately 20% residing outside the tribal communities in Harnett and Sampson counties. The Coharie community consists of four settlements: Holly Grove, New Bethel, Shiloh, and Antioch.
recognized the Coharie Tribe in 1971. Clinton
, North Carolina
is the tribal seat. In 1975, the tribe chartered the Coharie Intra-Tribal Council to serve as a private non-profit organization established to promote the health, education, social, and economic well-being of the Native
people of Sampson
and Harnett
Counties.
The Coharie Intra-Tribal Council is housed in the old Eastern Carolina Indian School building, a school that served the Native Americans of Sampson, Harnett, Cumberland
, Columbus
, Person
, and Hoke
counties from 1942 until 1966. At that time, the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act
had ended legal racial segregation
of public schools.
The Coharie Indian Tribe elected their first tribal chief in 1910. Tribal affairs are led by a tribal chief and seven tribal council members. The Coharie political leadership oversees the four communities of Coharie Indians from three geographical locations in Sampson County
and one region in Harnett County
. Many members are affiliated with churches in their communities:
The Coharie Tribal Center is located:
7531 North US 421 Hwy.
Clinton, North Carolina 28328
and Tuscarora
Indians of Robeson County, as well as with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
.
-speaking Neusiok and Coree
, as well as the Iroquoian Tuscarora
, and the Siouan Waccamaw
, who occupied what is now the central portion of North Carolina
. In the early seventeenth century, the Coree lived along the Big Coharie and the Little Coharie Rivers in present-day Sampson County
.
peoples and English colonials caused numerous wars. The trade in deerskins and Indians found some tribes capturing members of traditional enemy tribes to sell as slaves to the colonists. In addition, Eurasia
n infectious
diseases such as measles
and smallpox
, to which the Natives had no natural immunity
, decimated many communities. The epidemics disrupted their societies.
Families of Coree, Waccamaw
, and Neusiok Indians began to seek refuge from colonial incursions in the coastal areas of northern and northeastern North Carolina. They moved to the frontier, what is now Harnett and Sampson counties. There they established a small base. Survivors intermarried and created a new community..
. As free people of color
, the Coharie held the right under state law to own and use firearms, and vote in local elections. But, the 1830s brought events that reduced their civil rights. The federal Indian removal
policy of the 1830s forced tribes from the east to move west of the Mississippi River. More significantly, following Nat Turner's slave rebellion of 1831, the state passed legislation on 1835 reducing the rights of free people of color. They lost their right to vote and bear arms. The rebellion has so frightened slaveholders that they sought to control gatherings of free blacks, their voting, and right to bear arms.
In 1859, the Coharie established their own subscription school. In 1911, the Coharie asked the state to provide Indian schools in Sampson County. In that same year, the Coharie established New Bethel Indian School in New Bethel Township. In 1912, the Coharie established a school in Herring Township; after the first year, the state stopped supporting the school. Under segregation, it already supported one for colored children (a group to which it classified all non-white children, a group to which it assigned the self-identified Coharie.)
Following the precedent set by the Croatan
(now Lumbee
) of Robeson County, the Coharie established a semi-independent school system, for which North Carolina retained some oversight. While the state legislature rescinded its permission for the system in 1913, it reinstated the separate Coharie school system four years later. The tribe had lobbied the state legislature with assistance from its attorney. In 1917, the East Carolina Indian School was built in Herring Township.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Tribe who claim to descend from the Carolina Algonquian Neusiok Indians. They are located chiefly on the Little Coharie River, in Sampson
Sampson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 63,431 people, 22,624 households, and 16,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 67.1 people per square mile . There were 26,476 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
and Harnett
Harnett County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 91,025 people, 33,800 households, and 24,099 families residing in the county. The population density was 153 people per square mile . There were 38,605 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile...
counties in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The Coharie are one of eight state-recognized Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes in North Carolina.
Demographics
The Coharie population of HarnettHarnett County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 91,025 people, 33,800 households, and 24,099 families residing in the county. The population density was 153 people per square mile . There were 38,605 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile...
and Sampson
Sampson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 63,431 people, 22,624 households, and 16,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 67.1 people per square mile . There were 26,476 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
counties has steadily increased from 755 in 1970 to almost 2,700 estimated in 2007. Since 1960 individuals may self-identify ethnicity on the census. The age distribution within the Coharie tribal nation in the TDSA is predominantly adults between the ages of 21 and 65.
According to the 2000 census, the Coharie population in Sampson County is 1029, and 752 in Harnett County, for a total of 1,781. The Coharie Tribe consists of 2,632 enrolled members, with approximately 20% residing outside the tribal communities in Harnett and Sampson counties. The Coharie community consists of four settlements: Holly Grove, New Bethel, Shiloh, and Antioch.
Government
The state of North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
recognized the Coharie Tribe in 1971. Clinton
Clinton, North Carolina
Clinton is the county seat of Sampson County, North Carolina, United States. The population of Clinton is 8,639 according to the 2010 US Census. Clinton is named for American Revolution General Richard Clinton.-History:...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
is the tribal seat. In 1975, the tribe chartered the Coharie Intra-Tribal Council to serve as a private non-profit organization established to promote the health, education, social, and economic well-being of the Native
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people of Sampson
Sampson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 63,431 people, 22,624 households, and 16,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 67.1 people per square mile . There were 26,476 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
and Harnett
Harnett County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 91,025 people, 33,800 households, and 24,099 families residing in the county. The population density was 153 people per square mile . There were 38,605 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile...
Counties.
The Coharie Intra-Tribal Council is housed in the old Eastern Carolina Indian School building, a school that served the Native Americans of Sampson, Harnett, Cumberland
Cumberland County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 302,963 people, 107,358 households, and 77,619 families residing in the county. The population density was 464 people per square mile . There were 118,425 housing units at an average density of 181 per square mile...
, Columbus
Columbus County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 54,749 people, 21,308 households, and 15,043 families residing in the county. The population density was 58/sq mi . As of 2004, there were 24,668 housing units at an average density of 26/sq mi...
, Person
Person County, North Carolina
Person County is a county located in the Piedmont region in north-central North Carolina in the United States. It is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area. The population was 39,464 at the 2010 census.The county seat is Roxboro...
, and Hoke
Hoke County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 46,952 people, 11,373 households, and 8,745 families residing in the county. The population density was 86 people per square mile . There were 12,518 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
counties from 1942 until 1966. At that time, the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
had ended legal racial segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
of public schools.
The Coharie Indian Tribe elected their first tribal chief in 1910. Tribal affairs are led by a tribal chief and seven tribal council members. The Coharie political leadership oversees the four communities of Coharie Indians from three geographical locations in Sampson County
Sampson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 63,431 people, 22,624 households, and 16,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 67.1 people per square mile . There were 26,476 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
and one region in Harnett County
Harnett County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 91,025 people, 33,800 households, and 24,099 families residing in the county. The population density was 153 people per square mile . There were 38,605 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile...
. Many members are affiliated with churches in their communities:
- New Bethel Baptist Church: northern Sampson County
- Holly Grove Holiness Church: southern Sampson County
- Shiloh Holiness Church: western Sampson County
- Antioch Baptist Church: Harnett County
The Coharie Tribal Center is located:
7531 North US 421 Hwy.
Clinton, North Carolina 28328
Relationships to other North Carolina Tribes
The Coharie have intermarried predominantly with the LumbeeLumbee
The Lumbee belong to a state recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee are concentrated in Robeson County and named for the primary waterway traversing the county...
and Tuscarora
Tuscarora (tribe)
The Tuscarora are a Native American people of the Iroquoian-language family, with members in New York, Canada, and North Carolina...
Indians of Robeson County, as well as with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians , is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States of America, who are descended from Cherokee who remained in the Eastern United States while others moved, or were forced to relocate, to the west in the 19th century. The history of the...
.
Seventeenth century
Historians generally contend that the Coharie are descendants of the AlgonquianAlgonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking Neusiok and Coree
Coree
The Coree were a very small Native American tribe, who once occupied a coastal area of southeastern North Carolina in the area now covered by Carteret and Craven counties...
, as well as the Iroquoian Tuscarora
Tuscarora (tribe)
The Tuscarora are a Native American people of the Iroquoian-language family, with members in New York, Canada, and North Carolina...
, and the Siouan Waccamaw
Waccamaw
The Waccamaw Indians of South Carolina, distinct from the Waccamaw Siouan Indians of North Carolina, are the first state-recognized tribe of Native Americans in South Carolina...
, who occupied what is now the central portion of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. In the early seventeenth century, the Coree lived along the Big Coharie and the Little Coharie Rivers in present-day Sampson County
Sampson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 63,431 people, 22,624 households, and 16,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 67.1 people per square mile . There were 26,476 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
.
Eighteenth century
Between 1730 and 1745, intertribal conflicts as well as competition over land and resources between NativeNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
peoples and English colonials caused numerous wars. The trade in deerskins and Indians found some tribes capturing members of traditional enemy tribes to sell as slaves to the colonists. In addition, Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n infectious
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
diseases such as measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
and smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, to which the Natives had no natural immunity
Immunity (medical)
Immunity is a biological term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. Immunity involves both specific and non-specific components. The non-specific components act either as barriers or as eliminators of wide...
, decimated many communities. The epidemics disrupted their societies.
Families of Coree, Waccamaw
Waccamaw
The Waccamaw Indians of South Carolina, distinct from the Waccamaw Siouan Indians of North Carolina, are the first state-recognized tribe of Native Americans in South Carolina...
, and Neusiok Indians began to seek refuge from colonial incursions in the coastal areas of northern and northeastern North Carolina. They moved to the frontier, what is now Harnett and Sampson counties. There they established a small base. Survivors intermarried and created a new community..
Nineteenth century
Throughout the 1800s, the Coharie built their community in Sampson CountySampson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 63,431 people, 22,624 households, and 16,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 67.1 people per square mile . There were 26,476 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
. As free people of color
Free people of color
A free person of color in the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, is a person of full or partial African descent who was not enslaved...
, the Coharie held the right under state law to own and use firearms, and vote in local elections. But, the 1830s brought events that reduced their civil rights. The federal Indian removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
policy of the 1830s forced tribes from the east to move west of the Mississippi River. More significantly, following Nat Turner's slave rebellion of 1831, the state passed legislation on 1835 reducing the rights of free people of color. They lost their right to vote and bear arms. The rebellion has so frightened slaveholders that they sought to control gatherings of free blacks, their voting, and right to bear arms.
In 1859, the Coharie established their own subscription school. In 1911, the Coharie asked the state to provide Indian schools in Sampson County. In that same year, the Coharie established New Bethel Indian School in New Bethel Township. In 1912, the Coharie established a school in Herring Township; after the first year, the state stopped supporting the school. Under segregation, it already supported one for colored children (a group to which it classified all non-white children, a group to which it assigned the self-identified Coharie.)
Following the precedent set by the Croatan
Croatan
The Croatan were a small Native American group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They may have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them....
(now Lumbee
Lumbee
The Lumbee belong to a state recognized Native American tribe in North Carolina. The Lumbee are concentrated in Robeson County and named for the primary waterway traversing the county...
) of Robeson County, the Coharie established a semi-independent school system, for which North Carolina retained some oversight. While the state legislature rescinded its permission for the system in 1913, it reinstated the separate Coharie school system four years later. The tribe had lobbied the state legislature with assistance from its attorney. In 1917, the East Carolina Indian School was built in Herring Township.
Sources
- Brownwell, Margo S. "Note: Who Is An Indian? Searching For An Answer To the Question at the Core of Federal Indian Law", University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform 34 (Fall-Winter 2001-2002): 275-320.
- Lederer, John. The Discoveries of John Lederer. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1958.
- McPherson, O.M. Indians of North Carolina: A Report on the Condition and Tribal Rights of the Indians of Robeson and Adjoining Counties of North Carolina. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1915.
- "Pamphlet", N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, 1990.
- Ross, Thomas E. American Indians in North Carolina, Southern Pines, NC: Karo Hollow/Carolinas Press, 1998, pp. 149-162
- Smith, Martin T. Archeology of Aboriginal Culture Change in the Interior Southeast: Depopulation During the Early Historic Period, Gainesville, FLA: University of Florida Press, 1987.