Primary Source Set

Native Americans in North Carolina, 1900 to the Present

Today, North Carolina is home to over 130,000 Native Americans and eight state-recognized tribes. Native American communities have been severely impacted since the first instances of European colonization in the 1600s, but the 20th century brought particular kinds of legislation, policies, and media representations that have affected the Indigenous peoples of North Carolina. With materials dating between 1900 and the present, this primary source set uses photographs, maps, catalogs, newspaper articles, and pamphlets to illustrate the challenges faced by North Carolina Native Americans and the efforts made to preserve their cultures and communities.

Proceed with caution and care through these materials as the content may be disturbing or difficult to review. Some sources include racist portrayals of Native Americans or contain descriptions of violence and discrimination enacted upon Native Americans. Please read DigitalNC’s Harmful Content statement for further guidance.

Time Period

1920-2019

Grade Level

Undergraduate

Transcript

Robert Bushyhead Working To Preserve Cherokee Language When Robert Bushyhead was six years old, the U.S. government forced him out of his home and into a public boarding school where he was ordered to forsake his native Cherokee Indian language. If he dared to speak a single word of Cherokee, “they brought out a strap which they would use to punish me as severely as if I had stolen something.” That was 60 years ago. Bushyhead not only speaks fluently and freely in his native tongue, but also makes a living doing it. For several years, Bushyhead has worked as a part-time Cherokee language instructor for Western Carolina University. In the past, he has conducted his classes at WCU’s Cherokee Center at the Cherokee High School. But this year, for the first time, the university has employed Bushyhead to teach Cherokee at the main campus in Cullowhee as well. “We’re very pleased to offer this kind of course and believe it’s a solid, academic addition to our array of language courses,” said Lewis Sutton, head of the department of modern foreign languages. “As far as we know, it’s the only North Carolina Cherokee language course being taught for credit on any campus in the country at this time.” Bushyhead, who studied for two years at Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, is teaching Elementary Cherokee Language (CHER 131) this semester in Cherokee and on the main campus. Next semester he will teach a companion course (CHER 132), and during the 1981-82 academic year he plans to teach two intermediate Cherokee language courses (CHER) 231 and 232). Each of the courses carries three hours of academic credit and is open to any interested students. The two elementary language courses, however, are required under a new Cherokee Studies minor. Students who complete two years of Cherokee language at WCU should be able to speak the “middle” or North Carolina Cherokee dialect, Bushyhead said. He said he teaches his courses based on phonetics and a grammar textbook which he co-authored with William Cook, director of WCU’s Cherokee teacher training project. Eventually, he said he may teach advanced students the Cherokee syllabary which was created in the early 19th century by Sequoyah. A famous Cherokee Indian leader and self-taught scholar, Sequoyah devised the Cherokee syllabary by borrowing letters from the English alphabet and Greek testament and giving Cherokee sounds to them. When he completed his 12-year task, he presented his work to the Cherokee tribal council, saying “Kohwe: li Kawo: nihski nikv: nehohna” which means “I have talk on paper now.” Today, Bushyhead is taking Seqoyah’s efforts one step further. He is perpetuating the Cherokee language, not only through his classes at WCU, but also through his participation in “Unto These Hills,” the outdoor drama of the Cherokee Indian staged each summer in Cherokee. For about five years, Bushyhead has played the Cherokee-speaking role of Elias Boudinot, an Indian minister who from 1828 until 1832 was the editor of the Cherokee Phoneix [sic], the first Indian language newspaper in the United States. Both as an actor and instructor, Bushyhead wants to make sure that future generations know how to speak and communicate in the ancient language which “we almost lost” to anglicization. To do this in his classes, he borrows techniques similar to the ones used to make him learn English 60 years ago. “After a certain amount of time,” he said with an understandable laugh, “I tell my students they may speak only Cherokee in my class.” Western Carolina University will sponsor a special conference on legal and business issues affecting the Reservation of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians September 19-20 in the Cherokee Tribal Council Chambers in Cherokee. More than 30 state and federal governmental officials, Indian leaders, prominent business executives, representatives of large lending institutions and distinguished North Carolinians are expected to attend the invitation-only conference. The purpose of the two-day conference, said Ben Fridgers, tribal attorney of the Eastern Band of Cherokees, “is to inform prominent political and business leaders for some of the legal problems that arise on an Indian reservation and to provide some answers to questions that continue to be raised, especially by bankers and business men, as to what laws apply on an Indian reservation. “People have a lot of questions, and they don’t know what laws apply- whether it is federal, state or tribal law,” said Bridgers who is co-directing the conference with Dr. James Dooley, vice chancellor for development and special services at WCU. “I hope this conference will make it easier to carry on certain business transactions on the Cherokee reservation,” said Bridgers. The conference will begin Friday morning, September 19, with introductory remarks by Dr. H.F. Robinson, WCU chancellor. At 9:15am, North Carolina Attorney General Rufus Edmisten will deliver the keynote speech at 9:15am. Following Edmisten’s presentation, executive director for the Institute for the Development of Indian Law in Washington, D.C., will deliver the principal address. A discussion on the federal government’s role on Indian reservations will follow. During his talk, Kickingbird will discuss the status of land held in trust by the federal government, definitions of an Indian and Indian reservation and the history of federal Indian policy with special emphasis on policies relating to North Carolina Cherokees. Other topics dealing with the laws, regulating and procedures affecting commerce on the Cherokee Indian reservation and jurisdictions in civil and criminal cases on the reservation will be presented by Bridgers and Mollie Blankenship, realty officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Cherokee. “What we hope to do,” said Western’s Dooley, “is promote a positive relationship among tribal members and all branches of government and business taking into account the unique status and character of the Cherokee reservation. The two-day conference is supported by a $2,209 grant from the North Carolina Humanities Committee. Conference proceedings will be published in the form of a reference manual on Cherokee Indian law and business. Five hundred copies of the manual will be printed and distributed without charge.

"Working To Preserve Cherokee Language," The Smoky Mountain Times

This article from The Smoky Mountain Times examines an effort to preserve Cherokee language through class instruction at Western Carolina University (WCU). The endeavor was led by Cherokee storyteller Robert Bushyhead. Like many other Native American children in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Bushyhead was forced to attend a boarding school. These schools banned Native students from participating in their cultural practices and punished them for speaking Indigenous languages, like Cherokee.

Contributed to DigitalNC by Fontana Regional Library, Western Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Bryson City, N.C. (Swain County)

Native Americans in North Carolina, 1900 to the Present

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Background

Native Americans have populated the area that now makes up North Carolina since the end of the last Ice Age, during the Pleistocene era (about 12,000 years ago). Contact with European colonists began in the early 1600s, which led to the settler-colonialism and westward expansion of the 18th and 19th centuries. The 20th century was also a time of oppression and change for Indigenous peoples in North Carolina. While certain legislation, policies, and media representations from 1900 to the present have affected and even harmed Native Americans, Indigenous groups have made efforts to protect their cultures and communities.

Today, North Carolina is home to eight state-recognized tribes, which include the Coharie tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, the Lumbee tribe, the Meherrin Indian tribe, the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, the Sappony, and the Waccamaw Siouan tribe. Of these eight groups, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is the only one to have received full federal recognition. While the Lumbee tribe is the largest in North Carolina, it has only been partially recognized by the federal government in the Lumbee Act of 1956. The Lumbee tribe has since worked to obtain full recognition by introducing bills, creating petitions, and forming committees in hopes of receiving the same benefits and funding as fully recognized tribes. 

Although federal recognition of tribes has been a key part of Native American legislation, other types of legislation have also made significant changes. In 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans born within the United States. However, the act failed to properly secure voting rights for Indigenous communities; many states continued to deny Native Americans their right to vote. Ten years later, the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act passed. The act ended the allotment of tribal lands, put funds toward Native American education, and encouraged tribes to establish governments and constitutions modeled after that of the United States. The act has received mixed reactions, as some argue that it strengthened tribal communities, while others say the act failed to address the different needs of tribes. In 1972, the General Assembly created the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. The Commission provided Native American communities with an opportunity to work with the state to address issues, advance social and economic development, and advocate for their communities’ right to engage in their cultural and religious practices.

Education was another significant source of change for Native Americans in the 20th century. Beginning in the mid-1800s, Indigenous children in North Carolina and across the country were forced to attend segregated boarding schools led by white instructors. Students were banned from participating in their cultural practices and punished for speaking Native American languages, like Cherokee. One institution, the Croatan Normal School, was established in 1887 to train Native Americans to become public school teachers. After desegregation, the school expanded its mission and curriculum. It eventually became the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1996. 

Representations of Native Americans in the media have also affected the Indigenous communities of North Carolina. While several popular outdoor plays portray Native American characters, their representations differ. Some of these outdoor dramas, like Unto these Hills, have long casted Native actors to play Native American characters. A play called The Lost Colony, however, has a history of casting white actors in Native roles and using skin-darkening makeup. In recent years, The Lost Colony has acknowledged its racist practices. Its creators have worked to improve its depiction of Native American characters by casting Indigenous actors and placing Native Americans on the board that oversees the play.

The Native Americans of North Carolina have experienced significant changes and challenges from 1900 onward. Nevertheless, their communities have continuously worked to preserve their cultures and traditions. In 2006, Governor Michael Easley proclaimed November as American Indian Heritage Month. Easley marked it as a time to acknowledge and celebrate Native Americans across the state. Every November, Raleigh holds an American Indian Heritage Celebration, where visitors can learn about Indigenous culture through performances, exhibits, and demonstrations. Heritage preservation has also occurred on college campuses across North Carolina, with Indigenous students creating clubs to support Native students and teach others about Native American history, art, and culture. For tribes like the Cherokee, language has been a key part of protecting heritage. At Western Carolina University, Cherokee language courses have been taught to undergraduates since the 1980s. Institutions like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University have also begun to teach classes on the Cherokee language.

Discussion Questions

  1. Consider the two playbills from The Lost Colony outdoor drama, one from 1947 and the other from 2021. How does the older playbill portray Native Americans in its historical introduction? How does the portrayal differ from how the 2021 playbill describes the play’s Native characters and actors?

    • What do these playbills tell you about perspectives on Native Americans?
    • Do you think the 2021 playbill does a good job of supporting and portraying Native Americans? What considerations should the media take into account when portraying Native Americans characters and stories?
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  2. While there are eight Native American tribes in North Carolina, only one tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has received full federal recognition. Consider the differences in how tribes in North Carolina are recognized. How might the communities of the non-federally recognized tribes be affected by the lack of recognition?

    • In what ways has the Lumbee tribe tried to gain recognition? How do you think the Lumbee specifically are affected by the lack of federal recognition?

  3. The Native American boarding school system played a significant role in the forced assimilation of Indigenous people. Why was this system harmful to Native children and families? In what ways have boarding schools and assimilation had lasting effects on Native Americans today? Consider Indigenous practices, languages, and culture.

  4. How has federal and state legislation in the 20th century onward impacted Native Americans in North Carolina? How has it affected their cultures and economies?

  5. In what ways have Native Americans in North Carolina preserved and strengthened their cultures and communities during the 20th century to the present? What challenges have they faced that have impeded this endeavor?

This primary source set was compiled by Isabella Walker.

Updated January 2025