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9. Waccamaw Siouan Indians
- The University of Alabama Press
- Chapter
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Since 1950, the Waccamaw Siouan Indians have enjoyed a much wider recognition of their Indian identity. The Pan-Indian activism of the 1970s and the introduction of the powwow as an annual event gave them a sense of place in the American Indian world. Their presence within the state and the country is routinely noted in the federal census.They are a small part of the 80,000 or so people who identi¤ed themselves as Indian in North Carolina on the 2000 federal census. They are one of the state-recognized Indian tribes, they participate in the annual Indian Unity Conference, and they contribute to Indian policy through the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. In 1986, North Carolina of¤cially honored its Indian people by designating that year as the Year of the Native American. The Waccamaw Siouan have made tremendous economic progress in the past ¤fty years.When the Waccamaw Bill of 1950 was introduced,the Waccamaw people were mired in poverty and struggling to survive. Today, despite the loss of many jobs in the textile, chemical, and construction industries , the Waccamaw have a higher standard of living than their ancestors of 1950. Federal housing programs have helped replace the trailers and oldstyle houses with new homes of modern construction and layout. Subsistence farming and tobacco allotments have almost entirely disappeared; small kitchen gardens remain tended by an older generation of women who continue to freeze or can vegetables to share with the family. Driving into the community, one is impressed with a certain air of prosperity that is often lacking in the neighboring communities. Besides the powwow and the Pan-Indian activities of the 1970s, Waccamaw leaders shifted their attention to economic development. A group of young men led by Chief Clifton Freeman organized the Waccamaw Indian Improvement Club and successfully negotiated the start of a small electronics factory at the site of the former Waccamaw Indian School. They tried to attract investment into their community in order to bring jobs closer to Waccamaw Siouan Indians home. Club leaders went out into the nearby communities to lobby businesses to hire Indian people. It was then that Chief Freeman and his associates negotiated a gift of ¤ve acres of land from a paper company. Today, the Waccamaw Siouan Development Association (WSDA) of¤ce building, tribal meeting rooms, day care, baseball park, and annual powwow are located on this land. The forces of modernism such as government policy, programs, and opportunities for Indian people have energized many Southeastern Indian communities (Paredes 1995). The 1960s and 1970s offered opportunities to apply for federal funds for Indians that never existed in previous decades. The Waccamaw leaders became skilled at writing grants to support local projects. The federal government supported “self-determination” for American Indians by providing funds for economic development projects. Programs like the War on Poverty, the Great Society, and the New Frontier made funds available to all poor people, not just federal-status tribes. The Waccamaw took full advantage of these opportunities, opening their successful day care under a grant from the state. The incorporation of the WSDA in 1972 offered the tribe a new leadership style. The tribal corporation acts as a business organization whose purpose is to promote economic development and self-suf¤ciency. Tribal council members are elected to serve for two years; their job is to assist the chief, who serves for life. The staff of the WSDA writes grants to support community activities and further the long-term goal of self-suf¤ciency for the tribe. Recently, federal housing authority grants have assisted the tribe to upgrade and repair the homes of Indians within the community. The staff people at the WSDA and day care are active in the general life of the tribe. They belong to the churches, support the youth programs, and help people do their taxes, ¤nd educational scholarships, and get their GEDs. Community organizations support the WSDA and tribal board. Tribal churches continue to play a vibrant role in community life. They mark important life events such as birth, con¤rmation, high school graduation,marriage ,and death.Through their deacons,boards of directors,choir members, pastors, youth-group organizers, and congregations, they uphold the Indian values of family,community,and spirituality.The volunteer ¤re department responds rapidly to community tragedy and offers senior citizens a place to gather for lunch. Powwow social dances have been held in the ¤re department great room, too. Staking a claim to Indian identity...