Santee tribe among 3 more recognized within the state
By The Associated PressSaturday, January 28, 2006COLUMBIA — Three more American Indian groups have been officially recognized as tribes in South Carolina.
Pee Dee Indian Tribe of South Carolina, the Beaver Creek Indians and the Santee Indian Organization received the recognition Friday by the state Commission for Minority Affairs. The Waccamaw Indian People and the Pee Dee Indian Nation of Upper South Carolina were the first to be recognized by the commission last year.
The American Indian Chamber of Commerce in Ladson also was recognized as an a special interest organization.
The Santee tribe has about 600 members and is based in Holly Hill. “We’re finally getting to be what we really are,” chief Roosevelt Scott said. “Before, we acted like we were ashamed to be Indians.”
Pee Dee Indian Tribe Chief James Caulder echoed Scott’s remarks. He said when he applied for a driver’s license in 1958, the woman checking the applications said, “You’ve got the race wrong here. South Carolina ain’t got no Indians.”
“Today erased all of those years of being identified as ‘others’ or ‘black’ or ‘white,”’ said Caulder, whose tribe has about 2,000 members and is based in Marlboro County. “It gives myself and my people the opportunity to say ‘Hey, we are Indians, and we are proud.”’
Tribes that are recognized by the state can label crafts they sell as “Native American” and they can apply for minority grants or scholarships. To gain state recognition, tribes must meet strict criteria including a link to common Indian ancestors along with tribal traditions.
The next deadline for tribes to apply is in April. The Catawbas are the only federally recognized tribe in South Carolina.
Louie Chavis is chief of the Beaver Creek tribe, which has about 950 members and an office in the Aiken County town of Salley and roots in Orangeburg County.
“I hope that my ancestors who’ve gone on have a chance to look back and see how far we’ve come,” Chavis said.
