History
The Santee Indian Organization has its roots in the historic White Oak Indian Community of Holly Hill, originally known as Crane Pond during the 19th century. [5] It first appears in the 1850 United States census in the northern end of the old parish of St. James Goose Creek, which is also the present location of the community. [6] During this time, many residents of Crane Pond migrated and intermarried with other local indigenous communities in the Lowcountry. [5] This led to the formation of modern connections between the Santee Indian Organization, the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe, and the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians. [5] Within the White Oak Community, several prominent surnames emerged, including Russell, Sweat, Scott, Crummie, and Pye. [5]
Notably, the Pratt family maintains a tradition that the brothers John, Preston, and Miles Pratt, purportedly full-blooded Cherokees from North Carolina, married into the community during the Crane Pond era. [5] By the early 20th century, descendants of John Pratt, notably his children and grandchildren, changed their surname to Platt. [5]
By 1922, the White Oak community operated its own segregated, state-supported school. [6] However, it wasn't until 1930 that the residents of White Oak were officially classified as 'Indian' in the federal census, which recorded 134 'Indians' in Orangeburg County. [6] The presence of the community in this era is shown by state highway department maps, which consistently marked the 'Indian Church' north of Holly Hill from 1938 onwards. [6] The segregated school, which then had more than eighty pupils enrolled, closed in 1966. [6] Throughout its operation, it was listed as a white school in all of the state's school directories. [6]
Beginning in the early 1970s the governor's office began to encourage the Santee, Catawba, Edisto, and Pee Dee Indian Tribe to express their needs and helped these communities obtain federal and state funds. [6] From the administration of James B. Edwards onward, members of these communities benefited from several federal programs and block grants administered through the governor's office. [6] By the late 1970s it was concluded the main problem with South Carolina's indigenous populations was isolation with most suffering from substandard housing and inadequate water systems. [6] Before officially obtaining a non-profit charter on October 6, 1975, the Santee Indian Organization, then called the Santee Indian Tribe of South Carolina, announced their intention to form as an eleemosynary corporation through a public notice published on September 29, 30, and October 1, 1975. [8] This notice, formally outlined the tribe's goals of promoting community facilities, fellowship, charitable assistance, and announced an inaugural meeting scheduled for October 9, 1975, at the Indian Church of God in Holly Hill. [8] The notice, a significant step in the tribe's formal organization, was signed by Jimmie Pratt and Floyd Crummie, who were key figures in this process. [8]
On June 4, 1979, the Santee Indian Organization, then led by Randy Crummie, submitted a Letter of Intent to Petition for federal recognition to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. [10]
During the early 1980s, many members moved away for employment, primarily for work in blue-collar jobs, and to avoid facing long commutes to major cities like Charleston. [7] The community consisted primarily of mobile homes or small cement block houses, surrounded by about a mile and a half of woods and farmland. [7] This sort of geographic isolation led to reduced economic opportunities for tribal members. [7] Employment challenges were also partly attributed to racial discrimination in areas like Holly Hill and Eutawville, South Carolina. [7] Then Assistant Chief T.L. Scott noted the local discrimination but acknowledged gradual improvements with the younger, less race-conscious generation. [7] The tribe's leadership in this era was particularly focused on gaining state-recognition and revitalizing pride among members of the tribe. [7]
Beginning in 1983, the Santee, alongside several other local unrecognized tribes, engaged in a concerted effort for state-recognition in South Carolina. [6] Their initial bid in 1983 was unsuccessful, but the cause was reinvigorated in 1986 with the introduction of a new bill. [6] Despite several setbacks, a significant step forward occurred in this year when the governor established an Indian Commission, with representatives from the Santee Indian Organization, Pee Dee Indian Tribe, and Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe, all officially appointed by the governor. [6] However, it was not until January 27, 2006, that the Santee Tribe finally achieved official state-recognition under South Carolina Code Section 1-31-40 (A) (7)(10), as per Statutory Authority Chapter 139 (100–110). [2]
Platt family harassment
In 1954, Allen Platt and Laura Dangerfield Platt, descendants of the community residing in Lake County, Florida, claimed Cherokee and Irish ancestry. [5] Their family's story gained national attention in a 1955 Ebony magazine article titled 'Florida Sheriff Calls White Family Black'. [11] [12] This piece detailed an incident where Sheriff Willis V. McCall forcibly entered the Platt family's home at night, acting on reports that some of the children appeared to be of African descent and were passing as white. [11] During this raid, Sheriff McCall lined up the seven Platt children, photographed them, and subjected them to an impromptu assessment of their racial background. [11] Disapproving of one child's nose shape and deeming five children's complexions and hair texture too similar to those of African Americans, he declared them unfit for a whites-only school. [11] [12] As a result, the children with darker complexions were expelled from their school, and the family faced eviction from their home. [11] [12]
The Platt family endured ostracism, racial insults, and threats of violence following this incident. [11] After relocating, their new house was set on fire. [11] Determined to assert their identity, the Platts eventually sought and succeeded in obtaining legal recognition of their white racial status. [11] The experience had a lasting impact on Mr. Platt, who, in his eighties, recounted to an Orlando Sentinel reporter, "I wouldn't have treated a dog the way they treated me". [11]
Pedee heritage
Ethnohistorian Wes Taukchiray has proposed a link between the White Oak Indian community and an 18th-century settlement of Pedee people. [5] According to his research, these Pedee settled on Four Hole Swamp by 1742 and were still present in 1753, potentially 4.4 miles southwest of modern Holly Hill. [5] Members of the Santee Indian Organization allege descent from this historic settlement. [7] This may suggest communal heritage that predates or is somehow intermingled with the established Santee identity. Taukchiray,however, has asserted that the tribe's name is more reflective of its geographic location, near the Santee River, than an indication of the community's genealogical descent from the historic Santee tribe. [5] [6]
The Lakota are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux, they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (Wičhíyena). Their current lands are in North and South Dakota. They speak Lakȟótiyapi—the Lakota language, the westernmost of three closely related languages that belong to the Siouan language family.
Orangeburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,223. Its county seat is Orangeburg. The county was created in 1769.
Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 229,861. Its county seat is Moncks Corner, and the largest community is Goose Creek. After two previous incarnations of Berkeley County, the current county was created in 1882. Berkeley County is included in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Edisto Island is one of South Carolina's Sea Islands, the larger part of which lies in Charleston County, with its southern tip in Colleton County. Edisto Beach is in Colleton County, and the Charleston County part of the island is unincorporated.
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties in North Carolina.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), is a federally recognized Indian tribe based in western North Carolina in the United States. They are descended from the small group of 800–1,000 Cherokees who remained in the Eastern United States after the U.S. military, under the Indian Removal Act, moved the other 15,000 Cherokees to west of the Mississippi River in the late 1830s, to Indian Territory. Those Cherokees remaining in the east were to give up tribal Cherokee citizenship and to assimilate. They became U.S. citizens.
The Waccamaw people were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who lived in villages along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers in North and South Carolina in the 18th century.
The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina.
State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established under assorted state government laws for varying purposes or by governor's executive orders. State recognition does not dictate whether or not they are recognized as Native American tribes by continually existing tribal nations.
The Pedee people, also Pee Dee and Peedee, were a historic Native American tribe of the Southeastern United States. Historically, their population has been concentrated in the Piedmont of present-day South Carolina. It is believed that in the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists named the Pee Dee River and the Pee Dee region of South Carolina for the tribe. Today four state-recognized tribes, one state-recognized group, and several unrecognized groups claim descent from the historic Pedee people. Presently none of these organizations are recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with the Catawba Indian Nation being the only federally recognized tribe within South Carolina.
The Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians or Wassamasaw Tribe is a state-recognized tribe and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs in November 2009, becoming the sixth state-recognized tribe within South Carolina. They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Catawba Indian Nation is the only tribe in South Carolina that is federally recognized by the U.S. Government.
The Santee were a historic tribe of Native Americans that once lived in South Carolina within the counties of Clarendon and Orangeburg, along the Santee River. The Santee were a small tribe even during the early eighteenth century and were primarily centered in the area of the present-day town of Santee, South Carolina. Their settlement along the Santee River has since been dammed and is now called Lake Marion. The Santee Indian Organization, a state-recognized tribe within South Carolina claim descent from the historic Santee people but are not presently federally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Beaver Creek Indian Tribe or Beaver Creek Indians is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization headquartered in Salley, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs on January 27, 2006. They are not a federally recognized Native American tribe and are one several recognized nonprofit organizations within South Carolina that allege to be descended from the historic Pee Dee. The organization is not to be confused with the Pee Dee Indian Nation of Beaver Creek, a "state-recognized group" recognized by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs in 2007.
The Brass Ankles of South Carolina, also referred to as Croatan, lived in the swamp areas of Goose Creek, South Carolina and Holly Hill, South Carolina in order to escape the harshness of racism and the Indian Removal Act. African slaves and European indentured servants sought refuge amongst the Indians and collectively formed a successful community. Many of them are direct descendants of Robert Sweat and Margarate Cornish.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They do not hold federal recognition as a Native American tribe.
The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina.
The Waccamaw Indian People is a state-recognized tribe and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Conway, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs on February 17, 2005 and holds the distinction of being the first state-recognized tribe within South Carolina. The Waccamaw Indian People are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe and are one of two organizations that allege to be descended from the historic Waccamaw, the other being the Waccamaw Siouan Indians, a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The two organizations are not affiliated with one another.
The Natchez Indian Tribe of South Carolina or Eastern Band of Natchez is a nonprofit organization and "state-recognized group" not to be confused with a state-recognized tribe. The state of South Carolina gave them the state-recognized group and special interest organization designation under the SC Code Section 1-31-40 (A) (7)(10), Statutory Authority Chapter 139 (100-111) in 2007.
