Official seal of the Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. | |
Named after | Great Coharie Creek, Little Coharie Creek |
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Formation | 1911, 1978 |
Type | state-recognized tribe, nonprofit organization |
Tax ID no. | EIN 56-1187928 |
Purpose | S30. Economic Development |
Location | |
Membership | 2,700 |
Official language | English |
Executive Director | Greg Jacobs |
Revenue | $835,656 (2019) |
Expenses | $743,463 (2019) |
Website | coharietribe |
Formerly called | Croatan Indians of Samson County, Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, Coharie Indian People, Inc. |
The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina.
Formerly known as the Coharie Indian People, Inc. and the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, the group's 2,700 members primarily live in Sampson and Harnett counties.
The group is believed to have descended "from certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina." In 1910, residents of Herrings Township along the Coharie creeks identified as being of Croatan descent.
Nonprofit organization
In 1978, Coharie Intra Tribal Inc. formed as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Clinton, North Carolina, and Freddie Carter serves as the organization's principal officer. Its mission is to "provide housing, economic development, health, social services assistance and maintenance of the tribal roll for the members of the Coharie Tribe." They have four employees.
The organization operates a HUD/NAHASDA housing project with $557,380 in revenue and $550,186 in expenses for 20 unites. Another program removed debris from the Coharie River after a hurricane, and another provided COVID-19 relief to members.
Leadership positions, as of 2019, included:
- Executive Director: Greg Jacobs
- Chairperson: Freddie Carter.
State recognition
In 1911, North Carolina first recognized the Croatan Indians of Samson County.
The state of North Carolina formalized its recognition process for Native American tribes and created the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs (NCCIA) in 1971. North Carolina formally recognized the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina as a state-recognized tribe on July 20, 1971.
The state recognized the site of their historic tribal school with a historical marker in 2024. Built in 1901, the children of the tribe attended the school for decades due to segregation. The tribal headquarters is now located at the site.
Petition for federal recognition
Romie G. Simmons sent a letter of intent to petition for federal recognition on behalf of the Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc., on March 13, 1981. The organization never followed through with a petition for federal recognition as a Native American tribe.
Activities
The Coharie Indian Cultural Pow Wow takes place in every September every year.
E. Sequoyah Simermeyer, a member of the Coharie Intra-tribal Council and Navajo descendant, served as a Government Affairs Group Associate with the National Congress of American Indians and became a counsel to the assistant secretary in the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2007.
See also
- Dark Water Rising, a Coharie and Lumbee indie/blues band
Notes
- ^ Butler, George Edwin (1916). The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina. Their Origin and Racial Status. Durham, NC: Seeman Printery. p. 31.
- ^ "Coharie Intra Tribal Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "NC Tribal Communities". NC Department of Administration. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "Coharie Intra-Tribal Council". CauseIQ. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "Chapter 71A. Indians". NC General Assembly. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Cumulative List of Organizations Described in Section 170 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. United States. Internal Revenue Service. 1980. p. 240.
- Butler, George Edwin (1916). The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina: Their Origin and Racial Status. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. ISBN 978-1-4696-4181-2.
- "Commission of Indian Affairs". North Carolina Department of Administration. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- Scofield, Sydnee (August 25, 2024). "Coharie Tribe honored with long-awaited symbol of state recognition: 'A million emotions'". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
- Federal Acknowledgment Process Reform Act. Washington, DC: US Congress Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 2004. p. 156. ISBN 9780160733444.
- "Coharie". Indian Affairs. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- "Coharie Pow Wow Festival". Sampson County. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- "Artman Names E. Sequoyah Simermeyer as Counsel to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs". Indian Affairs. US Department of the Interior. September 11, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
External links
Native American tribes in North Carolina | |
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Federally recognized | |
State-recognized |