Exploring North Carolina: American Indian History

This page gathers resources in NCpedia that broadly cover the history and heritage of the Native American tribes in North Carolina. It does not include all resources in NCpedia but rather a selection that covers important topics and events, including: background articles; cultural heritage; biographies; historical and contemporary events; politics and law; historical and contemporary places; and others. This page will be updated as articles are added to NCpedia.

A ll NCpedia articles related to Native Americans

General History and Background Articles

Current Tribes

Tribal Histories

Tradition, Culture & Medicine

Folklore

Religion

Places

Biographies

Recognition and Civil Rights

Historical Events

Archaeology and Settlement

Education

Government

Native Americans: General History and Background

American Indian Tribes in North Carolina

American Indians - Part 2: Before European contact

American Indians - Part 3: European contact to the era of removal

American Indians - Part 4: Sovereignty and cultural identity

American Indians - Part 5: Today

American Indians at European Contact

American Indians in Antebellum NC

American Indians in WWII

Great Trading Path

Native American Settlement of NC

Natural History of North-Carolina

Settlement of the Mountains, 1775-1838 (from Tar Heel Junior Historian)

Settlement of the Coastal Plain

Settlement Patterns

General Demographics

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American Indian and Tribal Histories (links to NCpedia articles)

Bear River Indians

Cape Fear Indians

Catawba Indians

Cherokee

Chowanoac Indians

Coharie Indians and Coharie Tribe

Coree Indians

Croatoan

Croatoan Indians

Eno Indians

Haliwa Indians and Haliwa-Saponi Tribe

Keyauwee Indians

Lumbee Indians - Part 1: Introduction (multi-part)

Mattamuskeet Indians

Meherrin Indians; Meherrin: People of the Water

Occaneechi Indians

Pamlico Indians

Pasquotank Indians

Sappony Indians

Shakori Indians

Sissipahaw Indians

Tuscarora Indians

Waccamaw Indians

Weapemeoc Indians

Yeopim

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Tradition, Culture & Medicine

American Indian Food

American Indian Storytelling

Basket Making

Burial Customs

Canoes

Cherokee Indians - Part 7: Modern-day life and culture

Cherokee language

Herbs

Indian Cabinetmakers in Piedmont North Carolina

Lumbee Indians - Part 6: Language and culture

Medicine Shows

Museum of the Cherokee Indian

Pine Needle Art

Shell Mounds

Stickball

Carolina Indian Voice

Woodcarving

Dance

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Biographies

Attakullakulla

Blunt (or Blount), Tom

Crowell, John

Dasemunkepeuc

George, Charles

Hagler (Arataswa or Oroloswa)

Hubbard, Jeremiah

Junaluska

Inventors, North Carolina

Jacobs, Priscilla Freeman (from Tar Heel Junior Historian)

Long Lance, Buffalo Child

Lowry Band

Ross, John

Smith, Nimrod Jarrett

Secotan

Thomas, William Holland

Thorpe, James Francis

Thomas's Legion

Wanchese

Ward, Nancy (from Tar Heel Junior Historian)

Warriors of AniKituhwa

Yonaguska (or Drowning Bear)

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Recognition & Civil Rights

Cherokee Indians - Part 6: Federal recognition and the fight for Cherokee rights

Lumbee Indians - Part 4: Education, Civil Rights, Self-Governance

Lumbee Indians - Part 5: Fight for federal recognition

Lumbee Indians Face the Ku Klux Klan, 1958

North Carolina recognizes Lumbee

School Desegregation

Carolina Indian Voice

Historical Events

Augusta Conference

Cherokee Indians - Part 5: Trail of Tears and the creation of the Eastern Band of Cherokees

Contemporary Powwows

Deep Creek, Battle of

Etchoe, Battle of

French and Indian War

Indian Removal

Lowry War

Lumbee Indians Face the Ku Klux Klan, 1958

Medicine Shows

Proclamation of 1763

Thomas's Legion

The Trail of Tears and the Creation of the Eastern Band of Cherokees

Yamassee War

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Archaeology & Settlement

Archaeology of Early NC

Archaeology Part 1: Archaeological Research in the Coastal Plain

Archaeology Part 2: Discoveries of the North Carolina Piedmont

Education

American Indian Education

Learning among the Lumbee (from Tar Heel Junior Historian)

Lumbee Indians - Part 4: Education, Civil Rights, Self-Governance

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Carolina Indian Voice

Government

Commission of Indian Affairs

NC Commission of Indian Affairs

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Educator Resources:

American Indian Education: Culturally Responsive Instructional Resources. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/students-families/student-support/american-indian...

Lesson plans for American Indian history. CarolinaK12. https://k12database.unc.edu/lesson/?s=&lesson-topic=native-american-history

Activity guides for American Indian history. CarolinaK12. https://k12database.unc.edu/lesson/?s=indian

Educational Video. North Carolina Museum of History. American Indians in North Carolina. YouTube. 2015. https://youtu.be/jCexDy_9FfE

Resources:

National Congress of American Indians. "Tribal Nations of the United States: An Introduction." https://www.ncai.org/about-tribes [includes basic overview of history, timelines, contemporary information and statistics]

Native Land Digital. Map and resources for searching native tribal lands in North America. https://native-land.ca/

Carapell, Aaron. Map of Tribal Nations Before First Contact. https://legacy.npr.org/assets/news/2014/06/Tribal_Nations_Map_NA.pdf

North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. https://www.doa.nc.gov/divisions/american-indian-affairs

American Indian Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. https://americanindiancenter.unc.edu/

Native American Resource Center, UNC-Pembroke. https://www.uncp.edu/resources/museum-southeast-american-indian

National Indian Education Association. https://www.niea.org/

National Geographic. "Native Americans." https://www.nationalgeographic.org/topics/native-americans/ [Educational resources]

National Museum of the American Indian. https://americanindian.si.edu/

National Museum of the American Indian, Native Knowledge 360. https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/

National Museum of the American Indian. "Indivisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas." http://web.archive.org/web/20180912175836/http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions...

Additional resources, websites and bibliography: North Carolina Museum of History. https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/aihc-2018/learn-more

Image Credit:

Tooni, Rachel. [Handmade basket, made ca. 1973-1980]. Photograph. Item H.2008.5.1 from the North Carolina Museum of History. Used courtesy of the North Carolina Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources.