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.