The Coharie are a Native American Tribe who descend from the Neusiok Indians on the Little Coharie River, in Sampson and Harnett County, North Carolina. The Coharie are one of eight state-recognized Native American tribes in North Carolina, the largest of which is the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Others include the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of Indians, Sappony Indians of Person County, Meherrin Tribe of Indians, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, and the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe. American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is one of eight state recognized tribes of Native Americans in North Carolina. ... The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States of America. ... See Haliwa-saponi ... Person County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... The Meherrin Tribe is one of eight state-recognized tribes of Native Americans in North Carolina and received formal state recognition in 1986. ... The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation are the descendants of the Saponi and other Indians who occupied the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. ... Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state recognized Native American tribal nations in North Carolina. ...

Demographics

The Coharie population of Harnett and Sampson counties has steadily increased from 755 in 1970 to almost 1,800 in 2000. The age distribution within the Coharie tribal nation in the TDSA is predominantly adults between the ages of 21 and 65. Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

According to the 2000 census, the Coharie population in Sampson County is 1029, and 752 in Harnett County, for a total of 1,781. The Coharie Tribe consists of 2,363 enrolled members, and approximately 20% reside outside of the tribal communities in Harnett and Sampson counties. The Coharie community consists of four settlements: Holly Grove, New Bethel, Shiloh, and Antioch. Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

Government

The state of North Carolina recognized the Coharie Tribe in 1971. Clinton, North Carolina is the tribal seat. In 1975, the tribe chartered the Coharie Intra-Tribal Council to serve as a private non-profit organization established to promote the health, education, social, and economic well-being of the Native people of Sampson and Harnett Counties. Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Clinton is a city located in Sampson County, North Carolina. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

The Coharie Intra-Tribal Council is housed in the old Eastern Carolina Indian School building, a school that served the Native Americans of |Sampson, Harnett, Cumberland, Columbus, Person, and Hoke counties from 1942 until 1966. American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Cumberland County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Columbus County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Person County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. ... Hoke County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

The Coharie Indian Tribe elected their first tribal chief in 1910. Tribal affairs are led by a tribal chief and seven tribal council members. The Coharie political leadership oversees the four communities of Coharie Indians from three geographical locations in Sampson County and one region in Harnett County. As is true of many Southeastern Native American groups, identifying each community of Indians is facilitated through local church membership: 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ...

• New Bethel Baptist Church: northern Sampson County
• Holly Grove Holiness Church: southern Sampson County
• Shiloh Holiness Church: western Sampson County
• Antioch Baptist Church: Harnett County

The Coharie Tribal Center is located: 7531 North US 421 Hwy. Clinton, North Carolina 28328 Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

Relationships to other North Carolina Tribes

The Coharie have intermarried predominantly with the Lumbee and Tuscarora Indians of Robeson County, as well as with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is one of eight state recognized tribes of Native Americans in North Carolina. ... The Tuscarora are an American Indian tribe originally in North Carolina, which moved north to New York, and then partially into Canada. ... Robeson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States of America. ...

History

Seventeenth Century

Historians generally contend that the Coharie are descendants of the Neusiok, Coree, Tuscarora, and Waccamaw, who occupied what is now the central portion of North Carolina. In the early seventeenth century, the Coree were ensconsed along the Big Coharie and the Little Coharie Rivers in present-day Sampson County. The Tuscarora are an American Indian tribe originally in North Carolina, which moved north to New York, and then partially into Canada. ... The Waccamaw tribe, from which the Waccamaw River and many other local place names were given, inhabited the territory of present northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

Eighteenth Century

Between 1730 and 1745, intertribal conflicts as well as hostilities between Native peoples and English colonials turned the Southeast, and in particular, the Carolinas into a maelstrom of violent activity-- from the acceleration of the Deerskin and Indian Slave trades, to the spread of disease and disruptions of warfare. Families of Coree, Waccamaw, and Neusiok Indians began to seek refuge from colonial incursions in northern and northeastern North Carolina, and moved into what is now Harnett and Sampson counties, establishing a small, albeit effective political base. American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... The Waccamaw tribe, from which the Waccamaw River and many other local place names were given, inhabited the territory of present northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... Harnett County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

Nineteenth Century

Throughout the 1800s, the Coharie built their political base in Sampson County. The Coharie held the right to own and use firearms, and vote in local elections. However, with the convergence of Indian Removal policy on the federal level, and the ratification of the 1835 amendment to North Carolina's constitution on the state level, the Coharie, much like their Native and free black neighbors, found themselves politically vulnerable. In 1835, the state of North Carolina disenfranchised the Coharie. Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Indian Removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States that sought to relocate American Indian (or Native American) tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river. ... American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... The term Blacks is often used in the West to denote race for persons whose progenitors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ...

Nevertheless, in 1859, the Coharie established their own subscription school. In 1911, the Coharie asked North Carolina to provide Indian schools in Sampson County. In that same year, the Coharie established New Bethel Indian School in New Bethel Township, Sampson County. In 1912, they Coharie established a school in Herring Township, after the first year of which, the state stopped supporting the school. Following the precendent set by the Lumbee Indians of Robeson County, the Coharie established a semi-independent school system wherein North Carolina retained some oversight. While the state legislature rescinded its permission in 1913, it reinstated the separate Coharie school system four years later given the activism of the tribe and the assistance of its tribal attorney. Thus, in 1917, the East Carolina Indian School was built in Herring Township, and in 1942, East Carolina Indian School was established in Sampson County. 1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is one of eight state recognized tribes of Native Americans in North Carolina. ... Robeson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 560 miles (901 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Sampson County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

Sources

• Brownwell, Margo S. "Note: Who Is An Indian? Searching For An Answer To the Question at the Core of Federal Indian Law." University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform 34 (Fall-Winter 2001-2002): 275-320.
• Lederer, John. The Discoveries of John Lederer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1958.
• McPherson, O.M. Indians of North Carolina: A Report on the Condition and Tribal Rights of the Indians of Robeson and Adjoining Counties of North Carolina. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1915.
• "Pamphlet." N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, 1990.
• Smith, Martin T. Archeology of Aboriginal Culture Change in the Interior Southeast: Depopulation During the Early Historic Period. Gainesville, FLA: University of Florida Press, 1987.