Story about NC Natives appears in Bladen paper

Smokin' Ace · 12-10-2005, 08:14 PM

News http://www.bladenjournal.com/article...dged%20out.txt

Bladen's natives far different from other tribes in the state

By JEFFERSON WEAVER Staff Writer
It's unfortunate John Lawson never spent much time among the Indians of the Cape Fear Valley. Had he done so, we would have a better picture today of Bladen's earliest settlers.

Lawson's explorations detailed the Indians of northeastern and central Carolina, but he was so unimpressed by what he heard or saw of the Cape Fear Native American population that they rate only a few mentions in his 1700 description of North Carolina.

Instead, historians and archaeologists have little more than artifacts and a few frustrating written references to give them an idea of the lives of the earliest residents of Bladen County. But DNA testing in the few remaining pockets of Waccamaw Siouan descendants of the Bladen area place local Indians among the most genetically intact in the eastern U.S.

Three distinct groups made up the Cape Fear Indian population-the Waccamaws, Woccons, and Cape Fears. All three were Siouan dialect speakers, and while they had many similarities, they also exhibited some differentiation in lifestyle until the 1700s. Less than a century after first contact with English Europeans, the three groups had drifted together into one tribe. The three intermingled, intermarried, and settled together. By the second quarter of the 1700s, this one group had also split, leaving some Cape Fears in Bladen and Columbus Counties, some near Charleston, and others farther west along the Pee Dee River.

Unless otherwise noted, the term "Cape Fears" is used to describe all three groups. Period references to the three peoples often misname one group for another, or refer to all three as Waccamaws or Cape Fears.

Small, nomadic families

John Mintz of the State Archaeology Office says the Southeastern Indians have been largely ignored by historians in part due to their lifestyle.

"We don't have the large concentrations you find in other areas," Mintz said recently, "and that makes it difficult. As far as pure dirt archaeology (villages, burial mounds and other indications) we have relatively little."

Because of their tendency to travel widely, Bladen County's first residents were also residents of Columbus, Brunswick, Pender and New Hanover Counties. The geographic center of the Cape Fear "nation"-they never seem to have had a central hierarchy like true Indian nations-would have comprised an area from today's East Arcadia roughly to Buckhead and Council.

In addition to their lifestyle, local Indians had a number of other traits that made them far different from the Tuscarora, Cherokee, Waxhaw, Cheraws, and other better known groups.

The Cape Fear, Woccon and Waccamaw Siouan tribes were of Siouan-speaking descent, while most other tribes of the state were generally of Algonquin heritage. Rather than the large villages of hundreds of people, with massive permanent houses and buildings that marked an Algonquin village, the Siouan-speaking groups lived mainly in large extended families, moving throughout the year.

The Cape Fear Indian family groups-tribe is an incorrect term which describes multiple families-rarely numbered more than several dozen people. Their small bark houses were prone to fire, and the bands generally moved from place to place.

"One defining factor might simply be how much firewood can be gathered in one place," Mintz said. "If you've used all the deadwood in an area of several hundred yards, you would need to move on. It's hard to use a stone axe to cut down a tree-deadwood is more practical and easier to gather. You also would likely have used up the animal and plant resources in the immediate area. Then it becomes time to move the village."

Another factor is that when whites moved in to settle along the valley, they often built in the same locations where the Indians once lived.

"If you're going camping," Mintz explained, "there's a good chance a place that looks good to you will have looked good to someone else, too."

Archaeological evidence throughout the eastern half of the state has shown a number of places where colonial settlements were built on old Indian villages.

"These people were not stupid," Mintz said, "and the same things that attracted them to camp were the same things that attracted settlers to build."

The Cape Fear Indians also practiced very little in the way of agriculture, Mintz said, as a foraging lifestyle requires mobility. With smaller alluvial plains in the Cape Fear River area-resulting in less ground that can easily be planted with crops using primitive methods-the Cape Fears would have needed to move around more.

As such, archaeologists studying the Siouan speakers of North Carolina have very few large village sites to examine for evidence of these early people's lives. Since up to 80 percent of any archaeological site's artifact evidence can be destroyed through time, searching for the sites of small, temporary villages can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Those researching the Algonquin, Iroquoian and other Woodland tribes of the northeast can examine large village sites that were used for years, even decades. Many of these villages became places that were landmarks for the first European observers and remained so for extended periods of time.

The Cape Fears, on the other hand, rarely stayed in one place for extended periods.

"It's frustrating," Mintz admitted.

One thing the Cape Fears did leave behind, an addition to arrow points, spearheads, and the pottery shards familiar to every farmer and outdoorsman, was the ubiquitous dugout canoe.

(cont..).

Smokin' Ace · 12-10-2005, 08:19 PM

News http://www.bladenjournal.com/article...dged%20out.txt

Bladen's natives far different from other tribes in the state

http://www.bladenjournal.com/article...%20tourist.txt

White Lake settlements not always tourist-oriented

By JEFFERSON WEAVER Staff Writer

**Joe's Dad** · 12-10-2005, 11:09 PM

Thanks, Smokin.

Blackbear · 12-10-2005, 11:12 PM

Great article!!!

Smokin' Ace · 12-11-2005, 03:35 PM

I thought it was great reading too - but sooo long...click on the link and I will merge the other column that got started too...

12-10-2005, 08:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Smokin' Ace Arena Director Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: United States Posts: 4,112	Story about NC Natives appears in Bladen paper News http://www.bladenjournal.com/article...dged%20out.txt Bladen's natives far different from other tribes in the state By JEFFERSON WEAVER Staff Writer It's unfortunate John Lawson never spent much time among the Indians of the Cape Fear Valley. Had he done so, we would have a better picture today of Bladen's earliest settlers. Lawson's explorations detailed the Indians of northeastern and central Carolina, but he was so unimpressed by what he heard or saw of the Cape Fear Native American population that they rate only a few mentions in his 1700 description of North Carolina. Instead, historians and archaeologists have little more than artifacts and a few frustrating written references to give them an idea of the lives of the earliest residents of Bladen County. But DNA testing in the few remaining pockets of Waccamaw Siouan descendants of the Bladen area place local Indians among the most genetically intact in the eastern U.S. Three distinct groups made up the Cape Fear Indian population-the Waccamaws, Woccons, and Cape Fears. All three were Siouan dialect speakers, and while they had many similarities, they also exhibited some differentiation in lifestyle until the 1700s. Less than a century after first contact with English Europeans, the three groups had drifted together into one tribe. The three intermingled, intermarried, and settled together. By the second quarter of the 1700s, this one group had also split, leaving some Cape Fears in Bladen and Columbus Counties, some near Charleston, and others farther west along the Pee Dee River. Unless otherwise noted, the term "Cape Fears" is used to describe all three groups. Period references to the three peoples often misname one group for another, or refer to all three as Waccamaws or Cape Fears. Small, nomadic families John Mintz of the State Archaeology Office says the Southeastern Indians have been largely ignored by historians in part due to their lifestyle. "We don't have the large concentrations you find in other areas," Mintz said recently, "and that makes it difficult. As far as pure dirt archaeology (villages, burial mounds and other indications) we have relatively little." Because of their tendency to travel widely, Bladen County's first residents were also residents of Columbus, Brunswick, Pender and New Hanover Counties. The geographic center of the Cape Fear "nation"-they never seem to have had a central hierarchy like true Indian nations-would have comprised an area from today's East Arcadia roughly to Buckhead and Council. In addition to their lifestyle, local Indians had a number of other traits that made them far different from the Tuscarora, Cherokee, Waxhaw, Cheraws, and other better known groups. The Cape Fear, Woccon and Waccamaw Siouan tribes were of Siouan-speaking descent, while most other tribes of the state were generally of Algonquin heritage. Rather than the large villages of hundreds of people, with massive permanent houses and buildings that marked an Algonquin village, the Siouan-speaking groups lived mainly in large extended families, moving throughout the year. The Cape Fear Indian family groups-tribe is an incorrect term which describes multiple families-rarely numbered more than several dozen people. Their small bark houses were prone to fire, and the bands generally moved from place to place. "One defining factor might simply be how much firewood can be gathered in one place," Mintz said. "If you've used all the deadwood in an area of several hundred yards, you would need to move on. It's hard to use a stone axe to cut down a tree-deadwood is more practical and easier to gather. You also would likely have used up the animal and plant resources in the immediate area. Then it becomes time to move the village." Another factor is that when whites moved in to settle along the valley, they often built in the same locations where the Indians once lived. "If you're going camping," Mintz explained, "there's a good chance a place that looks good to you will have looked good to someone else, too." Archaeological evidence throughout the eastern half of the state has shown a number of places where colonial settlements were built on old Indian villages. "These people were not stupid," Mintz said, "and the same things that attracted them to camp were the same things that attracted settlers to build." The Cape Fear Indians also practiced very little in the way of agriculture, Mintz said, as a foraging lifestyle requires mobility. With smaller alluvial plains in the Cape Fear River area-resulting in less ground that can easily be planted with crops using primitive methods-the Cape Fears would have needed to move around more. As such, archaeologists studying the Siouan speakers of North Carolina have very few large village sites to examine for evidence of these early people's lives. Since up to 80 percent of any archaeological site's artifact evidence can be destroyed through time, searching for the sites of small, temporary villages can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Those researching the Algonquin, Iroquoian and other Woodland tribes of the northeast can examine large village sites that were used for years, even decades. Many of these villages became places that were landmarks for the first European observers and remained so for extended periods of time. The Cape Fears, on the other hand, rarely stayed in one place for extended periods. "It's frustrating," Mintz admitted. One thing the Cape Fears did leave behind, an addition to arrow points, spearheads, and the pottery shards familiar to every farmer and outdoorsman, was the ubiquitous dugout canoe. (cont..). __________________ Everything is gonna be alright! Be blessed - got love??? This b me..... www.myspace.com/akayo

12-10-2005, 08:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Smokin' Ace Arena Director Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: United States Posts: 4,112	Story about NC Natives appears in Bladen paper News http://www.bladenjournal.com/article...dged%20out.txt Bladen's natives far different from other tribes in the state http://www.bladenjournal.com/article...%20tourist.txt White Lake settlements not always tourist-oriented By JEFFERSON WEAVER Staff Writer __________________ Everything is gonna be alright! Be blessed - got love??? This b me..... www.myspace.com/akayo

12-10-2005, 11:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
Joe's Dad Shhh...I'm watching TV Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: I'm right here! Posts: 8,658	Thanks, Smokin. __________________ Why must I feel like that..why must I chase the cat?

12-10-2005, 11:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
Blackbear Space Cowboy Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Alaska Posts: 9,622	Great article!!! __________________ Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

12-11-2005, 03:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
Smokin' Ace Arena Director Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: United States Posts: 4,112	I thought it was great reading too - but sooo long...click on the link and I will merge the other column that got started too... __________________ Everything is gonna be alright! Be blessed - got love??? This b me..... www.myspace.com/akayo

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