Influences on North Carolina
UNC-Pembroke is a large evidence of the influence of Native Americans. The Lumbee Indians founded the Croatan Normal Indian School when Indians had separate Indian-only schools (Lumbee tribe, 2014b). When these schools mostly closed, it stayed open and became UNC-Pembroke (Lumbee tribe, 2014b). The city of Pembroke is at the center of their community, and UNC-Pembroke is affected by its heritage as a Native American school. It was able to recently purchase, and works on promoting, the Native American Resource Center (The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 2014).
Along with influencing the state with names and a university, the influence of the Native Americans can be seen in the issues that they have had to deal with in the public and their private lives. These issues speak to larger issues that still exist in the United States. The Cherokee have been a large part of the history of North Carolina, but have suffered from their own set of cultural problems. The Cherokee nation mostly obtains employment and funding from the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in Cherokee, North Carolina (Beard-Moose, 2009) and different tourist attractions such as the Cherokee Museum and the Occunaluftee Village (Beard-Moose, 2009). The tourist industry in the area has subjected the Cherokee to different racial stereotyping and forced appropriation of other Indian culture for the sake of tourism (Beard-Moose, 2009). The first setting up of the tourist industry was done by the Board of Indian Affairs, part of the Department of the Interior of the U.S. Government (Beard-Moose, 2009). The subjugation of the Cherokee through the tourism industry was further encouraged by local businesses wanting to utilize the presence of the Indians as a marketing tactic to attract business and the creation of the national parks in the area (Beard-Moose, 2009). There were beneficial aspects to encouraging tourism, such as encouraging the Cherokee to hold on to many of their old traditions (Beard-Moose, 2009). They may not have made sure to collect and hold on to knowledge of language, traditions, culture, folklore, and crafts if they were not encouraged to by tourists wanting to see authentic Native American culture when they visited (Beard-Moose, 2009). However, there were negative consequences that still can be seen today. Harrah’s casino changed the atmosphere of Cherokee from a family-oriented destination to one that brought in more adult entertainment along with the gambling (Beard-Moose, 2009).
Furthermore, Occunaluftee is a fictional village that was created to show pre-settler life of the Cherokee, but some of this was based off of misconceptions of Native Americans (Beard-Moose, 2009). The Cherokee Indian Agency pushed the limits as to what the Cherokee would do to attract tourists, such as “chiefing” or showing off “Indian princesses” (Beard-Moose, 2009). This practice was for Cherokee to dress in what was believed to be traditional Native American dress, but was appropriated from Plains Indian culture. This included dressing as an Indian princess or dressing in plains’ chief outfits and standing in front of teepees (Beard-Moose, 2009). Not only were these inaccurate depictions, it also made these Cherokee to be props for the enjoyment of tourists (Beard-Moose, 2009). Furthermore, it was disturbing that the local Tsali Institute that formed Occonaluftee first wanted Cherokee to actually live in the village (Beard-Moose, 2009). Occonaluftee and the tourism industry have brought money to the community, but at the cost of the Cherokee’s privacy, pride, and some dignity as a people (Beard-Moose, 2009).
This speaks to an issue that affects all Native American peoples, which is that of appropriation of culture for promotion of their tribe and for tourism (Beard-Moose, 2009; Sider, 2006). Other tribes have many powwows. However, powwows are not a practice that happened in this area when tribes lived all over North Carolina (Sider, 2006). Powwows are a cultural practice borrowed from the Plains Indians (Sider, 2006).
Scenes from a Cherokee Indian Pow Wow with dancing and Tribal Regalia
This, to me, speaks to a larger issue of not only appropriation of culture that is allowed in our society, but also about what it takes to get noticed and to garner tourism. The Cherokee put themselves on display and borrow other cultural practices in order to look like what people think Indians are supposed to look like (Beard-Moose, 2009). Racial stereotypes exist everywhere in our society. North Carolinian Native Americans' issues show that racism happens to all kinds of minorities, and still needs to be dealt with in a serious way.
The Lumbees also bring up racial issues that we are still dealing with. The issue that Lumbees face is the actual recognition process by the federal government (Lowery, 2009). The Lumbee have had a very public battle with the federal government, because although they feel united as a tribe, because of some of their lack of connections to their ancestry they have been denied federal tribe status (Lowery, 2009). The Lumbee are made up of people who are descendants of the Cheraw, but also are mixed with European and African ancestry to a higher level than the other tribes (Lowery, 2009). It is rare to find a full-blooded Lumbee (Lowery, 2009). This, and the fact that they do not have a unifying language that they know from their ancestors and a lack of true cultural ties to ancestors, has caused them to be denied the benefits of federal recognition three times (Lumbee, 2014b). The problem is, while this is supposed to be a solely legal procedure, the issues of race purity and what Native Americans should look like taints the process (Ross, 1999). This creates bias against the Lumbee because they are not what people think of as a typical tribe of Indians (Ross, 1999). Many Lumbee people question why race and culture are, although unwritten, required for being recognized as a unified tribe (Lowery, 2009). The Lumbee have accepted many outsiders over the years because they came in and accepted the Lumbee ways of life, and have stayed with the community over the years (Lowery, 2009). They also have a unique dialect that sets them apart from others (Scott & Brown, 2008). To be Lumbee has a culture, but it is not necessarily stereotypical Indian culture (Lowery, 2009). This brings up the issue of racial and cultural identity. People still deal with being labeled by outsiders as to what race, culture, gender, etc. they are, and the Lumbee’s situation is just one large representation of this issue that still exists across the greater United States.
Furthermore, the Lumbee’s language and ways of life make outsiders believe them to be ignorant or unintelligent (Scott & Brown, 2008). Even though some Lumbees do leave and become successful academics (Scott & Brown, 2008). I believe this even relates to issues others deal with leaving their community and being judged by outsiders and those who stay behind. One Lumbee, Christopher Scott (2008), detailed his battle with leaving the community and being criticized by both outsiders and those inside who believed he was leaving behind his culture and growing away from his community. Overall, Lumbee issues echo those that are felt in other minority communities, and their influence is felt in this way, in the recognition process for them and other Indian tribes, and in racial and cultural identity.
North Carolinian Native Americans had a long history before European settlers even came to these shores. Their history is clouded with violence and loss of many different tribes at the hands of other tribes and the settlers. There were at least 30 tribes in North Carolina to begin with, and now there are only 8 remaining. Their interactions with the Europeans diluted their culture and destroyed many of them. However, much of their legacy remains in the names of places, the interesting educational museums and galleries, and their communities and their events. Their influence can be felt anytime you go to one of the areas that they live in. Cherokee, NC is visited by many people every year, and is a huge part of North Carolina’s past and present. Native Americans will continue to strive for economic prosperity, racial identity, and, many of them, for federal recognition and benefits from the government that they need for their communities to thrive. Although there are only eight left, they still are a large part of North Carolina’s identity.