EarlyLumbee History

Lumbee Origins•There are many theories regarding the origins of the Lumbee Indians of NC

•The Scottish first arrived to the Cape Fear Valley region in the early 1730s,

• They found English-speaking Indians living near the Lumbee River

Lumbee Origins•These Indians lived in simple houses and farmed and lived like Europeans.

Lumbee Origins•The Lumbee have no Indian language that links them to an American Indian tribe

•Oral traditions and folklore link them to the survivors of the Lost Colony and other Indian tribes.

The Red Men’s Lodge of the early

1900's

The “Lost Colony” TheorySome historians theorize that the

Lumbee are decedents of the intermarriage between survivors of the John White’s “Lost Colony” and the Hatteras Indians of the

NC coast.

John White’s Illustrations of the Hatteras

Indians

The “Lost Colony” Theory

1. Similar surnames (last name)

Ex. Sampson, Brooks, Cooper, Sutton, Berry, Scott, and Harris (pg. 181)

2. Many Lumbees spoke pure old English until mid 1900’s

3. Many Lumbees have European physical characteristics (eyes, hair, skin etc.)

Supporting Facts

Other Theories•Lumbee are descendents of other American Indian tribes such as the Cherokee, the Tuscarora, and the Eastern Sioux (tribes such as the Cheraw, Winyah, Keyauwee, Santee, Pee Dee, and Waccamaw)•It is likely that the Lumbee are descendents of peoples from many tribes of North Carolina, who moved to Robeson County to enjoy the isolation provided by the swamps of the Lumbee River.

1700s

• John Herbert, the commissioner of Indian Affairs identified four Siouan-speaking communities as the Saraws, Pedee, Scavanos, and Wacomas.

• In 1754, it was reported that there was an Indian settlement consisting of 50 families located on Drowning Creek (Lumbee/Lumber River)

• The ancestors of the Lumbee were mainly Cheraw and related Siouan-speaking Indians who have lived in the area of what is now Robeson County since the 1700s

The Lumbee River•Indians along the Lumbee River enjoyed a life of seclusion and self-sufficiency

•The swamps gave the protection from enemies, plenty of fish and game, as well as fertile land to grow crops.•The Indian remained in isolation throughout the 1600s.

•This began to change in the 1700s with the coming of European settlers, who were looking to claim land

Europeans Come to Lumbee Land

•In the 1700s, European settlers began to claim land along the Lumbee River

•Because of Lumbees had many traits of European culture, relations with the settlers was very peaceful

•Some Lumbees even fought on the side of the Patriots in the American Revolutionary War.

•The Lumbees were accepted as free men in North Carolina until 1835… then the status of the Indians changed and a hero emerged