AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
2009
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, 103,480 American Indians live in North Carolina, giving the state the largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi and the eighth largest American Indian population in the country; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina is home to eight American Indian tribes:
• the Coharie descending from the aboriginal Neusiok Indian Tribe on the Coharie River in Harnett and Sampson counties;
• the Eastern Band of Cherokee residing on the 56,000 acres Qualla Boundary adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park;
• the Haliwa-Saponi descending from the Saponi, Tuscarora, Tutelo and Nansemond Indians in Halifax and Warren counties;
• the Lumbee residing in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties and the largest tribe east of the Mississippi;
• the Meherrin living in Hertford, Bertie, Gates and Northampton counties and near their original reservation granted in the Treaty of 1726;
• the Occaneechi Band of Saponi descending from several small Siouan speaking tribes and now residing in Alamance and Orange counties;
• the Sappony located in Person County where they have made the Piedmont Highlands their home for countless generations;
• the Waccamaw-Siouan living in Columbus and Bladen counties along the edge of Green Swamp and a few miles from Lake Waccamaw; and
WHEREAS, American Indian cultures and Societies are at the roots of agricultural development, medical discoveries, environmental preservation, commerce, governmental institutions and structure and many more facets of the Tar Heel State and our Nation; and
WHEREAS, across the State of North Carolina, American Indians continue to celebrate American Indian culture and heritage through songs, dances, arts and crafts and traditional spirituality; the traditions of their ancestors continue to be the foundation for the contemporary lifestyles of today’s American Indian citizens;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim November 2009, as “AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH” in North Carolina and urge our citizens to recognize and celebrate the many achievements and contributions made by the native inhabitants of North Carolina.
BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-fourth day of September in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.