Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc.

State-recognized tribe in North Carolina, United States

Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc.

Official seal of the
Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc.

Named after| Great Coharie Creek, Little Coharie Creek
Formation| 1911,[1] 1978[2]
Type| state-recognized tribe,[3] nonprofit organization[2]

Tax ID no.

| EIN 56-1187928[2]
Purpose| S30. Economic Development[2]
Location|

* Clinton, North Carolina[2], United States

Membership| 2,700[4]

Official language

| English

Executive Director

| Greg Jacobs[4]
Revenue| $835,656[5] (2019)
Expenses| $743,463[5] (2019)
Website| coharietribe.org

Formerly called

| Croatan Indians of Samson County,[1] Coharie Tribe of North Carolina,[6] Coharie Indian People, Inc.[7]

The Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina.[3] The headquarters are in Clinton, North Carolina.[5]

Formerly known as the Coharie Indian People, Inc.[7] and the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, the group's 2,700 members primarily live in Sampson and Harnett counties.[4][6]

The group is believed to have descended "from certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina."[6] In 1910, residents of Herrings Township along the Coharie creeks identified as being of Croatan descent.[8]

## Nonprofit organization

[edit]

In 1978, Coharie Intra Tribal Inc. formed as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Clinton, North Carolina, and Freddie Carter serves as the organization's principal officer.[2] Its mission is to "provide housing, economic development, health, social services assistance and maintenance of the tribal roll for the members of the Coharie Tribe."[2] They have four employees.[5]

The organization operates a HUD/NAHASDA housing project with $557,380 in revenue and $550,186 in expenses for 20 unites.[2] Another program removed debris from the Coharie River after a hurricane, and another provided COVID-19 relief to members.[2]

Leadership positions, as of 2019, included:[5]

* Executive Director: Greg Jacobs
* Chairperson: Freddie Carter.

## State recognition

[edit]

In 1911, North Carolina first recognized the Croatan Indians of Samson County.[1]

The state of North Carolina formalized its recognition process for Native American tribes and created the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs (NCCIA) in 1971.[9] North Carolina formally recognized the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina as a state-recognized tribe on July 20, 1971.[6]

The state recognized the site of their historic tribal school with a historical marker in 2024. Built in 1901, the children of the tribe attended the school for decades due to segregation. The tribal headquarters is now located at the site.[10]

## Petition for federal recognition

[edit]

Romie G. Simmons sent a letter of intent to petition for federal recognition on behalf of the Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc., on March 13, 1981.[11] The organization never followed through with a petition for federal recognition as a Native American tribe.[12]

## Activities

[edit]

The Coharie Indian Cultural Pow Wow takes place in every September every year.[13]

E. Sequoyah Simermeyer, a member of the Coharie Intra-tribal Council and Navajo descendant, served as a Government Affairs Group Associate with the National Congress of American Indians and became a counsel to the assistant secretary in the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2007.[14]

## See also

[edit]

* Dark Water Rising, a Coharie and Lumbee indie/blues band

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Butler, George Edwin (1916). The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina. Their Origin and Racial Status. Durham, NC: Seeman Printery. p. 31.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Coharie Intra Tribal Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
3. ^ a b "State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
4. ^ a b c "NC Tribal Communities". NC Department of Administration. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
5. ^ a b c d e "Coharie Intra-Tribal Council". CauseIQ. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
6. ^ a b c d "Chapter 71A. Indians". NC General Assembly. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
7. ^ a b Cumulative List of Organizations Described in Section 170 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. United States. Internal Revenue Service. 1980. p. 240.
8. ^ Butler, George Edwin (1916). The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina: Their Origin and Racial Status. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. ISBN 978-1-4696-4181-2.
9. ^ "Commission of Indian Affairs". North Carolina Department of Administration. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
10. ^ Scofield, Sydnee (August 25, 2024). "Coharie Tribe honored with long-awaited symbol of state recognition: 'A million emotions'". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
11. ^ Federal Acknowledgment Process Reform Act. Washington, DC: US Congress Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 2004. p. 156\. ISBN 9780160733444.
12. ^ "Coharie". Indian Affairs. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
13. ^ "Coharie Pow Wow Festival". Sampson County. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
14. ^ "Artman Names E. Sequoyah Simermeyer as Counsel to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs". Indian Affairs. US Department of the Interior. September 11, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs

* v
* t
* e

Native American tribes in North Carolina

Federally recognized|

* Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

State-recognized|

* Coharie
* Haliwa-Saponi
* Lumbee
* Meherrin
* Occaneechi
* Sappony
* Waccamaw

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template