By Dawn Boren
I am from the town of Ridgeville in South Carolina. There are many communities within Ridgeville but one particular area is where the Natchez Kusso and Edisto Indians reside. America received its nickname “The Melting Pot” for its unique immigration system but Native Americans are the original inhabitants of this land. Unfortunately, some of them still have to prove their lineage and history to become recognized on a federal and state level. While this may seem like an easy process, it is not. I’ve assisted a member of the Natchez Kusso tribe in the application process to become state recognized. We had many graveyard visits to record exact dates of birth and death since this is required. Then there was knocking on doors, talking to elders and looking at names recorded in the family Bible. These are important resources because many people are only known but nicknames or their tribal name. At the end, they receive a state issued tribal card and what I call minimum benefits when you consider the fact that America was owned by them and was taken unjust along with their rights.
The first documented accounts between Native Americans and Europeans dates back to the 14th century. Native tribes were deeply affected by European colonialism and the displacement of Indigenous people has never been a secret in America. Their tragedies are often depicted in Hollywood and mainstream television. Children even played the game of “Cowboys and Indians”, which was a popular game in caucasian households. The game mimics battles that resulted in the intentional genocide of native people across America. Native Americans existed everywhere in America, but a multitude were driven out west as conflicts between them and Europeans intensified. When considering the Native American occupancy in North America, History Central (2020) states, “The Southeast was the most populated of all regions of North America.” Indigenous people fled to save their lives and customs as more colonizers arrived. In typical European fashion, they forced the indigenous into labor, raped their women, took their children and mandated changes to their language and attire.
Europeans bought many diseases with them. Smallpox, the bubonic plague. influenza and cholera did not exist before they landed in “The New World”. South Carolina’s Information Highway (SCIWAY) states that, “ …the Indian population in South Carolina and throughout the United States greatly declined after the arrival of Europeans. Epidemics killed vast numbers of Indians, reducing some southeastern tribes by as much as two-thirds” (2023). These diseases spread rapidly through tribes. Europeans were accustomed to these diseases so their immune systems could handle its effects. Also, some of the diseases were passed between animals and humans so it intensified its toxicity. Native Americans were hunters, they did not have many domestic animals, while this type of living was normal to Europeans. Wars resulting from colonizers stealing land was another contribution to the dissemination of Native people. Indigenous people were not familiar with gunfire, and they did not use artillery until it was introduced to them by colonizers. They had to evolve their weapons for survival, but the damage was devastating. Trading goods for guns made them interact more with Europeans, therefore, the cycle of disease and conflict was continuous, and it led to the extinction of hundreds of native communities.
South Carolina is commonly known for my people, the Gullah Geechee, but Native American culture is a major contribution to the state’s history. Their tribes were directly impacted by the arrival of enslaved African Africans during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Charleston, South Carolina was the capital of the slave trade with more than 200,000 documented slaves entering its ports. Gullah Geechee sea islands like Hilton Head, Johns Island, Edisto Island and Dufuskie Island were originally occupied by Native Americans. Colonizers began to build settlements and plantations on what once was sacred native land. So what did natives do? They fled and left their homes. Some tribes had to “redevelop” on river ways and swamps because Europeans were afraid of the unknown terrain. Maroons, which were enslaved Africans who moved to undesired places, did the same. They bolted for freedom in undesirable coastal areas to live free of the torment that awaited them with daily plantation life. Some Native Americans were also forced into slavery but for the most part they were free to move about the country as they pleased. Both Native Americans and enslaved Africans experienced physical, emotional and financial robbery. This is when the commonalities of their struggles and means for survival were realized. In context, their stories are very different but as time passed their lives would be integrated forever.
References:
SCIWAY. (2023). North Americans in South Carolina. Retrieved from: https://www.sciway.net/hist/indians/
History Central. (2020). Native Americans Prior to 1492. Retrieved from: https://www.historycentral.com/Indians/Before.html
