Croatan

Croatan

The Croatan are a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them. The Croatan historically lived in current Dare County, an area encompassing the Alligator River, Croatan Sound, Roanoke Island, Ocracoke Island, and parts of the Outer Banks, including Hatteras Island. The Croatan people who exist today live in Cumberland, Sampson, and Harnett counties predominantly.The chiefs, called werowances ("he who is rich") controlled between one and eighteen towns. The greatest were able to muster seven or eight hundred fighting men. Chiefs and their families were held in great status and with respect, but they were not all-powerful beings; in order for any particular direction from leadership to be followed through, chiefs had first to convince their followers that said course of action or cause was wise/in the tribe's best interest. The role of the chief was to spread the wealth to his tribe, and, if unable to do so, the same level of respect was no longer conferred to the chief in command. The legislature on June 30, 1914, declared a thorough investigation to decide what tribal right the "Cherokees" formerly known Croatan Indians of North Carolina had. The Croatan Indians were granted rights which enabled them to be designated and known as "Croatan Indians." They were also granted the right of "Indians and their descendants shall have separate school for their children, school committees of their own race, and shall also have the right to choose their own teachers based upon the General assembly of North Carolina. A scholar of Algonquian linguistics has suggested that the word "Croatan" means "council town" or "talk town," which likely indicates the residence of an important leader and a place where councils were held.

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