A donation from the Archibald Bulloch Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution adds a recent reference on American Indian history and culture to the Statesboro Regional Public Library’s collection. Before receiving the book, the library did not have a recent encyclopedia on the subject, according to chapter committee chair Verdery Kennedy.
The Statesboro-based chapter gave the library a copy of the National Geographic Encyclopedia of American Indian History and Culture ahead of Native American Heritage Month in November. Joe Ann Bohler, the chapter’s first vice regent and American Indian Committee chairperson, said the committee’s cemetery work and the approaching observance informed its decision to donate the book. The chapter did not provide an exact donation date.
Kennedy said the encyclopedia could serve both young readers and adults seeking an introduction to the subject, including the history of American Indian people in the area. Kaitlyn Capper, the library’s genealogy librarian, is conducting Native American history workshops for area children and expressed appreciation for the chapter’s continued support of the library.
Each fall for more than 10 years, the chapter’s American Indian Committee has worked alongside Lumbee descendants to clean and preserve the Croatan-Lumbee Memorial Cemetery in Bulloch County. The site is associated with a settlement dating to the late 1800s.
Local historical writings and the chapter’s communication with Lumbee members describe Croatan Indians coming to the Bulloch County area in the late 19th century for work in the turpentine industry. Those accounts say most returned to Robeson County, North Carolina, after the Adabelle Trading Company closed, amid hardship and mistreatment. They also state that the government renamed the tribe Lumbee in 1953, giving the cemetery its Croatan-Lumbee name.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
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