CCIC’s Founding Director is Teresa Morris.
For over four centuries, the Original People, or Indians of Coastal North Carolina and their descendants have suffered through trials and tribulations of every sort, but through it all, have managed to survive — with a pride and a knowledge of who they are — and what they mean to the history of this great state — amazingly in tact.
The mission of Coastal Carolina Indian Center is three-fold:
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Research & Preservation
CCIC will engage in, as well as offer support and assistance to, research projects that focus on the history, culture and traditions of the Indians of Coastal North Carolina, including the documentation of such history. CCIC will work to preserve any knowledge that is already recorded, as well as make such knowledge widely available, and will also make every effort to record any information not yet documented so that it might also be available for all future generations.Please visit our Research Databases.
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Education
CCIC is committed to being the most comprehensive resource for educators, parents, students or any individuals interested in learning about the historic Indian tribes of North Carolina’s coastal plain.The Great Salt Water Educational Program is just one example of CCIC’s dedication to making the history and traditions, as well as the language of the Coastal Carolina Indians accessible to students and teachers across the state.
The First Great Salt Water Educational Fair was held in Jacksonville, North Carolina on November 5th, 2004. Well over 2,000 students were in attendance and had the opportunity to learn about everything from wildlife indigenous to North Carolina, to modern day powwows, as well as crafts that are traditional to North Carolina Indians. Today, CCIC is invited to schools across the state and we bring our program to the students.
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Celebration
How fortunate that we can learn so much about the First People of Coastal North Carolina thanks to those historians centuries ago who thought it important to record written and artistic details of the day to day life of the indigenous inhabitants of their home in the New World. Today, for us to have the ability to learn about, and understand, how history unfolded from the pre-colonial era through to modern times is certainly worth celebrating. Those of us whose heritage is rooted in the beginnings of North Carolina can enjoy learning more about ourselves by learning more about the ancestors who lived before us.
Since our research is focused on historic, but not continuously active tribes in North Carolina, any genealogical research is for personal informational purposes only. It is not for the purposes of seeking membership in any state or federally recognized tribes. We realize that many want to feel a sense of connectedness to others who share the same ancestral ties to these tribal groups, so while we do not mind the idea of groups of descendants coming together to celebrate their heritage, we do not support, nor will we assist, any tribal recognition efforts.