The Indians of North Florida: From Carolina to Florida, The Story of the Survival of a Distinct American Indian Community

Synopsis

In the early 1800s, dozens of Siouan-speaking Cheraw families, including Catawbas and Lumbees, fled war and oppression in the Carolinas and migrated to Florida, just as native Apalachicola Creeks were migrating away. Being neither Black nor White, the Cheraw descendants were persecuted by the harsh “racial” dichotomy of the Jim Crow era and almost forgot their proud heritage. Today they have rediscovered their past. This is their story.

The Authors, both descendants of the Hill family, have worked together on research projects for twenty years documenting the history, culture and identity of North Florida’s Indian people.