Waccamaw Indian People

The Waccamaw Indian People, formerly the Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People, is a state-recognized tribe and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Conway, South Carolina. The organization was awarded the status of a state-recognized tribe by the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs on February 17, 2005 and holds the distinction of being the first state-recognized tribe within South Carolina. The Waccamaw Indian People are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe and are one of two organizations that allege to be descended from the historic Waccamaw, the other being the Waccamaw Siouan Indians, who have been a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina since 1971. The Tribal Council of the Waccamaw Siouan Indians has issued a public proclamation stating that the two tribes share no relationship or association, and that the North Carolina Waccamaw do not recognize the Waccamaw Indian People as an Indian tribe or tribal entity.

Members of the Waccamaw Indian People trace their origins to the Dimery Settlement, a tri-racial isolate population once located near Dog Bluff in Horry County, first established during the early 19th century. Members of the organization allege that the Dimery Settlement originated as an 18th-century Waccamaw village. However, existent historical records can presently only demonstrate the settlement as being identified as an indigenous community beginning in the early twentieth century.