The state of North Carolina is situated on the ancestral homelands of many American Indian tribes who have lived in this place, cared for these lands, and traveled throughout the region for thousands of years. Tribes spoke different variants of Algonquian, Iroquoian and Siouan languages. We honor them as the first stewards of this place and acknowledge, with sorrow and remorse, the violent history of their dispossession and forced removal.
We respectfully acknowledge the Catawba, Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi, Sappony, Waccamaw Siouan and our four Urban Indian Organizations: Cumberland County Association, Guilford Native American Association, Metrolina Native American Association, and Triangle Native American Society. Today we honor the enduring presence, vibrance, and diversity of contemporary Indigenous communities.