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Dear Readers: 



This month, Coastwatch focuses on Native Americans. 

 These people have a long and rich history on the North 

 Carolina coast that stretches back at least 14,000 years. 



I delved into that history, tracing the Indians' existence 

 along our shores from the final centuries of the last ice age to 

 the time of European contact in the 1500s and 1600s. Sadly, 

 the diseases introduced by European explorers killed the 

 majority of Native Americans living in the Coastal Plain by 

 the early 1700s. Today only small pockets of Native Ameri- 

 cans remain in eastern North Carolina. 



Jeannie Faris talked to archaeologists who are literally 

 digging for information about Native Americans. At archaeo- 

 logical sites throughout the coast, state and university 

 researchers are unearthing artifacts, burial sites and other 

 remains that provide telling clues about Indian societies. 



Freelance writer Sarah Friday talked with the present-day 

 Waccamaw-Siouan Native Americans who live in Columbus 

 and Bladen counties. These Indians are striving to reclaim 

 and recover a heritage on the brink of disappearance. 



To write this issue, we spent hours talking to researchers 

 and archaeologists. We pored over books, reports and 

 archaeological site information. When it came time to write, 

 we assimilated the information as accurately as possible, 

 crediting archaeologists for their theories and their work. 



But more than anything, we wanted to be sensitive to the 

 history of Native Americans. We wanted to tell their story 

 factually so that readers could get a better understanding for 

 these people and their way of life. 



You may notice in this issue that we call America's true 

 discoverers both Native Americans and Indians. Stanley 

 Knick, director of the Native American Resource Center at 

 Pembroke State University, advised us to use both. He said 

 that some native people prefer to be called Indians; others 

 elect to refer to themselves as Native Americans. 



In reading these articles, we hope you gain a deeper 

 understanding for the richness of early Native American 

 culture. It's a heritage everyone should be proud of. 



Until next issue, 



Kathy Hart 



in this issue 



N.C. DOCUMENTS 

 CLEARINGHOUSE 



OCT 20 1992 



N.C. STATE LIBRARY 

 ilElQH 



First on the Land ... 2 

 Thanks to the Indians ... 7 



Reading the Earth ... 8 

 Excavating the Coast ... 13 

 Where to Dig?... 15 

 A Community Reaches Back to its Ancestors . . 



16 



Young Mariners 

 A Dig of a Different Sort 



20 



Page 10 



Marine Advice 

 Unexpected Connections. . . 21 



The Aft Deck ... 22 



Back Talk... 24 



The Bookstore ... 25 



Page 



COASTWATCH 1 



