The Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois and United Tribes of South Carolina, Inc.orECSIUT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[1][2] and "state-recognized group" not to be confused with a state-recognized tribe.[3] The state of South Carolina gave them the state-recognized group and special interest organization designation under the SC Code Section 1-31-40 (A) (7)(10), Statutory Authority Chapter 139 (100-111) on February 17, 2005.[4]
The ECSIUT was first headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina and led by William Moreau Goins, who founded the group and served as CEO until his passing in late 2017.[7] In April of 2020, the ECSIUT elected archaeologist Lamar Nelson as their new chief and CEO.[8] Nelson previously served on the organization's board and alleges to be of Choctaw and Cherokee descent.[9] The ECSIUT is presently headquartered in Duncan, South Carolina.[3]
The ECSIUT was established with the mission to "preserve, present, protect, and document Cherokee history and other Native American Indian tribes' cultures and individuals, material culture, historic buildings, and folkways in South Carolina".[10]
The ECSIUT as a state-recognized "group" under South Carolina law, is composed of individuals with diverse characteristics, interests, and behaviors that do not reflect a unified ethnic and cultural heritage.[11] The organization includes Native Americans and people from other ethnic groups, without need for blood relation amongst members.[11] This membership designation differs from that of a state-recognized tribe, where members are part of an assembly of various interrelated families, clans, or generations, and their descendants.[11]
^Crediford, Gene J. (2009). Those Who Remain: A Photographer's Memior of South Carolina Indians (1st ed.). Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. p. 43. ISBN9780817355180.
