Sign the petition: Removal of the Hamilton McMillan statue for intentionally initiating genocide against the Native Americans of Robeson County, NC 

In the latter part of 1864, three young Indian men of Robeson County, who had been drafted to work on the fortifications at Fort Fisher, were killed. It is supposed, by a white man who had them in custody.  An inquest was held, and at its conclusion an old Indian, named George Lowrie, addressed the people assembled.  This speech caused Hamilton McMillan to investigate the history and traditions of this tribe.    
 
In 1885, Hamilton McMillan published a pamphlet on the Lost Colony that presented his personal conclusions linking the Croatan Indians and the English colonies to the Robeson County Indians. His conclusion was based on what he considered to be evidence of Old English pronunciations used by these Indians and the occurrence of some family names of Roanoke colonists among them.  

McMillan was sent to the General Assembly by the Democratic voters of Robeson County in 1885, where he was responsible for enacting legislation to recognize these people as Croatan Indians. In 1887, he supported the passage of another act that established the Indian Normal School in Pembroke, NC. 

In the Fayetteville Observer archives (February 1885) titled “The Croatan Indians of Robeson” the Indian families made a statement, stating that their traditions say the people we call Croatan Indians (though they do not recognize that name as that of a tribe, but only a village and that they were Tuscarora.)

In a 1915 court case Goins vs. Indian Training School, Hamilton McMillan made a statement for the Indian defendants and was asked questions by the court. The court asked McMillan: 

Question: Do these people here call themselves Croatan?                                 

Answer: No sir, they call themselves Malungeans.                                           

Question: Were they never called Croatans until this act was introduced in here?

Answer: No sir                                                                                                             

Question: Where were they from anyway?                                                                 

Answer: The traditions all point to the resident west of Pamlico Sound beyond Cape Hatteras. (*NOTE: Beyond Cape Hatteras meaning Tuskarora lands, which McMillan disregarded along with the messages he received from the Elders.)                                                                                                                                               

It’s safe to say, by the questions asked of Hamilton McMillan, he intentionally misled the masses about the true identity of the Indian people in Robeson County, knowing they had claimed Tuskarora coming from the Roanoke River by all of their oral traditions. McMillan's intentions were thought to be inspired by his desire for fame and glory, when in fact he helped initiate genocide against a poor, defenseless people who could only be charged with simply unknowing the business practices of political leaders.          

This action has hurt the history and reputation of our people since 1885. Due to political pandering to mask the true identity of the Tuscarora history, McMillan willfully designated Croatan as the tribal affiliation. (Noted in his own words that he designated the Croatan Indian name himself in the 1915 court case of Goins vs. Indian Training School).  

Throughout time we have lost our schools and have come very close to losing our identity as well.         

PRIMARY REASONS FOR ACTION:

In the creation of Indian only schools, Indians idea of identity began to engage with white segregationists’ ideas about the racial hierarchy.  The 1835 North Carolina Constitution had labeled Indians “free persons of color” to deny their right to vote.  Although the 1868 Reconstruction Constitution restored the franchise, state law provided only for schools for white and black children. In 1885, the North Carolina State Legislature passed a law that recognized Robeson County Indians as “Croatans” and provided separate Indian schools, enabling Indians to express their separate identity through education.  

Hamilton McMillan was not exactly the most righteous of individuals, and despite for some reason being held as a white savior in Robeson County, he cared very little of the native people there. Personal statements from his own daughter Cornelia, state that ‘Indians’ would have to use the backdoor of his house when they came to visit, she further stated that whenever in his presence, the Indians would have to stand, and in this she took great pride in.

Regardless of being slightly misleading, the name Croaton stuck with the state when identifying the native peoples of the region for years until about 1911 when the natives in the region were simply called ‘The Indians of Robeson County.’ This name however didn’t last long either, they were desperate for an identity change as many families were still clinging onto their Tuskarora dentity.

McMillan’s history of Indian identity in Robeson County supported,  purposeful misleading evidence about the Indians, racial segregation for voter control and secured Indian votes for the Democratic Party, which eventually created new designations with Indian leadership splitting for control of the Indian schools.   

This should be considered genocide to a nation of historical people.  

It is long past due to remove the face of this Confederate soldier Hamilton McMillan for purposeful genocide of our families during the Jim Crow era.  

Please sign the petition and help us be heard! This statue should be removed. 

Thank You! 
 
Signed, 
The Tuskarora Nation of Moratoc Indians