SUMTER, S.C. — It’s Native American History Month and the Cheraw tribe is celebrating in Sumter. Members of the tribe visited Wilder Elementary School on Monday where they taught students about their history.
"It means a whole lot to me," Sumter Cheraw Chief Ralph Oxendine shared about his heritage.
He showed that through his presentation to 4th graders like Idric Robison-Hinton.
"I learned a lot," Robison-Hinton said. "Most of the stuff I didn't know before, so it was like really good."
For student Colby Glosson, the lesson was entertaining and informative.
"[It was] really fun learning about Indian heritage and how it’s been passed on to these people and now we get to meet one of the chiefs," Glosson explained. "It has really been fun!"
Oxendine, also known as Chief Running Wolf, brought artifacts and dressed in traditional regalia to teach about his tribe.
"It makes me feel good as long as the children are interested and they are teaching them how we look back at our culture and we want to continue on teaching our children and grandchildren how our people lived in the ancient days," he said.
Oxendine spent seven years researching the group’s history, compiling the information, and then submitting it to the state. In 2013, South Carolina officially recognized the tribe.
From his research and through hearing stories, Oxendine learned about the discrimination the Native Americans once faced.
"A lot of people moved away because they didn’t want to stay around Sumter too much because people were prejudiced a whole lot, and so it was hard to live here in this town back in those earlier days," he explained. "Our people hid that part of their ethnicity and their culture, they hid it from everyone so they could have equal rights with someone else."
Now, in 2022, Oxendine tells me he’s proud of his heritage and finds ways to honor his tribe through events like Monday’s presentation at Wilder.
"It is an honor now that our children and we don’t have to go through that and that type of environment," Oxendine told me.
The tribe is having a Cultural Celebration on Saturday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The free event will have face painting, dancing and information about the tribe’s history for free at the Sumter County Museum.