HOLLY HILL, S.C. — Chief-elect Gregory Crummie says the Santee Indian Tribe has been in Holly Hill for more than 200 years.
“People say there’s no Indians around. Well we’re still here. We’ve always been here," he said.
On Saturday, he will be sworn in alongside Eric Pratt as his vice chief. Their previous chief Randy Crummie died of COVID-19 in October after 12 years in the role.
"If he was still here I believe we would most definitely be knocking on the federal's door," said Gregory.
Gregory says they didn't receive state recognition as a tribe until 2006, and to this day are still waiting to receive federal recognition. He plans to keep the tribe's culture alive as new chief by teaching the next generation how to play the drums and learn their dialect.
“To a lot of people it just sounds like we’re just yelling but it actually means something so we’re gonna try and teach them all of that," he said.
According to Gregory, their language has been lost in translation over the years.
"Our language. There is no known dialect of our language so we're trying to find that back," he said.
Currently the tribe is based at 432 Bayview Avenue in Holly Hill. The building was granted to them in 2013 by Representative Gilda Cobb Hunter and Senator John W. Matthews.
Today, the tribe has over 6,000 members across the United States with about 450 still in South Carolina.
“Without our kids, that’s our next generation. If they don’t know it, there’s nobody here to carry on our legacy.”
The swearing in of the new chief takes place at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
