We lived in poverty growing up. We went to school hungry, and we came home hungry. We didn’t have electricity and it was hard to learn.”¹

Waccamaw Indian Chief Harold D. Hatcher sits among a diverse group of Coastal Carolina University students, reflecting on his time in school and how different things used to be then. His voice and brow quiver as he speaks of the segregation and discrimination that were prominent during his years as a student. Native Americans were separated from whites, just as African American students were. The only difference between them however was that the Native American school did not have electricity. But, that was not the only hardship Hatcher faced growing up.

“I’m not really proud to be from South Carolina,” explains Hatcher as he describes the struggle of establishing the tribe.

The Waccamaw Indians have traveled a rugged and enduring road to become a state recognized tribe and to help others understand the rich cultural history of South Carolina’s indigenous people.² Chief Hatcher has led the tribe since it first became a legal entity in 1992 and has pushed for state recognition of his historical heritage, despite the state’s resistance. He explains the frustration associated with the government’s general lack of support and attitude towards the natives. “They told me they didn’t have any Indians in South Carolina. So I sued the state.” Hatcher proudly represents his tribe and fought for the recognition he believed they deserved, finally gaining state recognition in 2005.

As the conversation shifted from the history of the tribe to their founding principles and ancient beliefs, Hatcher offered insight similar to that of many preservationists and lovers of the natural world.

“We’re all akin [humans and nature], we can’t survive without them but they can survive without us. We are the odd man out.”

The proposal to drill for oil along South Carolina’s coast threatened the tribe’s way of life in which nature has its very own intrinsic value, or is more than just a resource to be used by humanity.³ The earth is far more than a planet to the Waccamaw; it’s their mother which has given them life and to which they owe great respect and care.

“We are cancer on the Earth, polluting it all the time...‘Big Oil’ doesn’t mind how many beaches they screw up and animals they kill as long as it puts a dollar in their pocket.”

He admits that if solar and wind energy were more affordable, it could be beneficial to providing the tribal community with sufficient power. Even more importantly, renewable energy seems to support the tribe’s ancient spiritual connection with the natural world around them.⁴

“People concentrate on money and income more than the Earth and the other animals on the Earth….What it boils down to is respect. If you see a bug on its back, turn it over. We’re all connected believe it or not. Without the Earth, without clean water, without clean air...none of us are going to survive. But how do you get people to understand that?”