Rebuilding Our Community
 Welcome to the Official Website of the
SC State Recognized
Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians

What's New:

Community Dinner - To Celebrate State Recognition

Saturday December 12, 2009

4 PM - 6 PM

At The Tribal Office

Please Bring A Covered Dish




Previous News:

WHAT'S NEW?


State Recognition at the SC Native American Conference on November 5, 2009

See Pictures from the conference below.  Congratulations to Tribal Members winning Elders of Distinction Award:  Mr. Robbie Clark, Rev. Arthur Clark, Sr, and Mrs. Loretta Leach

Also congratulations to Joshua Shumak, age 9, who won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards in the Youth category of the Native American Art Exhibit.  

On Friday, October 9, 2009, the CMA Board of Directors unanimously voted to recognized the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians as a Tribe in the state of SC.  The official recognition ceremony will be held during the Native American conference on November 5, 2009.  We are looking to rent a bus to take as many community members to the ceremony in Columbia as possible.  Please call 364-7041 to advise if you would like to attend the recognition ceremony.


Click on the link to read:
September 2009 Newsletter

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Tribal Office on August 29, 2009 to sign and get notarized your Tribal Verification Letter from the Commission for Minority Affairs.  Also, a thanks to everyone who sent in their notarized copies directly to the office.  Altogether, the CMA received 107 of these letters, which exceeded the requirement of 100 that had to be received. Ms. Marcy Hayden, Native American Coordinator for the CMA came to the office on September 6, 2009 to verify other documents and advised that she was fully satisfied with our verification and that her report would fully recommend our passing of this process.  The October 9, 2009 Board Meeting in Columbia should be the last step in our recognition process.  Your Executive Board plans to attend that meeting.




Thank you for everyone who turned out for the 2009 Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians Executive Board Elections on Saturday, July 25, 2009. We had a huge response! Below are the election results and percentage of votes.

Tribal Administrator - Lisa Leach (75%)
Spiritual Leader - Charles Rodgers (93%)
Tribal Council Members (5) - Loretta Leach (90%) Edmund Ray Varner (88%), Janie Shumak (87%), Michael Rochay (85%), and Karen Stallings (80%)

Attached below are pictures from the elections.


State Recognition Updates....

The Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians put in their State Recognition petition in April 2009 to move from recognition as a Native American group to recognition as a Native American Tribe.  Our recognition package has passed the Review Committee stage and has been recommended to the Board for approval.  The board votes on July 31, 2009, which is the final stage of the approval.  A big thank you goes out to Ms. Lisa Leach, Mrs. Janie Shumak, Ms. Tammy Hutto, and Mrs. Loretta Leach who spent over a year putting together the petition.

PREVIOUS NEWS:

Native American State Recognition News:  On Thursday, 2/17/2005, the State Commission for Minority Affairs voted to recognize the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians as one of the 1st four native entities to receive State Recognition in South Carolina. We recieved recognition as a Native American Group in SC.

News Article on Recognition - First Steps - May 2005
Congratulations on Recognition from the SC Senate - May 2005




Tribal T-Shirts for Sale: Colors are Black or Grey. Tribal Name on Front and Tribal Seal on Back of Shirt.  All Sizes Selling for $15.00.  Koolzies with Tribal Name and Seal also for sale.  For more information or to order, please contact Janie Shumak @ 843-553-1993


PAST EVENTS!



Tribal Election Results Are In!