The Cheraw Monacan Heritage Foundation Is Open
After years of community organizing, the Cheraw Monacan Heritage Foundation has formally launched as the nonprofit arm of the Cheraw Monacan Tribal Government. We are enrolling volunteers and beginning the active phase of our oral history and archival programs. Information about supporting the Foundation financially will be available once our 501(c)(3) status is confirmed.
Our 501(c)(3) application is currently pending with the IRS. We will announce the determination here as soon as it is received. In the meantime, we are grateful for every form of support our community offers.
Oral History Recording Sessions Now Scheduling
We are actively scheduling sessions with community elders to capture their testimonies on record. Our elders carry memories that exist nowhere else — in no archive, no document, no database. The only place they live is in the people who hold them. We are working to preserve that knowledge before it is lost.
If you are a community elder willing to be recorded, or a descendant with a family member who should participate, please contact us immediately. This is our most time-sensitive work.
Tribal Government Site Now Live
The website of the Cheraw Monacan Tribal Government is now live, presenting our full documented history — from the Fort Christanna treaty of 1714 to Oscarville, to the founding of Beulah Rucker's school, to our present community in Gainesville. We encourage every descendant and community member to read it, share it, and pass it to their children.
Annual Gathering Date to Be Announced
The annual Cheraw Monacan Tribal Gathering will take place in June 2026 in Gainesville, Georgia. The exact date and location will be announced here and through community channels. If you are a descendant who has never attended — this is your year. Five hundred of your people will be there. You should be too.
Archive Initiative: We Are Collecting Family Records
The Foundation is actively collecting family documents, photographs, Bibles, church records, newspaper clippings, land deeds, and any other materials related to Cheraw Monacan families and history. If you have materials in your home — in a box, a drawer, an attic — we want to help you preserve them. We can digitize, archive, and return originals. Nothing will be kept without your consent.