Roanoke Colony Theory

The Lost Colony of Roanoke is a conundrum that has baffled the world since 1587, when the colony perished. The “Lost Colony” went to live with the Croatoan Native Americans. This concept states that “the Lumbees are descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke Island colonists.”7 The colonists settled amidst and intermarried with the kind Croatoan Indians. There is circumstantial evidence that supports this theory, in what actually happened to the Roanoke colony. “The theory was proposed in 1885 by Robeson County legislator, Hamilton McMillian and then later on by a North Carolina historian Stephen B. Weeks.” 6

For over a century the Lumbees have been trying to get federal recognition, but have not got it for several reasons. According to Cindy,

The Lumbee’s roots are speculative, and many don’t buy the “Lost Colony” theory.

Second, the Lumbee don’t necessarily look, or act, like “Indians”. Many have white features, and the group has traditionally owned their own land, thus lacking the tradition “reservation” life. Third, in 1956, Congress recognized the tribe, but did not “acknowledge” them. The Lumbee were called Indians, but they were not “Indian-enough” to form a government-to-government relationship with the United States. Fourth the standards used to determine this were, and are, inherently arbitrary. Fifth, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and congress are caught in a never-ending circle about who can recognize the tribe.4

As anyone can tell the Lumbee Indians are certainly different than any other tribe. They were not “Indian” enough because most of them had white skin and blue eyes. The complexion of their skin was unquestionably a huge reason why the theory of them being descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke Island colonists came to be. The Lumbee tribe did not have to endure the migration hardship that other tribes encountered. Due to their “mixed-race status and

because

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the tribe enacted early agreements with various governmental bodies to avoid displacement and the grossest forms of injustice.” 8 “In 1885, the Lumbee were officially recognized by the State of North Carolina under the name Croatan Indians. They unsuccessfully sought federal recognition thereafter.” 1 Without the genuine federal recognition the Lumbee Indians have not met the seven mandatory regulations and have not passed the “review of the documented petition, using the Bureau of Indian Affairs team consisting of a historian, an anthropologist and a genealogist.” 2 Having not met these regulations means this tribe is not cultural enough to be recognized, because they take more after English people than they do Indians. Which is an additional reason why they are relatives of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke Island colonists.
“When John White had returned to the Roanoke colony in 1590, he found no evidence that the colonist had been killed, forced to leave, or placed in any danger.” 8 In John Whites excerpt he said “I willed them, that if they should happen to be distressed in any of those places, that then they should carve over the letters or name, a Cross in this form , but we found no such sign of distress.”9 Having found no circumstantial evidence and the word CROATOAN etched into a post, it led Mr. White to believe the colonist went to live with the local Croatian tribe. John says they had carefully hidden five chests full of various things, they found those chests broke, and the things inside torn apart, spoiled, and depleted. He said no one other than the barbaric enemies (the Dasamongwepeuk) could have done this. John insists the Dasamongwepeuk watched Johns people leave with the Croatoan Indians and after their departure they came to scavenged through where they thought anything valuable was buried. Mr.

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White also reported that “I greatly Joyed that I had safely found a certain token of their safe being at Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was born, and savages of the island our friends.5” 9 According to Mr. Whirty,
White’s belief was underpinned by the fact that during a previous failed colonization attempt, English settlers were befriended by the welcoming Croatan Indians and their leader, Manteo, who eventually became the namesake of a town on Roanoke Island. At least one subsequent English explorer of the region, John Lawson, wrote in 1700 of discovering Native Americans who spoke English and read from books. They also described people with striking European features, including, most noticeably, gray eyes.8
It was very shocking to find Native Americans who could actually read and speak English; but also having European features with blue-grey eyes was the kicker. There certainly weren’t many Indian tribes able to read, speak, and take after European visage. Additionally, they have followed protestant religion for ages. This only instigates the fact that the Lumbees are descendants of “The Lost Colony of Roanoke.”
“Fred Willard the founder of the Lost Colony Center for Science and Research, an organization that has focused its research on the ancestry of modern Native Americans and their possible connection to the Roanoke colony, says their main hypothesis is that “The Lost Colony moved
into the mainland with the Croatoans and assimilated,”8 Mr. Willard has used various methods to prove this hypothesis, like deed research, archaeological digs and satellite imaging. There are plans to use DNA testing conjointly. “Willard says he believes the Lost Colonists assimilated into the local Native peoples, who were then forced onto the Carolina mainland by encroaching
Europeans. He says the center has pinpointed roughly 5,000 living descendants of those displaced people.” 8 Finding five thousand living descendants of those missing people
could be an opportune time to try the DNA testing. With all the advancing technology being made, sanguinely we can begin this DNA testing and other endeavors, to prove that in fact the
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Lumbee Indians are descendants from lost colony.

A prominent supporter of the lost colony hypothesis is Adolph Dial a Lumbee historian whose book The Only Land I Know, co-written with David Eliades was written to detail the history of his people. In his book he wrote “the circumstantial evidence, when joined with logic, unquestionably supports the Lumbee tradition that there was a real and lasting connection with the Raleigh Settlement.” 8 The director and one of the foremost scholars at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Native American Resource Center Dr. Stan Knicks, has matched surnames of the modern Lumbees with surnames found among the Roanoke Settlers. Having hereditary names in common is an evident reason why the Lumbee Native Americans are related to Sir Walters Roanoke colonists. Today the Lumbee Native Americans are one of the most affluent and educated tribes in the United States. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke was actually founded in 1887 as a school for The Lumbee Native Americans. The First Colony Foundation a non-profit organization founded eleven years ago in North Carolina, has come across astonishing evidence on John Whites map of the “Lost Colony”. “In 2012, a member of the foundation noticed two patches in a 425-year-old map of the coastline painted by John White, the leader of the colonists.” 5 Using modern technology the First Colony Foundation (with permission from the British museum) examined the map and found “beneath

one of White’s patches was a blue-and-red symbol marking the location where Roanoke’s colonists tried to resettle. It’s about 60 miles west of Roanoke itself. This interpretation of the map makes sense because it fits with White’s own writings, where he describes a plan to move the colony “50 miles into the maine” once he got back from England.” 5 Archaeological evidence has been discovered at this exact spot on Mr. Whites map. The findings include artifacts like nails and pottery belonging to Native Americans
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and the Europeans. Kelsey begins to show the relationship between the lost colonist and this new site (or know as Site X):
“The shards, along with a few other artifacts and the new map findings, “suggest the likelihood that a small number of Roanoke colonists were present at Site X for an undetermined length of time,” the archaeological brief concludes. The response to the news has been “overwhelming,” said First Colony’s Nick Luccketti, an archaeologist on the dig. It could be proof that Roanoke colonists survived beyond the confines of the island where they left their last known trace of existence.” 5

At Site X they have found shards of a type of ceramics called Surrey-Hampshire Border ware, that was very common amongst the Roanoke Colony. “But when the company failed in 1624, no new colonists were bringing the stuff to the area. Thus, finding it at Site X is a pretty good indication that at least some of the artifacts found dated from the time of the Roanoke
colonists.” 5 This was a huge discovery for this organization. Finding this pottery that actually links back to the “Lost Colonist” is a crucial step in the right directions towards showing us what happened to this Roanoke Colony.
It is evident that the Lost Colonist did intermarry with the Croatoan Indians and they moved to the spot on John Whites map before John returned. Its not clear why they went there before the return of Mr. White, maybe because a lack of resources or rival Indians encroaching on them, but there is arising evidence at Site X. With all this enlightening evidence being discovered soon we will actually be cognizant that the Lost Colonist did not in fact just vanish but simply obtained help from the Croatoans. They intermarried with this kind tribe and became the successful, astute, and intellectual Lumbee tribe.