Welcome to Our Official Website

We are the Black River Tribe of Winyah-Dawhee, a small but proud Native American tribe rooted in a multi-tribal remnant community just outside of Greeleyville, South Carolina. Formerly known as the Black River Indian Nation, we now call ourselves Winyah-Dawhee in honor of our ancestral tribes, the Winyah and Cape Fear people. Our lineage also includes connections to other historic indigenous tribes of the Carolinas, such as the Catawba.

Today, our members primarily reside in the counties of Sumter, Clarendon, Williamsburg, and Georgetown, all along the course of the Black River.

Over the generations, our tribe has been known by various names, including the Privateer Indians, the Goins of Williamsburg, the Goins Indians, the Goins Band of Chicora, and the Black River Indians.  

As a nonprofit organization, we are currently seeking official recognition from the state of South Carolina. We are dedicated to preserving our traditions and culture, and to sharing our heritage with others. We invite you to learn more about our tribe and join us in celebrating our history and our future. Please check back for updates, as our website is a continual work in progress. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we strive to improve it over time.

Our Mission 

The Mission of the Black River Tribe  is to preserve, document, and protect various historic sites associated with our unique heritage in our region of South Carolina, as well as to educate our members of their history and ancestral culture.  We are committed to revive our cultural practices lost as a result of colonization and seek to educate the general public as to the lifeways of Native Americans in South Carolina, both before and after the period of colonization