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JOINT PRESS RELEASE
In partnership with the Waccamaw Indian People and the Coastal Conservation League.
AYNOR, SC — The Waccamaw Indian People have officially passed a historic resolution formally affirming that Nature, including the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed and all ecosystems within their ancestral homeland, possesses inherent legal and ecological rights. Confronted by accelerating overdevelopment and increased industrialization across the region, the Tribe establishes a firm stance against environmental degradation and asserts its right to an equitable voice in all local water and land-use decisions.
This resolution marks a major milestone in the growing global "Rights of Nature" movement, drawing upon countless generations of traditional stewardship to challenge how natural resources are managed and protected in the Carolinas.
"To restore the well-being that comes with acknowledged interdependence, we declare our rights to have an equitable voice in conservation," the resolution states. "We will resist encroachments on the ecosystems that our community has held sacred for countless generations."
The proclamation explicitly recognizes that the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed, alongside local wetlands, forests, soils, native plants, and wildlife, holds four fundamental rights:
Following the official leadership transition ceremony, the Waccamaw Indian People have launched a new conservation initiative to protect the indigenous waterways and ancestral lands of coastal South Carolina. This announcement serves as the first major environmental policy directive under the administration of Chief Cheryl M. Cail, who assumed the role following the historic retirement of founding Chief Harold "Buster" Hatcher. By expanding its ecological footprint and formalizing land stewardship goals, the state-recognized tribe aims to reinforce its ancestral role as guardians of the regional ecosystem while actively pursuing expanded tribal sovereignty and federal recognition.
In one of her first initiatives at the Coastal Conservation League, Sara Rich, a citizen of the Waccamaw Indian People and the Conservation League's North Coast Conservation Project Manager, helped develop the position statement that led to the resolution's passage.
"The Waccamaw Indian People have had a kinship connection to Nature for time immemorial, as both stewards and by way of relationship. We cannot separate ourselves from these roles, because to do that would be to live like those who would disregard a relative. The duty to care for waters and lands is a responsibility passed to us from our ancestors. But more importantly, our role as guardians reclaims our sovereignty as we aim to ensure our future relatives can inherit a healthy and self-determined world," said Cheryl M. Cail, Chief of the Waccamaw Indian People.
"The Waccamaw Indian People have added a new and innovative tool to their toolbox," said Amy Armstrong, Executive Director of the South Carolina Environmental Law Project. "When land-use decisions could affect ancestral lands and waters, this resolution gives the Tribe a foundation to assert its rights and demand a voice in those decisions. That is exactly what Rights of Nature work is designed to do."
"The Waccamaw Indian People are leading our state and region in recognizing the rights of nature to exist, flourish, persist, and be restored as an indelible part of their sovereign heritage and culture," said Dr. Pamela Martin, SCELP's Rights of Nature Fellow, professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University, and Executive Director of The RISE Center. "This resolution is a model for us all: recognizing the human relationship with nature and our responsibility to steward nature for future generations. I am proud to stand with the Waccamaw Indian People in this work."
"The passing of the resolution really places the Waccamaw Indian People at the forefront of conversations about indigenous land and water stewardship, not only in South Carolina, but across the Southeast," said Sara Rich, a citizen of the Waccamaw Indian People and the North Coast Conservation Project Manager at the Coastal Conservation League. "It's an honor and a privilege to be at the frontlines of ensuring indigenous voices in conservation, and I really hope this has a ripple effect throughout the indigenous communities across the state and across the region."
"Winyah Rivers Alliance supports the Waccamaw Indian People's efforts to protect the health, integrity, and ecological function of the rivers and watersheds within their ancestral homeland. Winyah Rivers Alliance is pleased to serve as a conservation partner and to work collaboratively toward recognizing and protecting the inherent rights of rivers to flow, thrive, remain free from pollution, and sustain the interconnected communities and ecosystems that depend upon them," said Debra Buffkin, Executive Director of Winyah Rivers Alliance.
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About the Waccamaw Indian People
The Waccamaw Indian People are the indigenous inhabitants of the traditional homelands along the Waccamaw River and the greater Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed. For millennia, the Tribe has practiced sustainable stewardship, maintaining a deeply rooted spiritual and ecological relationship with the land and water. The Waccamaw Indian People is an officially state-recognized Native American tribe in South Carolina headquartered in Aynor. Operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization, we became the first state-recognized tribe in South Carolina on February 17, 2005.
About the Coastal Conservation League
The Coastal Conservation League is South Carolina's preeminent environmental advocacy organization. For over three decades, our mission has been to protect the natural environment of the South Carolina coastal plain for the benefit of all.
About the South Carolina Environmental Law Project
The South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP) is a nonprofit public interest law firm. We have used our legal expertise to protect land, water and communities across South Carolina since 1987.
