During the 17th and 18th centuries, American Indians in North Carolina protected their autonomy through the colonial legal system. Containing selected records such as petitions, land sales, council minutes, and depositions, this exhibit demonstrates how American Indians and colonists leveraged the colonial legal system in their interactions with one another, and often in surprising ways.
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American Indians and Colonial Court Records By the Numbers
Most Mentioned Tribe
Transcribed
Included Within the Records
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The Colonial Court
How did North Carolina's colonial court system work? What do colonial court records look like?
Tribal Diplomacy
What can colonial court records tell us about diplomacy? How did American Indians preserve their autonomy?
Stories from the Court
What can colonial court records tell us about American Indian individuals' experiences?
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American Indians Today
How do American Indians interact with the State of North Carolina today?
For this exhibit, as well as all other content on MosaicNC, editors use the term "American Indian" rather than other terms such as "Native American," "Indian," or "Indigenous." The North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs and the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission both also prefer the term "American Indian." Whenever possible, however, the editors strive to refer to culturally distinct groups of native people by their appropriate tribal names.
For more information on MosaicNC's editorial policies for American Indian terminology, see our Editorial Statement on American Indian Terminology.
The icon for this exhibit, a watercolor by John White of the American Indian village of Pomeiooc, as well as the exhibit banner, a John White watercolor of an American Indian Secotan village, are both courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum.
The image for the section on the history of the North Carolina colonial court system is a photo of the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse, courtesy of Historic Edenton.
The image for the section of selected highlights from the American Indian and colonial court record collection is an excerpt of the 1737 map of North Carolina by John Cowley, courtesy of the University of North Carolina.
The image for the section on American Indians and the State of North Carolina today is a group photo of the NC American Indian Heritage Commission along with Governor Roy Cooper and several members of the state government's administration.