The reshaping of Indian identity in twentieth century North Carolina

According to census reports, the American Indian population has skyrocketed in the United States since the end of World War II. Currently, there are more than two million Native Americans in the country. While some of this growth can be attributed to natural increase and improving health-care, much of the increase comes from changing social conditions. Prior to 1945, many Native Americans, especially those in the South, often tried to hide their identity, primarily because of the negative stereotype associated with being Indian. Over the past half century, however, Indians have become more willing to assert their cultural heritage. The state of North Carolina has the largest Indian population of any state east of the Mississippi River. Over the past fifty years, Native Americans in the state have been struggling to maintain and protect their heritage. In my dissertation, I want to examine the efforts of Native Americans in North Carolina to assert their "Indianness" since 1945. In other words, what strategies have Tar Heel Indians adopted, conscious or otherwise, to preserve and exhibit their identity.