When road construction crews or private developers stumble upon Native American burial sites, they often turn to a nine-member board appointed by the governor that is charged with protecting the cultural interests of American Indians in the state.

“We work with developers and others to identify burial and other archaeological sites of specific interest to Native Americans,” said council member Marilyn McGaughey.

The Council on American Indian Concerns is also responsible for “promoting the welfare, education and economic development of the state’s Native American population and tribes,” McGaughey added.

The council includes representatives of the three tribes currently recognized as indigenous to the state — the Georgia tribe of the Eastern Cherokee, based in Dahlonega; the Lower Muscogee Creek tribe, based in Whigham; and the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council in St. George.

The 2000 census cited 55,000 people in Georgia who identify themselves as having American Indian bloodlines. Most are like McGuaghey herself — a broad mix of ancestry. Fair-haired and fair-skinned, McGaughey’s heritage includes Choctow, Creek, Cherokee and Indo-European bloodlines, she said.

Only 20,000 people in Georgia were identified in the 2000 census as being “American Indian alone,” meaning that their bloodlines are wholly Native American.

Like most other ethnic groups, the largest concentration of American Indians in Georgia can be found in the metro Atlanta area. Smaller concentrations are found in Lumpkin County in North Georgia, and several parts of South Georgia. Cherokee heritage is dominant in the state, with more than 5,000 individuals claiming that ancestry in the 2000 census.

Roots discovered

Sylvester farmer Royce McCrary, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s most recent appointment to the council, discovered his Native American heritage almost by accident.

“I was researching family genealogy and saw a reference to the fact that one of my great-grandmothers was on the Trail of Tears,” McCrary said. “It was a surprise to me. I hadn’t been aware of any American Indian ancestry in my background before that.”

Unlike several federally-recognized tribes, none of the three tribes recognized as indigenous to Georgia have casino interests, although members of the council are charged with informing the governor if federal tribes express an interest in gaming operations within the state, McGaughey said.

The membership on of the state council also includes a professional archaeologist and an anthropologist. Archaeologist Thomas Gresham of Athens said the council was originally established in the early 1990s to oversee the state-mandated repatriation process involving museum holdings of human remains.

“The one other concrete task at the time was to aid in the protection of Indian burial sites,” Gresham said.

The council’s duties were expanded by legislative act several years ago to include responsibilities previously held by the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.

“The new law gives the council some enforcement powers relating to the repatriation process for human remains, and some oversight responsibility concerning grants relating to American Indian concerns,” Gresham said.

The council’s initial effort along those lines involves support of a federal grant to the Lumpkin County schools to assist Native American children in meeting academic goals under the No Child Left Behind Act, McGaughey said.