PEMBROKE — Lumbee Tribal citizens traveled to Bulloch County, Georgia, to participate in the annual cleaning of the Croatan Indian Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery is situated on the historic site of the former Adabelle Settlement, where Lumbee families migrated in the late 19th century in search of new opportunities in the turpentine industry.

Many of these families were cotton and tobacco tenant farmers for the Adabelle Trading Company. Community leaders built a thriving settlement in the area, establishing Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a school and a cemetery that remains a sacred space for descendants and visitors today.

Each year offers a moment to remember, honor, and celebrate the lives and legacies of the ancestors who labored there to provide for their families.

The Lumbee Tribe exte

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