Post by Moon Seeker on May 29, 2008 11:29:36 GMT -5
Native American Business Expo: Charting heritage, trade paths
By JIM DuPLESSIS - jduplessis@thestate.com
If you’re looking for the path into South Carolina’s Native American heritage, Will Goins has a map.
Goins, a Cherokee from Columbia, has published a 150-page guide that incorporates historic sites and annual events related to a variety of tribes across the state.
S.C. Native Pathways: A Visitors & Resource Guide to American Indian Heritage & Historic Sites in South Carolina also has a list of about 130 businesses owned by Native Americans from Aynor to Seneca.
The book is a project of the S.C. Native American Heritage Council, which was one of the companies and organizations displaying their businesses Wednesday at the second annual Native American Business Expo at the Embassy Suites in Columbia.
The event was organized by the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of South Carolina and UIDA Business Services, a nonprofit that helps Native American businesses.
Other exhibitors included Sign It Quick, a Columbia sign business owned by Sam Wetherell, and Staffing Alliance, a Lumberton, N.C., business that has opened offices in Columbia and Florence in the past two years.
Goins, chief executive of the Cherokee Indian Tribe of South Carolina, designed the guide to help S.C. residents and visitors interested in Native American history. Goins said the number of such tourists is increasing.
“They come to get an authentic experience, and they need to know where to go,” he said.
Goins has about 400 copies from the first run in March, most of them distributed to libraries and universities. He is seeking money to print the 10,000 to 20,000 copies needed to distribute the guide to visitors centers across the state.
He’s trying to sell advertising, win competitive grants and recruit corporate sponsors.
“It’s a beautiful product, but it’s very expensive to create,” he said.
The guide includes the Catawbas, the state’s only tribe with federal treaty recognition, tribes recognized by South Carolina, and as-yet unrecognized tribes, such as the Edistos.
“We didn’t leave anybody out,” Goins said.
Reach DuPlessis at (803) 771-8305.
www.thestate.com/business/story/418349.html
By JIM DuPLESSIS - jduplessis@thestate.com
If you’re looking for the path into South Carolina’s Native American heritage, Will Goins has a map.
Goins, a Cherokee from Columbia, has published a 150-page guide that incorporates historic sites and annual events related to a variety of tribes across the state.
S.C. Native Pathways: A Visitors & Resource Guide to American Indian Heritage & Historic Sites in South Carolina also has a list of about 130 businesses owned by Native Americans from Aynor to Seneca.
The book is a project of the S.C. Native American Heritage Council, which was one of the companies and organizations displaying their businesses Wednesday at the second annual Native American Business Expo at the Embassy Suites in Columbia.
The event was organized by the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of South Carolina and UIDA Business Services, a nonprofit that helps Native American businesses.
Other exhibitors included Sign It Quick, a Columbia sign business owned by Sam Wetherell, and Staffing Alliance, a Lumberton, N.C., business that has opened offices in Columbia and Florence in the past two years.
Goins, chief executive of the Cherokee Indian Tribe of South Carolina, designed the guide to help S.C. residents and visitors interested in Native American history. Goins said the number of such tourists is increasing.
“They come to get an authentic experience, and they need to know where to go,” he said.
Goins has about 400 copies from the first run in March, most of them distributed to libraries and universities. He is seeking money to print the 10,000 to 20,000 copies needed to distribute the guide to visitors centers across the state.
He’s trying to sell advertising, win competitive grants and recruit corporate sponsors.
“It’s a beautiful product, but it’s very expensive to create,” he said.
The guide includes the Catawbas, the state’s only tribe with federal treaty recognition, tribes recognized by South Carolina, and as-yet unrecognized tribes, such as the Edistos.
“We didn’t leave anybody out,” Goins said.
Reach DuPlessis at (803) 771-8305.
www.thestate.com/business/story/418349.html