Violent incident at Native American archaeological site in Cedar Point

Cedar Point saw a violent incident Sunday over the protection of a recently uncovered Native American village in a residential area. Earlier this month, the Office of State Archaeology released a report saying it had found thousands of Native American artifacts during construction in the Bridge View residential area, and violent clashes between Native American activists and residents erupted over the weekend.

In a TikTok video, a Tuscarora woman said she and others traveled to the site to pray peacefully. She and the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina said they were holding a ceremony to honor their ancestors, singing and burning Mary’s grass. The woman said on the way out, the group was approached by a man upset by their presence and violence ensued.

“We were confronted with violence. We were attacked. We were threatened with weapons. We were women and children in uniform and we were confronted with violence and brutality,” the woman said.

She said a homeowner pointed a gun at her as she tried to get her phone out of the car to record the video. One of the Native Americans was thrown to the ground. The video has since been deleted.

WRAL reports that two residents of the neighborhood were injured in the altercation, and the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a protester who stabbed a resident with a pocket knife. In a statement, the Tuscarora Tribe claimed the activists were peaceful and called the incident a hate crime.

“Armed only with prayers and Mary’s grass, the indigenous people were attacked in a hate crime simply because they were indigenous,” the statement said.

PRE reached out to the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office for comment but did not receive a response.

Earlier this month, the NC Office of State Archaeology reported that thousands of Native American artifacts had been unearthed at the site and that it could be one of the most significant archaeological sites in North Carolina.

Chief archaeologist Chris Southerly said there is evidence of a village where Algonquian speakers from the north and Siouan speakers from the south met before colonization, but more research is needed.

Currently, construction is on hold, but a bill currently being debated in the Senate would allow development to move forward. Senator Michael Lazzara said the bill would apply not just to Bridge View, but to all historic sites in the state.