Disya Who WEBE!
- The Gullah/Geechees came together to declare themselves as a nation on July 2, 2000 with international observers and media present.
The Gullah/Geechee Nation exist from Jacksonville, NC to Jacksonville, FL. It encompasses all of the Sea Islands and thirty to thirty-five miles inland to the St. John’s River. On these islands, people from numerous African ethnic groups linked with indigenous Americans and created the unique Gullah language and traditions from which later came “Geechee.” The Gullah/Geechee people have been considered “a nation within a nation” from the time of chattel enslavement in the United States until they officially became an internationally recognized nation on July 2, 2000. At the time of their declaration as a nation, they confirmed the election of their first “head pun de boddee”-head of state and official spokesperson and queen mother. They elected Queen Quet, Chieftess and Head-of-State for the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com).
Queen Quet is the first elected Chieftess and Head-of-State for the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
The Gullah/Geechee Nation can be reached at
Gullah/Geechee Nation Headquarters
Post Office Box 1109
St. Helena Island SC 29920
(843) 838-1171 or email GullGeeCo@aol.com
The Gullah/Geechee Nation Declaration states:
Mission
To preserve, protect, and promote our history, culture, language, and homeland and to institute and demand official recognition of the governance (minority) rights necessary to accomplish our mission to take care of our community through collective efforts which will provide a healthy environment, care for the well beings of each person, and economic empowerment.
Goals
As we are the authentic original Gullah/Geechee Nation with direct linkage to our ancestral legacy, we stand as custodians of Gullah/Geechee culture and protectors of our human rights. Henceforth, being the ONLY and TRUE keepers of the Gullah/ Geechee cultural legacy, upon us falls the responsibility to promote in an accurate and positive manner all aspects of Gullah/ Geechee culture by emanating knowledge and healing souls. This process is guided through the release of the full story of the foreparents of Gullah and Geechee ancestral souls and the wisdom of our elders.
WE intend to protect the development and construction of Gullah/Geechee culture through the establishment of appropriate institutions and law by the exercise of our human rights. Presently this is being achieved through and during conferences, workshops, festivals, and other celebrations of culture and the continuation of oral traditions, living history, crafts, skills, and reconnection to the soil. The establishment of this Constitution will guarantee the continuation by the exercise of our minority right to self-determination.
WE will link with organizations, other nations, and institutions that are contributing positively to the cultivation of our nation.insuring that those connections are carried out with dignity and honor.
In the tradition of our foreparents we will record in written form OURSTORY as a living testament to our Gullah/Geechee legacy. We will also broaden our continuum through the use of electronic and video and audio means of documentation. Through the exercise of our human rights, we will be the keepers of this material as we accept the responsibilities of defining ourselves and our ancestors.
WE will preserve, maintain, and reclaim ALL elements of our homeland which will FOREVER be our base of existence as we carry out these goals. With these goals in mind, Gullah/Geechee people take formal recognition of their nation and their human right to self-determination within the context of their minority governance rights, and thereby, the Gullah/Geechee Nation Wisdom Circle Council of Elders, by its hands, spirit and soul undertakes the task of creating and ratifying the first Constitution of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
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The Gullah/Geechee Nation Constitution is 21 pages long. It is the document of governing principles by which the Wisdom Circle Council of Elders and the Assembly of Representatives operated as the right and left hands of the Head-of-State.
Official flag of the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation educates about the meaning of the national flag of the Gullah/Geechee Nation:
In order to keep up with the latest information regarding the Gullah/Geechee Nation, please subscribe to our Gullah/Geechee Nation blog or click on the link below to access it, subscribe to our monthly international ezine “De Conch” by emailing the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition at GullGeeCo@aol.com, watch Gullah/Geechee TV Nayshun Nyews and subscribe for FREE on YouTube, and tune in to Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio and subscribe for FREE on iTunes. All a disya gwine le hunnuh kno who webe fa tru an fa sho! Ef hunnuh wan buy Gullah/Geechee tings, den gwine ta de Gullah/Geechee Nation’s online store: www.gullahgeechee.ecwid.com or at www.gullahgeechee.biz fa support we!
Hello is the surname Baxley known in the Gullah community?
Peace Don!
Baxley is not a common surname here. Do you know the state and county that your family is from?
Ancestors gifted me to watch Girlfriendship now March 17, 2026. I am Takara El Bey, I just emailed you. Now I noticed Cheiftess in the actual movie, me and my son must visit this year, he is Jovan Bey. I honestly think he would do good with a long visit..lol, he just turned 27, plenty gratitude see yaa soon
Peace Sister Bey!
Tenki Tenki fa viewing “Girlfriendship!” We hope you enjoyed it!
You should attend “Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day” and bring your son. Here is the information: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/gullahgeechee-famlee-weekend-2026-4838489
See hunnuh dey ya!
My ancestors surnames are Mcvea, Atkins, Mullins? It shows we are from South Carolina. Any reply is appreciated.
There are Atkins in Beaufort County, SC.
Peace and love, is Drayton or Washington a Surname I’m from Charleston SC. Mount pleasant 7 mile community to be exact
Peace Khalil!
How hunnuh da do? Ef hunnuh dey frum 7 Mile, hunnuh should dun kno sey dem da Gullah/Geechee nyam ya.
Draytons are not only in Charleston County but some migrated northward to Georgetown. Washington is common in many parts of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.
Peace and love homeboy!
Thank you for providing this platform. Are you familiar with the surname Capers, Thompson, or Mcdonald? My grandmother is Darnetta Capers Hemphill(her father is Nathaniel Capers Sr and half brother is Nathaniel Capers jr, all from Louisiana>father is Morris Capers) and her mother, my great grandmother is Viola Mcdonald(her dad is Noble Mcdonald> and mom is Rachel Thompson Mcdonald)
Peace Brittany!
We are very familiar with the last name Capers and variations on the spelling of Thompson. However, you stated that they are from Louisiana and not from our coastal region. Did they migrate there from the Gullah/Geechee Nation? If so, what state and county were they in prior to Louisiana.
The McDonald Family is not one of ours.
Good morning. My ancestors surname there is Newsome, Johnson, Caldwell & Austin. Are those surname common among the Gullah Geeche nation?
Peace Samuel!
Although Johnson is a very common name here, that is not enough details to say that the person is Gullah/Geechee. What state(s) and county or counties where these ancestors from?
The Caldwells were in Chester county as were the Johnsons in Chester County.
Good afternoon!!
I would love to know if the name Joshua Tarbutton rings a bell. He’s my ancestor from SC. I dont know much about him other than he eventually moved to Mississippi.
Peace!
That name doesn’t ring a bell. Check with the SC Department of Archives and History in Columbia, SC though.
Any Venning or Gadsen surnames?
Just received my 23 and me results that say Pee Dee River Gullah ancestry
Hello, I have done so research via ancestry.com and talking to the elders in my family and found documentation about my great-grand dad from Beaufort County. Do you recognize the name Andrew Johnson. He had a son my grand dad named Ulysee Johnson?
Peace Kay!
That specific name is definitely recognizable but not for the reasons you are seeking information. There are multiple Johnson Families in Beaufort County, SC. So, you may need to visit to talk directly with some of the elders to narrow down the family.
Peace & Blessings. I was told by my great aunt that she and her parents moved from Beaufort county to the Ga area when she was a young girl. Does the name Andrew Johnson or Millie Pittman sound familiar?
Peace Kay!
The surname Johnson is well known in Beaufort County, SC. However, Pittman is not.
I replied earlier but it won’t let me reply to that thread so I just copied are previous chat:
Me: Hi! My great grandfather’s name was R.T. (Sam) Shipmon, and he was Geechee. Is the surname Shipmon common? Also, I just want to say thank you for your content. It has been so helpful with learning about my ancestors. I hope to one day be able to learn the language 🙂
You: Peace Haleigh! Tenki Tenki a hunnuh wods ya! We are glad that this has been helpful to you. We do not know the name “Shipmon,” but we know “Shipman” from Beaufort County, SC. Do you have a state and county that RT was from?
Me: Im not sure. He was adopted, but he was raised in St Francis, Arkansas. He was supposedly born in Tennessee. Also, after doing more research. His last name is ShipmAn on earlier documents. He was raised by Morris Bowers and Ida White
Great grandfather is from Nesmith SC. Last name Nesmith.
Hello! I found records of my ancestor from st.john ( Berkeley) SC and the surname was Reed but they also later moved to the Piedmont!
Hello,my family last is Clark,originally from st.stephens sc. Have you heard of them?
We are familiar with St. Stephens but not specifically with the Clark Family that is there.
Hello Gulla/ Geechee Family. My name is Marketta. I traced my ancestors back to 1855. Their surname is Maxwell. My great-great grand father name was Peter Maxwell. He was born 1855 on Sapelo Island, McIntosh County, Georgia. I also read that after the post war, he adopted the Maxwell surname and helped establish the post-emancipation Gullah Geechee Community in McIntosh County Georgia. How can I get in touch with someone to further talk about this event and become reconnected with the tribe?
Peace!
We are consider ourselves and “ethnic group” and not a “tribe.” You are welcome to come join us for our annual reunion to reconnect: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/gullahgeechee-famlee-weekend-2026-4838489
Hello! Is the surnames Cooper, Oliver, and Gordon known in the Gullah community? My peoples are from Savannah Georgia for context.
Peace!
We have heard of Cooper and Oliver in the Gullah/Geechee Nation but they are not common names in the area. if you still have folks in Savannah, you should reach out to them.
Hi I am a Frazier from Alabama but I am related to the Frazier’s of South Carolina also and also a descendant of Smokey Joe Frazier. I was barely raised with the Fraziers but I do know that’s my bloodline. I had a dna to prove I am a Frazier when I was 9. I’m trying to get back to my roots and wondering where do I start?
Reconnect with the family. There are still some of your family members in Beaufort County, SC.
Hello, I was also doing research on my family and I was told that some of my family is connected to the Gullah community. Mabe some of these names may ring a bell.. Hackey Nelson, Pompey Rias/Rios.. last name Armstrong as well.
Peace!
We are not familiar with those specific names.
Hey there. I’ve been doing my ancestry forest (it bypassed tree long years ago) and a great bit of my family comes from the Carolinas and Florida long before they settled in Georgia. I was wondering if any of these surnames are known as Geechee: Guthrie, Burks, Williams, or Lofton
Peace!
Williams is throughout the south. It is extremely common! The other names are not as common and we are not familiar with them on the coast other than in the case of a different spelling-“Burke” for the high school in Charleston, SC.
Peace ! My Queen and I are looking to travel down to St. Helene to learn more about the culture … hoping to make contact with an elder who can teach us more ..
Peace!
We hope you come down for “Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day:” https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/gullahgeechee-famlee-weekend-2026-4838489
Peace cousins! I became a ward of the state early on in life. Once I find my bio family again, I ask questions and learn a few names of my grands but my mama/family don’t have much information to give me. Having a strong desire to know my lineage, I took to ancestry to build a family tree. I learned my great grands are from Georgia and the Carolina’s. These are the surnames: Ford, Thomas, Peterson, Walton. Am I headed in the right direction here?
Peace!
What you need to do next is find out the specific counties in those states. Trace back using birth and death certificates if you can. We pray you find more details.
Hello, I’ve been learning more about my family history and our two family names McClary and McCullough originate near the Gullah Geechee corridor Salters, Cedar Swamp, and Boggy Swamp. Also, with the McCullough’s specifically being tied to potential Seminole ancestry I think we might be Gullah as well. Do either names sound familiar?
Also, thank you for providing such a wonderful resource to show case your culture for the world. Even if I’m not Gullah learning about your history and culture has been such a treasure.
Peace!
Tenki Tenki fa hunnuh support!
We know there were some folks with the McCullough surname in Beaufort County, SC. However, we are not sure if they were original from that county.
Is the surname Sykes in the Gullah Geechee community that is my great grandmother last name she from Georgia.
We are not familiar with that surname in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. What part of Georgia is your family from specifically?
Hi my name is Donovan and even tho my fam is not in the area anymore, I know that I have had family in the Savannah, Georgia going back a ways and I wondered if the names Gordon,Cooper, or Oliver where known to the Gullah
We are familiar with those surnames.
Hi! I found that both sides of my family come from descendants from the low country & Pee Dee. My paternal surname is Hall and my maternal is Fleming. Are you familiar with those surnames?
Yes, we are familiar with those surnames but not too often heard of directly on the coast.
Im wanting to know if the last name Perry recognized in the Gullah Community. My dad’s ma,is from Virginia,my mom’s family is Washington,on Wadmalaw Island.
We do know of a Perry family that is Gullah/Geechee.
I would like to know if you know of any Utsey. I’m lived in Bamberg South Carolina.
We aren’t familiar with that surname.