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!
Hi,
Is Smiley a surname in the Gullah-Geechee Nation?
We actually have met a small family with that surname in Beaufort, SC.
Hello I was told my Grandfather Edward Saunders was Gullah/Geeche and later moved to Charleston is that familiar surname
Yes it is. Check Charleston County, SC.
Hello, my family and I will be coming down for the Famlee Reunion. We plan to do research on our family roots in Georgetown. My grandfather’s last name is Rainey, from Waccamaw and my maternal grandmother is Lester from Georgetown. My mom always mentioned that we’re Geechee. Could you tell me if these names are familiar and common?
Blessings to you and all that you do for our ancestry,
Susan Shields Grant
Yes, the Rainey name is connect to Joseph Rainey from Georgetown. Tenki Tenki fa supportin Gullah/Geechee Famlee Day!
Hello. My Great grandmother is from SC her maiden name is Glasgow my Grandmother is also from SC and her last name is Martin are those familiar surnames?
Peace!
Those are not common names. WE have met a Martin family that was in Charleston, but we are not sure that they originated there. They may have migrated there.
Thank you. My great great grandmother surname is Ruff
Hello, I’ve been tracing my ancestry and my ancestors are from South Carolina. The map shows they were in Charleston, Saint Johns Moncks Corner, and Walterboro. I was wondering if my family surnames are familiar within the Gullah Geechee Nation? My closest family surnames are Snowden, Bradley, Lewis, Williams, Evans, Jones, Moore, Ball, Berry, Brooks, Burris, and Chappell
Peace!
Your family is from Johns Island not Saint Johns. All of these locations are in the Gullah/Geechee Nation. Chappell of Dave Chapell’s family is not from this coast but from the midlands where the state capitol is-Columbia, SC. The Ball surname you can find a lot about in the book by Ed Ball entitled “Slaves in the Family.” There are Brooks in coastal Georgia but not familiar with that name in the Carolinas. Bradleys are in Beaufort County, SC for sure. Jones are in Yemassee in Beaufort County, SC for sure. Williams is an extremely common surname throughout the coast. Snowden is actually an entire community in Mt. Pleasant in Charleston County, SC. The other surnames-Burris and Berry are not common. We have seen these and the surname Evans amongst those that married people from other places and live on the coast now.
I hope that helps you in your search.
Peace,
Queen Quet
Hi my grandfathers last name is Burroughs is that surname familiar? Trying to understand my r families history. Thanks!
That is not a surname that we are familiar with.
Are Riley and Fleming surnames common in the nation?
Thanks
We know those surnames but they are from folks that moved to the coast and didn’t originate here. Those names are not common here.
You may want to check into the founder of MC Riley School in Beaufort County to see if that is a relative of yours.
Hello,
Do you know of any Canfalls or Greens
There are a LOT of Greens here on the coast.
Hello! Have been following the Gullah Geechee Nation off and on for some time in an effort to determine if family has any further roots there in Monks Corner. Are there still any or have there been any Wineglass, Sthokes/Strothers (spelling most likely incorrect), Berry’s or Colemans connected to and/or living among the Gullah Geechee Nation?
Peace!
Yes, Elder Lesa Wineglass-Smalls is a leader of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. Dr. Jessica Berry is from the Huger, SC area not too far from Moncks Corner. There are Colemans throughout the SC coast also. If you are asking about “Stokes,” we know of a family from the Walterboro area. Moncks Corner is in the Gullah/Geechee Nation for sure.