A team comprised of Coastal Carolina University faculty and students, the Waccamaw Indian People, and the Horry County Museum recently received the Society for American Archaeology’s Outstanding Public Archaeology Initiative Award for its exhibit “Waccamaw Indian People: Past, Present, Future.” The Waccamaw Indian People, whose traditional lands include Horry County, S.C., are a state-recognized tribe with cultural traditions that reflect their unique past.

This project entailed the creation of an exhibit and educational material that highlight the Waccamaw Indian People’s culture and history. CCU students and faculty members, in partnership with the Horry County Museum and the Waccamaw Indian People, used oral histories, historical archives, photographs, belongings, and collections to build an exhibit at the museum that introduced the rich and diverse Native American history and culture of Horry County through community-driven interpretive text and interactive displays.

Carolyn Dillian, Ph.D., associate dean of CCU’s Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences and professor in the Department of Anthropology and Geography, accepted the award during the SAA’s 87th annual meeting in Chicago on April 1, 2022.