RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (AP) - New leadership is coming for the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe, comprised of nearly 400 Native Americans living in South Carolina's Dorchester and Colleton counties.
The Post and Courier reports that 52-year-old John Glenn Creel ran unopposed in November and will succeed Andy Spell.
Creel will be sworn in in January.
He follows the footsteps of his father, Johnnie Creel, who was a tribal chief in 1982 and 1983.
John Creel says he wants to continue the Tribal Council's efforts for federal tribal recognition.
The tribe filed a letter of intent requesting recognition in December 1976 and a partial petition has been pending since 1983.
In South Carolina, the Catawba Indian Nation is the only tribe with federal recognition.