I am Claude W. Chavis, Jr., a member of the Turtle Clan of the Tuscarora Nation. My tribal name is “Ra??kwihs Ra?rehna??kse??” which means “Turtle He Dreams” or “Turtle Dreaming”. I am an enrolled member and Tribal Historian of the Pee Dee Indian Nation of Upper South Carolina.

A graduate of Appalachian State University with a B.A. degree in History and Military Science, I served as an Infantry and Combat Engineer officer in the Army and the North Carolina National Guard. I completed an Academic Concentration in American Indian Studies at UNC-Pembroke and a Master of Arts Degree in Teaching (MAT) specializing in Social Studies Education on December 12th, 2009. I am currently a doctoral candidate at Walden University where I am pursuing a PhD in Educational Technology.

I have worked as a carpenter, freight handler, lab assistant, magazine photographer, Quality Assurance manager, Quality Control inspector, technical trainer, welder, and writer. My primary duties were engineering and construction of nuclear power plants, with extensive experience in Instructional Technology.

After leaving Progress Energy in 2002, I traveled extensively before settling in this area. My photographs and articles have been published regularly in magazines and newspapers over the past 30 years. I have taught primarily technical topics including website development and Native American history and traditions.

I am currently writing an ethnohistory of the Pee Dee Indians after spending the summer in Washington, D.C. as a Smithsonian Institute Native American Community Scholar.

On the personal side, I am the divorced father of two grown daughters. My youngest daughter is a Deputy Sheriff in Monroe and my oldest daughter is a computer programmer in Rocky Mount.