After watching solemn ceremonies and listening to the pounding of a drum, they discovered that history was still living.

The Beaver Creek Band of Pee Dee Indians' third annual reunion brought together those with Indian ancestors from Arkansas, Florida and Georgia with the hundreds of Pee Dees in the Midlands.

It was Aiken resident Stephen Cobb's first reunion, though his mother, Jewel, sits on the Pee Dee tribal council.

Mr. Cobb watched as Lamar Ironhorse performed a dance of rings in the center of the gymnasium floor. Organizers used bales of hay to mark the tribe's traditional sacred circle in the center of the floor.

Inside the circle, dances honoring veterans and other tribes were performed.

The tribe, which has about 1,600 members on record, is a federally recognized group. It also is a member of the South Carolina Indian Affairs Commission, which helps organize the state's 10 Indian associations. Salley is home to the main office of the Pee Dee tribe.

The tribe's chief, John Barry Chavis, said that because genealogy has become an interest over the past few years, more and more people have discovered they have Indian blood.

''I think it gives them the freedom to express the good feeling about being Indian," he said.

Reach Matthew Boedy at (803) 648-1395 or mboedy@augusta.com.