In the 21st century, a significant minority in Sampson County are members of the state-recognized Coharie Native American Tribe. In the past during the segregation era, many Coharie were previously classified as black, or mulatto, regardless of their personal identification as Native American. The Coharie had a matrilineal kinship system, and children were considered to be born to the mother and her people; they took their status from her. Children born to a Coharie mother were generally reared as Native American in culture. The state's insistence on a binary racial system, based on slavery as a racial caste, resulted in loss of identification in the records and disrupted social continuity among some Native American groups. Since the late 20th century, the Coharie have reorganized and gained formal recognition by the state government.