A Brief History of the Catawba

     The Catawba Indians, also called “the People of the River,” can trace their ancestry back to the Woodland period in the Southeastern part of what is today the U.S. and have retained cultural ties to this distant origin through the craft of traditional pottery making. In the mid-16th century, the Catawba were a small group living along what is now known as the Catawba River. By the beginning of the 18th century, this group had aligned and consolidated with other peoples in the area to form the Catawba Nation. By the end of the 18th century, the Catawba Nation was no longer seen as an amalgam of peoples but, rather, was referred to most often as a singular entity. Disease and participation in British and colonial wars decimated the tribe and by the 1760s, the Catawba numbers were anywhere from around a thousand to a few dozen.
     In 1844, the Catawba were removed from their homes in South Carolina with the promise of a new reservation and monies to make the transition. The Catawba relinquished their South Carolina land holdings but were not given the promised land or money.  Some moved to live among the Cherokee and some moved to North Carolina.  Not satisfied with these arrangements, some Catawba moved back to South Carolina and, in 1850, purchased 600 acres from the state.
     Although the state of South Carolina considered the Nation to be dissolved after this period, and the 1959 Termination Act severed all Federal ties and recognition to the Catawba, The People maintained their identity and cohesion.  In 1973, they formed a non-profit and in 1993, after 20 years of fighting, they won the battle for federal recognition.  They were awarded $50 million dollars as compensation for previous land relinquishments.  This money has been used to further education, housing, cultural preservation and renewal, infrastructure, and the economic well being of the Catawba Indian Nation.

References:

Catawba Indian Nation website: http://www.catawbaindiannation.com/index.php

SCIWAY website: http://www.sciway.net/hist/indians/catawba.html

Watson, Ian. Catawba Indian Genealogy. Ed. Russell A. Judkins. New York: State University of New York at Geneseo, 2005. http://www.ianwatson.org/catawba_indian_genealogy_ 2004.pdf