Who?
Catawba Indian Tribe
Where?
Their Journey
1540 - Hernando de Soto, a Spanish Explorer, made first contact with the Catawba Indians.
1600's - The Catawba, or "people of the river", live in both Carolinas. Colonists begin trading with the Catawba and the tribe controls trade in their region.
1713 - In response to numerous Catawba Indians being captured for free labor, the Catawba entered a confederacy with the Yamassee and the tribes attacked the colonists in both North and South Carolina. Many of the Indians were captured by the colonists.
1728 - Smallpox left the tribe in meager numbers and the disease struck again in 1738, killing almost half of the tribe's members. In 1759, disease hit the tribe once again leaving their population at less than 1,000 by 1760.
1760 - The tribe entered a land treaty with the South Carolina government. The tribe ceded much of their land for a small 15 square mile reservation.
1775 - The Catawba joined the colonists in the Revolutionary War against the British.
1840 - South Carolina delegates and Catawba tribe members met at Nations Ford to discuss removal and the establishment of a reservation. The Catawba gave up their land holdings to South Carolina and accepted a new 630 acre tract on the Catawba River. Only a hundred tribe members had moved to the region by 1850.
1870's - After most of the tribe was killed off during the Civil War, several Catawba joined the Cherokee in their westward journey.
1941 - The Catawba gained federal recognition, but it was cancelled in 1959.
1993 - The tribe exchanged its land claims to South Carolina for "federal recognition and $50 million for economic development education, social services, and land purchases.
(Catawba), (Merrell, 1989)
1600's - The Catawba, or "people of the river", live in both Carolinas. Colonists begin trading with the Catawba and the tribe controls trade in their region.
1713 - In response to numerous Catawba Indians being captured for free labor, the Catawba entered a confederacy with the Yamassee and the tribes attacked the colonists in both North and South Carolina. Many of the Indians were captured by the colonists.
1728 - Smallpox left the tribe in meager numbers and the disease struck again in 1738, killing almost half of the tribe's members. In 1759, disease hit the tribe once again leaving their population at less than 1,000 by 1760.
1760 - The tribe entered a land treaty with the South Carolina government. The tribe ceded much of their land for a small 15 square mile reservation.
1775 - The Catawba joined the colonists in the Revolutionary War against the British.
1840 - South Carolina delegates and Catawba tribe members met at Nations Ford to discuss removal and the establishment of a reservation. The Catawba gave up their land holdings to South Carolina and accepted a new 630 acre tract on the Catawba River. Only a hundred tribe members had moved to the region by 1850.
1870's - After most of the tribe was killed off during the Civil War, several Catawba joined the Cherokee in their westward journey.
1941 - The Catawba gained federal recognition, but it was cancelled in 1959.
1993 - The tribe exchanged its land claims to South Carolina for "federal recognition and $50 million for economic development education, social services, and land purchases.
(Catawba), (Merrell, 1989)
A Nation Filled With Conflict
The Catawba Nation lived a life of conflict. Here we have a letter that was written by Robert Johnson to the Board of Trade of Great Britain explaining a situation that is happening in the Catawba Nation in 1732. Johnson says that the Catawba Indians have been at war with the Tuscororas Indians for a long time. He explains that he and the British colonists are remaining peaceful though. Johnson then goes on to explain details of the war and express a concern regarding the settlements boundaries and its affect on trade (Johnson, 1732).
(Johnson, 1732)