Information about Catawba (tribe)

The Catawba (also known as Issa or Esaw, but most commonly Iswa) are a tribe of Native Americans, in the Southeast United States, along the border between North and South Carolina. The Catawba were once considered one of the most powerful eastern Siouan tribes. The Catawba began settling in this region of North America in the mid 17th century. It is a matter of some debate as to where the Catawba lived prior to European settlement, but the central and southeastern Great Lakes region is a generally accepted and much cited location.

Primarily involved in agriculture, the Catawba were friendly towards early European colonists. However they were at almost constant war with the Iroquois, Shawnees, Delaware, and other tribes of the Ohio Valley.

Despite their small number, Catawbas served as patriots in the American Revolutionary War, fighting alongside other American revolutionaries against the British in battles such as Guilford Court House. Though their contribution to the Revolution was greatly appreciated in South Carolina, the population and land holdings of the Catawbas continued to dwindle as Americans settlers flourished around them.

Although the tribe had an estimated 5,000 living in North and South Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War, constant warfare and smallpox epidemics would eventually weaken the tribe to the extent they were forced to lease part of their reservation in 1826 and the remaining land in 1840. Although North Carolina refused to set aside land for the tribe, South Carolina granted them 800 acres (3.2 km²) where the Catawba live today.

As of 2006, about 2600 Catawbas remain, most in South Carolina, with smaller groups in Oklahoma, Colorado, and elsewhere. The Catawba State Reserve, located in York County, South Carolina, has a population of 124 (1990). The Catawba language, which is now being resurrected, is part of the Siouan-Catawban family (Catawban branch).

The tribe was officially recognized by the state of South Carolina in 1993. Its headquarters is at Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The Catawba River and Catawba County take their names from the tribe.

History of the Catawba People

From the earliest period the Catawba have also been known as Esaw, or Issa (Catawba iswä', `river'), from their residence on the principal stream of the region, Iswa being their only name for the Catawba and Wateree rivers. They were frequently included by the Iroquois under the general term Totiri, or Toderichroone, another form of which is Tutelo, applied to all the southern Siouan tribes collectively. They were classed by Gallatin (1836) as a distinct stock, and were so regarded until Gatschet visited them in 1881 and obtained a large vocabulary showing numerous Siouan correspondences. Further investigations by Hale, Gatschet, Mooney, and Dorsey proved that several other tribes of the same region were also of Siouan stock, while the linguistic forms and traditional evidence all point to this eastern region as the original home of the Siouan tribes. The alleged tradition which brings the Catawba from the north, as refugees from the French and their Indian allies about the year 1660, does not agree in any of its main points with the known facts of history, and, if genuine at all, refers rather to some local incident than to a tribal movement. It is well known that the Catawba were in a chronic state of warfare with the northern tribes, whose raiding parties they sometimes followed, even across the Ohio. In 1738, smallpox raged in South Carolina and worked great destruction, not only among the whites, but also among the Catawba and smaller tribes. In 1759, it appeared again, and this time destroyed nearly half the tribe. At a conference at Albany, attended by delegates from the Six Nations and the Catawba, under the auspices of the colonial governments, a treaty of peace was made between these two tribes. This peace was probably final as regards the Iroquois, but the western tribes continued their warfare against the Catawba, who were now so reduced that they could make little effectual resistance. In 1762, a small party of Shawnee killed the noted chief of the tribe, King Haiglar, near his own village. From this time, the Catawba ceased to be of importance except in conjunction with the whites.

In 1763, they had confirmed to them a reservation, assigned a few years before, of 15 miles square, on both sides of Catawba river, within the present York and Lancaster Counties., S. C. On the approach of the British troops in 1780 the Catawba withdrew temporarily into Virginia, but returned after the battle of Guilford Court House, and established themselves in 2 villages on the reservation, known respectively as Newton, the principal village, and Turkey Head, on opposite sides of Catawba River.

In 1826, nearly the whole of their reservation was leased to whites for a few thousand dollars, on which the few survivors chiefly depended. About 1841, they sold to the state all but a single square mile, on which they now reside. About the same time a number of the Catawba, dissatisfied with their condition among the whites, removed to the eastern Cherokee in western North Carolina, but finding their position among their old enemies equally unpleasant, all but one or two soon went back again. An old woman, the last survivor of this emigration, died among the Cherokee in 1889. A few other Cherokee are now intermarried with that tribe. At a later period some Catawba removed to the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory and settled near Scullyville, but are said to be now extinct. About 1884, several became converts of Mormon missionaries in South Carolina and went with them to Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Catawba were sedentary agriculturists, and seem to have differed but little in general customs from their neighbors. Their men were respected, brave, and honest, but lacking in energy. They were good hunters, while their women were noted makers of pottery and baskets, arts which they still preserve. They seem to have practiced the custom of head-flattening to a limited extent, as did several of the neighboring tribes. By reason of their dominant position they gradually absorbed the broken tribes of South Carolina, to the number, according to Adair, of perhaps 20.

In the early settlement of South Carolina, about 1682, they were estimated at 1,500 warriors, or about 4,600souls; in 1728, at 400 warriors, or, about 400 persons. In 1738, they suffered from smallpox; and, in 1743, after incorporating several small tribes, numbered less than 400 warriors. In 1759, they again suffered from smallpox, and, in 1761, had some 300 warriors, or about 1,000 people. The number was reduced in 1775 to 400 souls; in 1780, it was 490; and, in 1784, only 250 were reported. The number given in 1822 is 450, and Mills gives the population in 1826 as only 110.

Catawba religion and culture

The Catawba religion has a creator (Manatou), and sometimes is said to have a trinity. This trinity consists of Manatou, the creator, Kaia, the turtle, and a third being who is sometimes said to be the son of Manatou. It is likely that the three beings have always been deities in Catawba culture, but that Christian influence has changed Catawba stories so that the three beings are more like the trinity in the Christian religion. In approximately 1883, tribal members were contacted by Mormon missionaries and a large number of Catawba were converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDS church membership remains high among the Catawbas today.

The Catawba hold a yearly celebration called Yap Ye Iswa, which roughly translates to Day of the People, or Day of the River People. Held at the Catawba Cultural Center, proceeds are used to fund the activities of the Catawba Cultural Center.

In the Carolinas, the Catawbas became well-known for their pottery, especially around the Charleston area. Some cooks believed that certain dishes, such as okra soup, could not be prepared properly without a pot made by the Catawbas.

In 1996, the Catawbas formed a joint venture partnership with D.T. Collier of SPM Resorts, Inc. of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to manage their bingo and casino operations. That partnership, New River Management and Development Company, LLC (of which the Catawbas were the majority owner) operated the Catawba's bingo parlor in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for several years. William Young was named the Chief Operating Officer of the bingo operation in 2005. In 2006 SPM Resorts convinced the Tribe to shut the Rock Hill bingo operation down and sell the facility.

In 2006, the Catawbas filed suit against the state of South Carolina for the right to operate video poker and similar electronic play devices on their reservation. They prevailed in the lower courts, but the state appealed that ruling to the South Carolina Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling. The Tribe has appealed that ruling to the United States Supreme Court.

On July 21, 2007 Catawba held their first elections in over 30 years. Of the five members of the former government, only two were reelected.

In 2007, Catawba entered into an exclusive management contract with SPM Resorts, Inc. to manage all new bingo facilities developed by the Tribe. Some Tribal members have been critical of this because the contract was signed by the former governing body immediately prior to the new elections and the contract has never been brought before the General Council (the full tribal membership) as is required by their existing constitution.

References

• Drye, Willie (Nov. 14, 2005). "Excavated Village Unlocks Mystery of Tribe's Economy". National Geographic News.

External links

• The Catawba Cultural Preservation Project
• A Brief History of the Catawba Peoples
• Entry from Encyclopedia of North American Indians
• "Catawba History" by Lee Sultzman
• Information on Catawba
• The Catawba Indians: "People of the River" - at Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History