In the early 2000s, approximately 2,200 Catawba Indians were living on reservation lands near Rock Hill, S.C. As of 2022, there were 3,300 enrolled members of the Catawba Nation. 6. After an abortive attempt to relocate them near the Cherokee in North Carolina, a 630-acre tract was selected on the west bank of the Catawba River within the boundaries of the old reservation; by 1850, 100 Catawbas were living there. In approximately 1883, tribal members were contacted by Mormon missionaries. 4. A Quapaw reservation was established in 1839 in northeastern Oklahoma. During 1994, the Catawba regained federal recognition after a lengthy court battle. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Catawba-people, Catawba - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11). The politics of trade and settlement, and the concern for protection from other Indians (especially the Iroquois), were the major forces that dictated the Catawba's relations with the Carolina and Virginia colonies. The Catawba were long in a state of warfare with northern tribes, particularly the Iroquois Seneca, and the Algonquian-speaking Lenape, a people who had occupied coastal areas and had become vassals of the Iroquois after migrating out of traditional areas due to European encroachment. Leaders of the state of South Carolina knew this and kept relations with the Nation friendly. They also updated and adopted their constitution in 1975. Because that is the spirit of Little People, and Forever Boy, to keep us young in our hearts. The path of the Catawba river. In 1840 the Catawba sold their land to South Carolina at the Treaty of Indian Ford. "CATAWBA RIVER BASIN." Today, many Catawba live on a reservation in South Carolina. Charlotte is the most extensive city in North Carolina. The Catawba still hated the Iroquois and were too stubborn and proud to submit. On July 21, 2007, the Catawba held their first elections in more than 30 years. They take a hands-on approach. They are called Little People because many of them are no taller than your knees! Once the Virginia colony of Jamestown and the Carolina colony of Charles Town became more established this changed. In addition, for decades the Catawba pursued various land claims against the government for the losses due to the illegal treaty made by South Carolina in 1840 and the failure of the federal government to protect their interests. In 1738, they suffered from a smallpox epidemic, which also affected nearby tribes and the whites. Since they led a semisedentary lifestyle, agriculture was even more important as a food source. Further investigations by Horatio Hale, Gatschet, James Mooney, and James Owen Dorsey proved that several tribes of the same region were also of Siouan stock. Their headquarters are at Rock Hill, South Carolina. They were smiling at him and laughing and running to hug him. About 50 adult Catawbas make and sell pottery on a regular basis. The Final Demise Of The Timucuan Indians. The Catawba peopleretreated to their northern towns and again absorbed refugees from the defeated tribes. From the time of the settlement of Charles Towne (modern-day Charleston, S.C.) in 1670, the Esaw, Catawba, and Sugaree tribes experienced the difficult and disruptive consequences of Euro-American frontier expansion. Reeling from the effects of Anglo-American colonization and the epidemic, in 1759 the Catawba gathered together, abandoning their towns around Sugar Creek and establishing a unified town at Twelve Mile Creek. The Native Americans lived throughout the The weapons that the Cherokee used included . Despite past differences, the North Carolina Cherokee generously invited the Catawba to join them. Catawba warriors fought against the Cherokee and against Lord Charles Cornwallis in North Carolina. By the time of the American Revolution, the Catawba had adjusted uneasily to their circumstances, surrounded by and living among the Euro-American settlers, who did not consider them a threat. By 1826 virtually all of the reservation had been either sold or leased to whites. The Iroquois tribes were not only hunters. For personal use and not for further distribution. They absorbed many of the refugees and, perhaps because of past service and legitimate grievances, were soon back in the good graces of South Carolina. . Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. These were primarily the tribes of different language families: the Iroquois, who ranged south from the Great Lakes area and New York; the Algonquian Shawnee and Lenape (Delaware); and the Iroquoian Cherokee, who fought for control over the large Ohio Valley (including what is in present-day West Virginia). The Catawbas were a large and powerful group and waged war with neighboring tribes, especially the Cherokee. The Catawba were recognized as a Native American tribe in 1941 and they created a written constitution in 1944.