The Catawba (people of the river) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. They live in the Southeast United States, along the border of North Carolina near the city of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Although recognized by South Carolina, the Catawba did not receive federal recognition until 1941. In 1959 they petitioned Congress to terminate their tribal status, and tribal landholdings were distributed among the membership during 1962. The final tribal role call of that year gave a population of a little over 600. After termination, many Catawba emigrated to the Choctaw in southeast Oklahoma. After a change of heart in 1973, the Catawba tribal council was reorganized and recognized by the state of South Carolina.
During 1994, the Catawba regained federal recognition after a lengthy court battle.
View H.R.2399 - Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina land Claims Settlement Act of 1993.
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Margaret Robbins is a traditional artist who comes from the Catawba pottery tradition, but puts her own unique spin on the work she creates.
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"Chief Blue towers over his wife, with his more than 6-foot frame. Their son, Nelson Blue, has now assumed command of the Catawba tribe," says the caption on this 1950s photo. Courtesy of the South...
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"Indian Pottery for Sale." This photo was taken by Louise Jones Dubose when she visited the Catawba reservation in connection with her office as assistant director of the WPA Writers Project in the...
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This is one of a series of photos from a collection made by Mrs. I.A. Robertson in 1908. She had long been interested in the Catawba Native Americans and their pottery, and often visited their...
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Native Americans also participated in the American Revolution. The Catawbas, for the most part, sided with the Colonialist Patriots, due to their friendship, and ties to settlers in the surrounding...
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“Catawba Pottery is the oldest Native pottery tradition east of the Mississippi River that’s been produced continuously throughout time,” Catawba Potter Keith “Little Bear” Brown explains. Catawba...
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by Dr. Stephen Criswell. Criswell is Assistant Professor of English & Native American Studies at the University of South Carolina Lancaster. Filet of flounder, salt and pepper catfish, deviled crab...
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The lesson consists of the host and three students visiting Keowee-Toxaway State Park in Pickens County. The story of the Cherokee is told there through drawings and artifacts in a series of display...
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General Thomas Sumter was an American Revolutionary War militia leader and later a U.S. Congressman. After the crushing defeat at Waxhaws, General Sumter gathered militia troops in South Carolina...
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The Catawba still use the river their ancestors used for hunting, fishing, and clay. Riverbottom clay is used to make traditional Catawba pottery. Pottery is an important tradition that has been...
