North Carolina Indians

NORTIt CAROllN~ I- N·D·'·~·N·5 NORTH CAROLINA INDIANS M. C. Co.ai.sion of Indian Affaira N. C. Department of Administration 227 East Edenton Street P. O. Box 27228 Raleigh, North Carolina 27611 Re vis e d 1983 In response to the many requests for information received from interest ed persons from across the stat e , the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs has compiled this booklet as a general overview of North Carolina Indians . Whi l e t his is not i ntended to be a complete history of the North Carolina Native Americans , it i s a good starting point for those wishing to know more about the Indian population, both the past and present . In an attempt to pro vide specific information , the Commission of Indian Affair s has also included a l ist of suggested readings and the addresses of Indian or ganizations within the s tate which may also be sources of additional information. I llustrations included in this bookle t are reproductions of drawings by John White which were first printed in Thomas He ~ iot's A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia, published in 1590. NORTH CAROLINA INDIANS BEFORE EUROPEAN CONTACT At the time of European contact, there existed in North Ca rolina a cultura l pattern typical of all tribes in the stat e despite regional or triba l variations. The native people of the state lived in villages, made potte ry and depended on an economy based on agriculture , hunting and food gat heri ng . This cultur al pattern evolved from a prehistoric sequence lasting 10,000 or more years beginning with the Paleoindians ahout 10,000 B. C. Paleoindians. 10, 000 - B,OOO B.C. The beginning of the Paleo indian period in North Carolina dates t o about 10,000 B. C. during the late Pleistocene geol ogi cal period and the last advance of the ice age. The Paleoindians l ived in small groups or bands and their economy was based primarily on hunting, a lthough wild plant foods were also gathe r ed. Because of their dependence upon migratory herd animals , the Paleoindians were nomadic and, for the most part, lived in temporary shelters, although some areas which were particular ly rich in na tura l resources were used as base camps and returned to i n s uccessive years. While other t ool s have been found at these sit es , the characteristic artifact of the Paleoindians i s the fluted point, a large lanceolate- grooved point which was att ached t o a spear. Archaic . 8 . 000 - 1 . 000 B. C. The melting of the glaciers at the end of the Pleis t ocene and the warming climatic trend r esulted in a shift in food resources. Hunting remained an important economic activity, but wild plant foods (hickory nuts, chestnut s , berries , roots, and bark) and shellfish (clams) were gathered as a dietary supplement. Grinding and polishing as stone-working t echniques were added to the technological repertoire, indicating a shift to a forest environment, as seen in t ools like the axe and adze. Mortars and pestles for grinding food plants, and soapstone pots also were ground stone i~novations of this period . Hunting e fficiency was also increased by the development of advanced hunting technology such as the atlatl, spear thrower. 1 Woodland . 1 . 000 B.C. - A.D. 700 The Woodland period marked the transition from a hunting and gathering economy to an agricultural life style. It was characterized by the appearance of domesticated plants (corn. beans. squash, and tobacco), fabric-impressed pottery , villages located in the bottomlands of rivers and streams, dome shaped permanent houses made of pole framework covered with bark or skins, the bow and arrow and small stemmed or triangular points (so-called "bird points"), tapered axes or celts, and pipes . Mississippian. A.D. 500 - 1 . 600 At the time of the arrival of the Europeans, the cultural tradition of much of the Southeast was the Mississippian pattern. Basically, the Missis sippian was characterized by sedentary agriculture, fortified towns and some times cities, elaborate ceremonial centers, and a complex socia-political and religious structure, sometimes including an elaborate social hierarchy or c l ass system. In North Carolina, however, the majority of the late prehis t ory or early historic population maintained the economy and life style of the earlier Woodland period . 2 NORTH CAROLINA AND THE SOUTHEAST The pre- contact tribes of North Carolina fit into this Southeastern cultural patter n , with minor regional and tribal variations, some of which may be due to geographical factors . Geographically, North Carolina may be divided into four regions : the tidewater region, the coastal plain , the piedmont, and the mountains. At the time of the first European contac ts, North Carolina wa s inhabited by a number of tribes (fig . 1) sharing some cultural traits but also distin quished by regional and linquistic variations. Three major language families were represented in North Caroli na: Iroquoian, Siouan, and Algonquian . The Iroquoian tribes - the Cherokee , Tuscarora, Meherrin, Coree, and Neuse River* - were related linquistically and culturally to the Iroquois tribes to the north . The Cherokee were located on the weste rn boundaries of the state, in the moun tains, and the Tuscarora , Meherrin, Coree, and Neuse River were on the coastal plains. The Siouan tribes were located primarily in the piedmont area or central portion of the state: the Cape Fear , Catawba , Cheraw, Eno, Keyauwee , Occaneechi, Saponi, Shakori, Sissipahaw , Sugaree, Tutelo, Waccamaw, Wateree, Waxhaw , and Woccon. The Algonquian speakers represented the southernmost extension of predominantly Northeastern Woodlands tribes. Located entirely in the tidewater area of the state were the Bear River, Chowan, Hatteras, Machapunga, Moratok, Pamlico, Secotan , and Weapomeoc. Since most historical accounts of travelers and settlers dealt with either the Cherokee or the Algonquian, little is known about the Siouan peoples and their pre-contact cultures. The descriptions which follow will deal with the Cherokee as representative of the Iroquoian, with the Catawba as representative of the Siouan- speakers and the piedmont, and the coastal Algonquian. Coastal Algonguian At the time of the first cont act of Europeans wi th the Indians , the Algonquian tribes occupied the tidewater areas of the Atlantic Coast from Canada as far south as the Neuse River in North Carolina. In 1584, the estimated 7, 000 Algonquians living in North Carolina were relative newcomers to the Southeast , having come in a series of migrations . To Some extent, they * - May have been Iroquian or Algonquian 3 retained cultural elements from- their Northeastern Algonquian traditions, but there was also a great deal of cultural borrowing from their southern neighbors as they adapted to the geographical and climatic conditions of the area. They were more water-oriented and placed more emphasis upon hunting, fishing, and gathering than did mos t of their neighbors. Catawba The Catawba was one of the Siouan- speaking tribes of the piedmont area of the Carolinas at the time of the first European contacts. Little is known of their culture and life style at that time, since contacts were few and sporadic, and there was little documentation of their culture . What is known is based largely on the writings of John Lawson, who explored the piedmont territory and visited the Catawba in 1701. Not only is little known about their culture, there is also some confus i on as to exactly who the Catawba were. The Catawba Nation was actually a military alliance of several Siouan tribes and remnants of tribes or bands decimated by war and disease who joined the Catawba. In the historical records, they have been known by serveral different names: The Spanish referred to them as the Issa, the Ysa, or the Usi ; while the 17th century Virginians called them the Usheree or Ushery. It was after the Yamasee War that they became known as the Catawba, which means "cut off ," apparently referring to their being cut off from other Siouan tribes. Their name for themselves was I Ye Ye, "people," or Nieye , "real people." At the time of contact . there were approximately 6,000 Catawbas , equal in size the the Tuscaroras . The only tribe larger than these two groups was the Cherokee. Cherokees At the time of their first contacts with Europeans, in the mid- 16th century , the Cherokee lived in the isolated hills and valleys of the highest portions of the Southern Appalachians . Related linquistically to the Iroquois to the north, it is believed by some scholars that successive groups of Cherokees were driven southwards in pre-Columbian times until they settled in the Southern Appalachians. 4 By the beginning of the 18th century , the Cherokee t erri t ory had ex panded to include Allegheny County in southwest ern Virginia, western Nort h Carolina , northwestern South Carolina , eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia and Al abama . An area abundant in natural resources provided over 800 species of plants used for food, medicines, and crafts. A wide variety of trees in the dense forests was available for houses (framework and coverings) , for fuel , weaving fibe rs , t wine , and medicinal barks , while plentiful animals provided food , clothing, shelter, and medicine. f . , / .... .~ ~ -y .}t ,t; {" ' . ' .- , . - --'---~ .. ~ . 5 NORTH CAROLINA INDIANS AFTER EUROPEAN CONTACT 1500 - 1600: Early Encounters For centuries before European contact, the native peoples of North Carolina lived in harmony with the natural environment , taking no more from the land than they needed to survive. Hunting for sport was unknown and the individual ownership of land was completely alien to them. Fishing, fowling, and farming were relied upon to provide food for their tribal groups.

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