Native American History in South Carolina
The Spanish were the first Europeans to encounter Native Americans in South Carolina, a region that the inhabitants referred to as Chicora. During one of the explorers’ incursions on the coast they abducted a native man, whom they named Francisco de Chicora, and brought him to Spain. On the return voyage, Francisco dove overboard and returned to his nation, escaping from a life of slavery. Native Americans had occupied South Carolina since the Pleistocene era, originally as bands of hunter gatherers following the migrating herds of large game. Over the millennia these bands settled into more permanent villages, and inhabitants on the coast of the state were the first to develop pottery in North America. By the time that the Spanish first made contact, the Native Americans of South Carolina had coalesced into tribes, lived in small towns, and were experienced farmers of the three main domesticated crops of squash, maize and beans. At the this time there were 29 named tribes in South Carolina. Sadly, initial encounters with Europeans brought these Native tribes in contact with Old World diseases such as small pox and influenza, which devastated their populations. By the time the English founded Charles Town in 1670; Native American society in South Carolina had already been altered dramatically. Furthermore, outside groups such as the Yamassee and Westo entered and took advantage of the weakened tribes. These new tribes were eventually defeated by the English colonists and the Catawba and Cherokee became the dominate Native American powers. During the Revolution the Catawba became fierce allies of the colonists while the Cherokee, fearing encroachment on their lands by the Americans, sided with the British. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the Cherokee to move from their ancestral lands in South Carolina while the Catawba were allowed to stay.
Today the Pee Dee, Edisto, Chicora, Yamassee, Santee, Chicora- Waccamaw, and Catawba still keep alive their ancient cultures in our state. Additionally, the Catawba practice the only remaining aboriginal pottery tradition east of the Mississippi River. The Native Americans created the framework for which the rest of South Carolina’s history was built upon and the Richland Library and the Walker Local and Family History Center can be an invaluable asset for uncovering the archaeological, historical and genealogical resources of a great people.
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