Catawba are a Native American people of what is now South Carolina. They called themselves Iyeye, which means people of the river in their language. European colonists called them Catawba, the name the Native Americans used for the river valley in which they lived. Today, the Catawba are famous for their beautiful traditional pottery.
The Catawba grew crops of corn, beans, and squash. The men hunted deer and other animals, and they caught fish in local rivers. The Catawba lived in small villages of round, bark-covered homes. Each dwelling housed an extended family. A Catawba village was built around a large council house and an open plaza for meetings, games, and dances. A defensive palisade (fence of wooden stakes) surrounded and protected the village.
The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto first encountered the Catawba people in 1540. Relations were friendly, but increasing contact with European colonists exposed the Catawba to smallpox and other diseases, reducing their population. Over time, the Catawba lost much of their homeland through colonization. Catawba warriors fought on the side of the colonists in the American Revolution (1775-1783).
In 1840, South Carolina agreed to provide the remaining Catawba a reservation (land set aside for the tribe by treaty) in exchange for the land they occupied. The Catawba agreed, but the state did not provide the reservation. Some Catawba joined the Cherokee, who were later relocated to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). In 1973, the remaining Catawba petitioned the United States government for federal recognition, which was granted in 1993. Today, most Catawba live on or around a small reservation in South Carolina. The reservation has its own tribal government, laws, police, and social services.
