I AM

The Catawba Nation

Portraits and Narratives

The Catawba have lived on their ancestral lands along the banks of the Catawba River dating back at least 6,000 years. Before contact with the Europeans it is believed that the Nation inhabited most of the Piedmont area of South Carolina, North Carolina and parts of Virginia. Early counts of the Catawba people made by Spanish explorers estimated the population of the tribe at the time as between 15,000-25,000. After settlers arrived in the area, two rounds of smallpox decimated the tribe’s numbers, and by 1849 the once large group was down to under 100 citizens. Now there are currently over 3,300 enrolled members of the Nation. The Catawba have a long history and a rich culture that lives on today.