Native Americans
Native Americans
• 3 major Native American tribes lived in SC
– Cherokee – lived in the northwestern part
of SC
– Catawba – lived in the hills of the Piedmont
– Yemassee – lived at the coast of SC
• Each tribe spoke different languages and had
different ways of life
Cherokee
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Lived in the mountains
Built towns along the rivers
Towns had 30-60 homes
Hunted bear, deer, and turkey for
food
• Planted corn, beans, squash, and
melons
Sequoyah
• A famous Cherokee leader
• Invented a system for
writing the Cherokee
language
• Language - Iroquoian
Importance of Rivers
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Fishing
Travel
Food
Drinking
Cooking
Bathing
Cherokee Government
• Council House was the center
of government for a Cherokee
village
• Council was more powerful
than the chief
Catawba
• Lived in the Piedmont
• Settled near the Catawba River
• Catawba means “river people”
• Made pottery, bowls, baskets,
and mats to trade
• Language - Siouan
Catawba Homes
• Round or oval
• Made of Young Trees
• Covered with bark
• Fireplace inside
Catawba Government
• Council House for meetings
• Had a chief who led the council
Yemassee
• Lived at the coast near the South
Carolina and Georgia border
• We know they were there because
of midden mounds
–Midden mounds are ancient trash
heaps
• Unlike Cherokee and Catawba,
Yemassee ate shellfish
Yemassee Homes
• Round
• Covered with Palmetto Fronds
Yemassee Language
• Muskhogean