North Carolina

What role do the visual arts play in Native American culture?

Key Term: Native American- a member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

 People have lived in North Carolina for several thousand years. The first of these native peoples lived as nomadic hunters and gatherers.  Many artifacts of their existence have been left behind for archaeologists to study and examine.  By 1585, there were an estimated 35,000 Native Americans living in the state and well over 28 different tribes are known to have existed.  These Native Americans depended on whatever nature or the land offered in order to survive.

 Algonquian  Iroquoian  Siouan

 Before the 19 th century, North Carolina’s native people had no written languages and left few written records.  To understand the lives and belief of early people, historians use other kinds of evidence and sources.

 Native cultures left behind many things that offer clues to how people lived.

 Large heavy spear points suggest that a group hunted large animals.

 Elaborately painted pottery indicated a culture in which people had enough spare time to develop artistic talents.

 Shells found in archeological sites hundreds of miles from any ocean could mean that Native Americans traveled long distances to trade with each other.

 Native Americans have handed down storied and legends for generations.  These stories help explain how the ancestors of modern Indians viewed the world.

 European explorers and colonists wrote many descriptions of Native Americans and their cultures.  Because most Europeans did not understand native cultures, these descriptions were inaccurate.  But careful interpretation of these records still gives important clues about native life.

 Once lived in the vicinity of Cape Lookout.  The survivors of the Lost Colony may have been incorporated into this tribe.  The Hatteras Indians were the first to come into contact with the Europeans and the first to decline in numbers.  By 1700, only 16 fighting men were to be counted with a total population of 80.

 Once a large and powerful tribe in the Albemarle region in the 1600’s.  By 1707, they had only one town left with 15 warriors.  This loss of life and identity was because of interaction with the European colonists, disease, and war.  In 1733, with only a handful of original members left, they were assimilated (blended) into the Tuscarora.

 The Tuscarora were a part of the Iroquoian Nation and were fierce and aggressive.  Around 1700, there were approximately 1200 warriors and over 5000 in the tribe.  The Tuscarora War of 1711 broke their power and control in North Carolina. Many of the survivors of the tribe fled northward into New York where they joined their cousins, the Iroquois.

 Lived along the banks of the Catawba River and were largely farmers.  They were friendly to the white settlers and were the arch enemies of the Cherokee nation. During the American Revolution, several Catawba Warriors served with distinction in the American army in pivotal battles such as Guilford Courthouse in  In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, the tribe suffered significant decline from diseases and warfare.  By 1944, only 280 full-blooded Catawba Indians were living.

 Cherokee civilization may be as old or older than the Greek and Roman civilizations.  The Cherokee have always inhabited the mountain regions of the southeast.  At one time, the Cherokee numbered over 25,000. Today, there is an estimated 270,000 federally enrolled members.  The Cherokee battled fiercely against white settlers and sided with the British during the Revolutionary War.  Little by little, the Cherokee lost their ancient territory as the years progressed.

In an important moment in American History occurred when the Cherokee Indians were rounded up by the United States government in the 1830’s and forced to relocate west of the Mississippi River in what is today Oklahoma. This movement became known as, “The Trail of Tears.” This was due largely to gold being found on their ancestral lands and also because of the expanding white population. Thousands of men, women, and children died on the journey. During the War Between the States, several thousand Cherokee served gallantly in the Confederate Army with an outstanding battle record. Today, the Cherokee Nation continues to expand and grow.

Key Term: Weaving- make fabric by interlacing threads on a loom.

Key Term: Weaver-a person who weaves fabric.

Key Term: Loom- an apparatus for making fabric by weaving yarn or thread.

Key Term: Warp- in weaving the threads on a loom over and under which other threads (the weft) are passed to make cloth.

Key Term: Weft- in weaving the crosswise threads on a loom over and under which other threads (the warp) are passed to make cloth.

Video- Native Americans in North Carolina