Native+Americans


 * Native American Tribes**

By Kaleigh

There are four major tribes in North Carolina. They consist of the Algonquin, the Tuscarora, the Cherokee, and the Catawba.  The Algonquin tribe lived along the coast, from Maine to North Carolina. The Algonquin spoke the Algonquin language. The Algonquin tribe had groups that made up that tribe. These groups were the Chowanoc, the Pasquotank, and the Waccamaw. The largest group on Cape Fear was the Waccamaw. The Algonquin tribe relied on fish from the sound and from the sea. They also gathered and ate different fruits, as well as melons, walnuts, cucumbers, gourds, Pease, divers’ roots and maize.

The Tuscarora lived in the Coastal Plains in the 1500’s. They word Tuscarora means “hemp gatherers.” Fifteen large villages lived near the Tar and Neuse rivers. Each village had 300-500 people. The Tuscarora was kin to the Iroquois nation of New York and possibly from the south. When white settlers saw the Tuscarora people they said that they people in the tribe had flat bodies. The Tuscarora tied the infants to a board so they would have correct posture when they are older. The white settlers also claim the Tuscarora have the most handsome hands and feet.

As named from Juan Pardo, the Catawba tribe lived in the Piedmont. Some of the Catawba Indians called themselves ka pa tu or “where the river divides.” They also called themselves is wa which means “on the river.” The Catawba moved a lot during the 1500’s. The Catawba speaks the Sioux language and are related to the Sioux of the Great Plains.

The Cherokee lived in the mountains during the woodland period. They also lived on upper stretches of the Ohio River. The Cherokee are ancestors to the Iroquois tribe, but not getting along so well they were driven from their homes and they settled in the mountains, where most of the Cherokee live. There are more than 30,000 people in the Cherokee tribe. The Cherokee wove baskets out of tree bark and grass because they were unable to make pottery.