The name Catawba means “river people”. Their own name was; Iyeye (people) or Nieye (real people) and the Spanish referred to them as the Iswa

Early on, the Catawba were practitioners of a flathead people. A process where the infant was placed in a cradle with a board hinged to the top of the cradle. The baby’s head was then placed under the board where pressure was applied for an extended period of time with the objective of flattening the baby’s forehead. As a warrior, this flat forehead along with their distinctive tradition of painting a black circle around one eye, a white circle around the other with the remainder of the face painted black made for a frightful sight to their enemies.

Up until the 1650’s the Catawba were in constant conflict with their neighbors, the Cherokee nation and the Delaware. In 1660’s the refugee Shawnee, escaping the invading Iroquois, were invited by the Cherokee to move into their northern boundary to act as a buffer between the Cherokee Nation and their enemy the Catawba. Ignoring the fact that the Shawnee had moved to the Cherokee lands, the Iroquois nation continued to pursue and harass the Shawnee. As the Iroquois passed south through the Catawba lands in pursuit of the Shawnee, the Catawba became drawn into the conflict and waged war with the Iroquois. It was at this point that the Catawba allied themselves to the British colonists in an effort to acquire much needed arms to fend off the ever increasing enemies that surrounded them. This alliance with the British colonist remained until the revolution, wavering only once during the 1715 Yamasce uprising. Aside from that one incident, the Catawba fought alongside and defended the British colonists against other Native American tribes and the encroachment of French and Spanish incursions.

The Iroquois and the Catawba were both allies to the British and their constant conflict was beginning to wear on concerned. The Catawba numbers had declined over the years due to disease, alcohol and warfare. In 1738 their numbers were decimated by smallpox and again in 1759, wiping out half of their numbers. So in 1759, at Albany, the Catawba were forced to make peace with the Iroquois through mediation by the British. Other tribes continued to make war on the Catawba, however, and in 1763 a party of Shawnee killed the last great Catawba chief; king Haigler.

When the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, The Catawba’s gave their full support to the rebel cause, sending badly needed food and warriors to aid the colonists. The Catawba fought alongside the colonist against the British in many battles, including the Battle of Camden (August 16th, 1780). As a result of the Catawba’s loyalty, the south Carolinians were deeply grateful. As one prominent Camden merchant put it, “[The Catawba have] taken so noble a part [in the war] and….fought and bled with your white Brothers of America.”

This sculpture is a depiction of a Catawba warrior who fought bravely in the battle of Camden alongside the colonists. Even though the battle was won by the British, this Catawba warrior proudly wears the spoils of war; a British uniform taken from his enemy in battle.