Standard 8-1.

1: Eastern Woodland Natives

The human mosaic of the South Carolina colony was composed of indigenous, immigrant, and enslaved
populations. To understand how these differing backgrounds melded into an entirely new and different
culture you will summarize the collective and individual aspects of the Native American culture of the
Eastern Woodlands tribal group, including the Catawba, Cherokee and Yemassee.

Native American nations of North America were divided into regional groups
based on where people lived and the languages that they spoke. Such groups
include the Eastern Woodlands, who were the first Native Americans to
encounter European settlers in North America. This encounter would greatly
impact their culture.

The Eastern Woodland Native Americans were named so because they

were forest dwellers. The culture, political systems and daily life of the
Eastern Woodlands were affected by the geography of where they lived.
Waterways, flora, and fauna were plentiful. They used rivers for
transportation and fished to feed their tribes. They used rocks, wood, and
http://whitewolve.com/native_americans/p 1 animal pelts to create tools for hunting and farming, and to make clothing.
Tree trunks were used to build canoes. Housing was made from natural
resources available in the area such as tree bark and animal hides. The men used sharp points carved from
rocks and animal bones for hunting as well as bows and arrows because they had not
yet discovered iron. The land was fertile, with rolling hills and clay soil, which allowed
the people of the Eastern Woodlands to develop farming. Because Eastern Woodlands
natives farmed, they settled into more permanent villages than did their nomadic
ancestors. The nation worked the land together. They did not have a sense of private
ownership of the land, but believed instead that the land was held in trust by tribal
groups. The Native Americans of the Woodlands cut trees and burned the brush to
create farmland or to drive out animals and clear a field for farming. This was called
slash and burn agriculture. Women of the village, who gathered fruits and nuts,
were also the principal farmers, using simple hoes made of bone. Their primary crops
were known as the three sisters, corn, pole beans, and squash, as well as
pumpkins, and bottle gourds which they planted together using corn stalks as poles
for the beans. The Eastern Woodlands Natives also grew tobacco. http://www.the-gardeners-calendar.co.uk/
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Section Review:

1) Why were the natives of the area of, and surrounding, South Carolina called Eastern
Woodland Natives?

2) How did they use natural resources to farm and hunt? (Be specific. This should include tools,
as well as transportation, and food)

3) How did the natives view of land possession differ from one that we have today?

4) What is slash and burn agriculture?

5) What crops were known as the three sisters?

 There were many Eastern Woodlands tribes in South Carolina. Each had a
specific lifestyle depending upon where they lived. South Carolina tribes
spoke different languages but all preserved their history through the oral
tradition of storytelling. The three most important tribes were the Cherokee
of the mountains, the Catawba of the Piedmont region, and the Yemassee
who lived along the coast.

Section Review: http://southcarolinahistorybellflowers.w 1

6) How did the Eastern Woodland tribes preserve their history?

7) What were the three most important tribes of the Eastern Woodlands and where did they
live?

http://courtneymillerauthor.com/2014/04/ 1
The Cherokee was a Native American nation that lived in the foothills and
mountains of South Carolina at the time of European discovery. The Cherokee
called themselves the real people and were a powerful nation. The Cherokee
lived in villages of up to six hundred people surrounded by a palisade for
protection. Their summer homes were open to the air while their winter homes
were round structures with thick walls made of a mixture of grass and clay called
daub. The roofs were made of bark and branches called wattle. The men fished
by poisoning the water with walnut bark. This stunned the fish and made them
rise in the water to be gathered. Leaders of the village, including women, met as
a council to make rules for the nation. In times of peace, the village was led by a
White leader and in times of war, the Red leader took over. Each village also
had a holy man or woman.

Section Review:

8) Where did the Cherokee nations live?

9) Describe the Cherokees summer and winter houses. Be specific.

10) How did the Cherokee protect their village?

11) Who ruled the Cherokee during times of peace? War?

The Catawba tribe, who called themselves the river people, lived along
the rivers of the Piedmont region in villages surrounded by a palisade.
Their homes were wigwams made of sapling frames covered with bark or
mats made of grasses and reeds. The Catawba also had council houses in
their villages where leaders made the rules for the people. The Catawba were
great potters, using clay that they shaped into pots.

Section Review: http://usslave.blogspot.com/2012/11/sout 1

12) Why were the Catawba called the river people?

13) Describe the Catawba homes.

14) What did the Catawba specialize in making?


http://pkes3rdgrade.weebly.com/yemassee. 1
The Yemassee nation was originally from Spanish Florida (present
day Georgia) but later moved to the coast of South Carolina near the
mouth of the Savannah River to escape the Spanish governor. During the
summer the people lived on the beach in wigwams covered with
palmetto leaves which were plentiful in the area. During the fall, winter,
and spring they lived farther inland in wattle and daub homes like the
Cherokee with a roof of palmetto leaves. Clams and oysters were part of
their everyday diet. The Yemassee also had a council to help with making
decisions for the tribe that sometimes included women. The Yemassee
fled to Florida after the Yemassee War with the European settlers.

Section Review:

15) Where did the Yemassee nation originate?

16) How did the housing of the Yemassee differ throughout the seasons?

17) How did the Yemassee use their natural resources for food?

18) What happened to the Yemassee after the Europeans began to settle in the area?

When Europeans arrived, the people of the Eastern Woodlands traded furs and
deerskins for iron tools, weapons, and guns. As the settlers became more
prosperous and numerous, they took over more of the native peoples lands,
cheated them in trade, and forced some of the natives into slavery, leading to
hostilities between the settlers and the people of the Eastern Woodlands nations.

Section Review:

19) How did the natives and European settlers benefit from one http://www.sciway.net/hist/indians/ 1
another when the Europeans first began to arrive?

20) How did the Europeans treat the natives after the number of settlers grew and they became
prosperous?