The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' ( Catawba: ), are a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. Their current lands are in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, on the Catawba River, near the city of Rock Hill. Their territory once extended into

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, as well, and they still have legal claim to some parcels of land in that state. They were once considered one of the most powerful Southeastern tribes in the Carolina Piedmont, as well as one of the most powerful tribes in the South as a whole, with other, smaller tribes merging into the Catawba as their post-contact numbers dwindled due to the effects of colonization on the region. The Catawba were among the East Coast tribes who made selective alliances with some of the early European

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

, when these colonists agreed to help them in their ongoing conflicts with other tribes. These were primarily the tribes of different language families: the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

, who ranged south from the Great Lakes area and New York; the Algonquian

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

(Delaware); and the

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, who fought for control over the large

Ohio Valley The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its mouth on the Mississippi River in Cairo, ...

(including what is in present-day

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

). During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

the Catawba supported the American colonists against the British. Decimated by colonial

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemics An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of Host (biology), hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example ...

, warfare and cultural disruption, the Catawba declined markedly in number in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some Catawba continued to live in their homelands in South Carolina, while others joined the

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

, at least temporarily. Terminated as a tribe by the federal government in 1959, the Catawba Indian Nation had to reorganize to reassert their sovereignty and treaty rights. In 1973 they established their tribal enrollment and began the process of regaining federal recognition. In 1993 they regained federal recognition and won a $50 million Indian land claims settlement by the federal government and state of South Carolina. The state of South Carolina also recognized the tribe in 1993. Their headquarters are at

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

. , the population of the Catawba Nation has increased to about 2,600, most in South Carolina. The Catawba language, part of the Siouan family ( Catawban branch), is being revived.

Name

The Catawba have also been known as ''Esaw'', or ''Issa'' (Catawba ''iswä'', "river"), named after their territory along the principal waterway of the region. Historically, ''Iswa'', today the river is commonly known as the Catawba River from its headwaters in North Carolina and into South Carolina before continuing as the Wateree River in Fairfield county, South Carolina. The nations of the

frequently referred to the Catawba under the general term ''Totiri'', or ''Toderichroone'', also known as ''

Tutelo The Tutelo (also Totero, Totteroy, Tutera; Yesan in Tutelo) were Native American people living above the Fall Line in present-day Virginia and West Virginia. They spoke a dialect of the Siouan Tutelo language thought to be similar to that of th ...

''.

History

People have lived in the area since the Paleoindian period (~10,000 B.C.). Pottery along the Catawba river corridor have been found that date to the

Woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact i ...

. The Catawba were the people who inhabited the area when Europeans first began to settle. Indians NW of South Carolina

In the late 19th century, the ethnographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft theorized that the Catawba had lived in Canada until driven out by the Iroquois (supposedly with French help) and that they had migrated to Kentucky and to Botetourt County, Virginia. He asserted that by 1660 they had migrated south to the Catawba River, competing in this territory with the

, a Southern Iroquoian language–speaking tribe who were based west of the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

in southwestern North Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, northwestern South Carolina, and northeastern Georgia. However, early 20th-century anthropologist

James Mooney James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the Great ...

later dismissed most elements of Schoolcraft's account as "absurd, the invention and surmise of the would-be historian who records the tradition." He pointed out that, aside from the French never having been known to help the Iroquois, the Catawba had been recorded by 1567 by the Spanish expedition under Juan Pardo as being in the same area of the Catawba River as was known to be their later territory. Mooney accepted the tradition that, following a protracted struggle, the Catawba and Cherokee had settled on the Broad River their mutual boundary. The Catawba also had armed confrontations with several northern tribes, particularly the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

Seneca nation The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois Leag ...

, and the Algonquian-speaking

, with whom they competed for hunting resources and territory. The Catawba chased Lenape raiding parties back to the north in the 1720s and 1730s, going across the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. At one point, a party of Catawba is said to have followed a party of Lenape who attacked them, and to have overtaken them near

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. It is part of both the Northern Virginia region of the state and the Washington metropolitan area, including Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. European se ...

. There they fought a pitched battle. Similar encounters in these longstanding conflicts were reported to have occurred at present-day

Franklin, West Virginia Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 486 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Franklin was established in 1794 and named for Francis Evick, an early settler. Hi ...

(1725),

Hanging Rocks Hanging Rocks are perpendicular cliffs rising nearly above the Potomac River#South Branch Potomac River, South Branch Potomac River in Hampshire County, West Virginia, Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Hanging Rocks are locat ...

and the mouth of the Potomac South Branch in West Virginia, and near the mouths of Antietam Creek (1736) and Conococheague Creek in Maryland. Mooney asserted that the name of Catawba Creek in Botetourt came from an encounter in these battles with the northern tribes, not from the Catawba having lived there. In 1721 the colonial governments of Virginia and New York held a council at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, attended by delegates from the Six Nations (''

'') and the Catawba. The colonists asked for peace between the Confederacy and the Catawba. The Six Nations reserved the land west of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

for themselves, including the Indian Road or Great Warriors' Path (later called the Great Wagon Road) through the Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia backcountry. This path was frequently traveled and was used until 1744 by Seneca war parties to pass through the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

to raid in the South. In 1738, a

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

broke out in South Carolina.

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

for centuries among Europeans, the infectious disease had been carried by them to North America, where it caused many deaths. The Catawba and other tribes, such as the Sissipahaw, suffered high mortality in these epidemics. In 1759, a smallpox epidemic killed nearly half the Catawba. In 1744 the Treaty of Lancaster, made at

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

, renewed the Covenant Chain between the Iroquois and the colonists. The governments had not been able to prevent settlers going into Iroquois territory, but the governor of Virginia offered the tribe payment for their land claim. The peace was probably final for the Iroquois, who had established the

as their preferred hunting ground by right of conquest and pushed other tribes out of it. Tribes located to the west continued warfare against the Catawba, who were so reduced that they could raise little resistance. In 1763, a small party of Algonquian

killed the noted Catawba chief, King Hagler, near his own village. In 1763, the colonial government of South Carolina confirmed a reservation for the Catawba of , on both sides of the Catawba River, within the present

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and Lancaster counties. When British troops approached during the

in 1780, the Catawba withdrew temporarily into Virginia. They returned after the

Battle of Guilford Court House The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Na ...

, and settled in two villages on the reservation. These were known as Newton, the principal village, and Turkey Head, on the opposite side of the Catawba/Wateree River.

19th century

In 1826, the Catawba leased nearly half their reservation to whites for a few thousand dollars of annuity; their dwindling number of members (as few as 110 by an 1896 estimate) depended on this money for survival. In 1840, by the Treaty of Nation Ford with South Carolina, the Catawba sold to the state all but of their reserved by the English Crown. They resided on the remaining square mile after the treaty. The treaty was invalid ''ab initio'' because the state did not have the right to make it, which was reserved for the federal government, and never gained Senate ratification. and did not get federal approval. About the same time, a number of the Catawba, dissatisfied with their condition among the whites, removed to join the remaining eastern Cherokee, who were based in far

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

. But, finding their position among their former enemies equally unpleasant, all but one or two soon returned to South Carolina. The last survivor of the westward migration, an elderly Catawba woman, died among the Cherokee in 1889. A few Cherokee intermarried with the Catawba in the region. At a later period some Catawba removed to the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

and settled near present-day Scullyville, Oklahoma. They assimilated with the Choctaw and did not retain separate tribal identity. Catawba 1913

The Catawba fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Nineteen men enlisted with the Confederate Army and saw combat across Virginia.

Historical culture and estimated populations

The Catawba are historically sedentary agriculturists, who have also fished and hunted for game. Their customs have been, and are, similar to neighboring Native Americans in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region. Traditional game has included deer, crops grown have included corn, and the women in particular are noted makers of pottery and baskets, arts which they still preserve. They are believed to have the oldest surviving tradition of pottery East of the Mississippi, and possibly the oldest (or one of the oldest) on the American continent. Early Spanish explorers of the mid-16th century estimated the population of the Catawba as between 15,000 and 25,000 people. When the English first settled South Carolina about 1682, they estimated the Catawba at about 1,500 warriors, or about 4,600 people in total. Their decline was attributed to the mortality of infectious diseases. The English named the Catawba River and Catawba County after this indigenous people. By 1728, the Catawba had been reduced to about 400 warriors, or about 1400 persons in total. In 1738, they suffered from a

, which also affected nearby tribes and the whites. In 1743, even after incorporating several small tribes, the Catawba numbered fewer than 400 warriors. In 1759, they again suffered from smallpox, and in 1761, had some 300 warriors, or about 1,000 people. By 1775 they had only 400 people in total; in 1780, they had 490; and, in 1784, only 250 were reported. During the nineteenth century, their numbers continued to decline, to 450 in 1822, and a total of 110 people in 1826. As of 2006, their population had increased to about 2600.

Religion and culture

The customs and beliefs of the early Catawba were documented by the anthropologist Frank Speck in the twentieth century. In the Carolinas, the Catawba became well known for their

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, which historically was made primarily by the women. Since the late 20th century, some men also make pottery. In approximately 1883, tribal members were contacted by

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Numerous Catawba were converted to the church. Some left the Southeast to resettle with clusters of Mormons in Utah, Colorado, and neighboring western states. The Catawba on their reserve in South Carolina hold a yearly celebration called ''Yap Ye Iswa'', which roughly translates to "Day of the People," or Day of the River People. Held at the Catawba Cultural Center, proceeds are used to fund the activities of the center.

20th century to present

The Catawba were electing their chief prior to the start of the 20th century. In 1909 the Catawba sent a petition to the United States government seeking to be given United States citizenship. During President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's administration, the federal government worked to improve conditions for Native Americans. Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, tribes were encouraged to renew their governments to exercise more self-determination. The Catawba were not at that time a recognized Native American tribe as they had lost their land and did not have a reservation. In 1929 Samuel Taylor Blue, chief of the Catawba, had begun the process to gain federal recognition. The Catawba were federally recognized as a Native American tribe in 1941, and they created a written constitution in 1944. Also in 1944 South Carolina granted the Catawba and other Native American residents of the state citizenship, but did not grant them the franchise, or right to vote. Like African Americans since the turn of the 20th century, the Native Americans were largely excluded from the franchise by discriminatory rules and practices associated with voter registration. They were prevented from voting until the late 1960s, after the federal

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

was passed. It provided for federal oversight and enforcement of people's constitutional right to vote. In the 1950s, the federal government began to press what is known as the

Indian termination policy Indian termination describes United States policies relating to Native Americans from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. It was shaped by a series of laws and practices with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American soci ...

, based on its perception that some tribes were assimilated enough not to need a special relationship with the government. It terminated the government of the Catawba in 1959. This cut off federal benefits, and communal property was allocated to individual households. The people became subject to state law. The Catawba decided that they preferred to be organized as a tribal community. Beginning in 1973, they applied to have their government federally recognized. Gilbert Blue served as their chief until 2007. They adopted a constitution in 1975 that was modeled on their 1944 version. In addition, for decades the Catawba pursued various land claims against the government for the losses due to the illegal treaty made by South Carolina in 1840 and the failure of the federal government to protect their interests. This culminated in '' South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc.'', where the United States Supreme Court ruled that the tribe's land claims were subject to a

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

which had not yet run out. In response, the Catawba prepared to file 60,000 lawsuits against individual landowners in York County to regain ownership of their land. On October 27, 1993, the U.S. Congress enacted the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 (Settlement Act), which reversed the "termination", recognized the Catawba Indian Nation and, together with the state of South Carolina, settled the land claims for $50 million, to be applied toward economic development for the Nation. On July 21, 2007, the Catawba held their first elections in more than 30 years. Of the five members of the former government, only two were reelected. In the 2010 census, 3,370 people identified as having Catawba ancestry.

Catawba Indian Nation Land Trust

The Catawba Reservation () is located in two disjointed sections in York County, South Carolina, east of Rock Hill. Covering a total of , it reported a 2010 census population of 841 inhabitants. It also has a congressionally established service area in North Carolina, covering

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

, Cabarrus, Gaston, Union,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and Rutherford counties. The Catawba also own a

site Site most often refers to: * Archaeological site * Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area * Construction site * Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere * Website, a set of related web pages, typical ...

Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kings Mountain is a small suburb, suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area in Cleveland County, North Carolina, Cleveland and Gaston County, North Carolina, Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. Most of the city is in Clev ...

, which they will develop for a gaming casino and mixed-use entertainment complex. Today the Catawba earn most of their revenue from Federal/State funds.

Gaming relations with South Carolina

Under the terms of the 1993 Settlement Act, the Catawba waived its right to be governed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Instead, the Catawba agreed to be governed by the terms of the Settlement Agreement and the State Act as pertains to games of chance; which at the time allowed for video poker and bingo. In 1996, the Catawba formed a joint venture partnership with D.T. Collier of SPM Resorts, Inc. of

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the " Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. It ...

, to manage their bingo and casino operations. That partnership, New River Management and Development Company, LLC (of which the Catawba were the majority owner) operated the Catawba's bingo parlor in Rock Hill. In 1999, the South Carolina General Assembly passed a statewide ban on the possession and operation of video poker devices. When in 2004 the Catawba entered into an exclusive management contract with SPM Resorts, Inc., to manage all new bingo facilities, some tribal citizens were critical. The new contract was signed by the former governing body immediately prior to new elections. In addition, the contract was never brought before the General Council (the full tribal membership) as required by their existing constitution. After the state established the South Carolina Education Lottery in 2002, the tribe lost gambling revenue and decided to shut down the Rock Hill bingo operation. They sold the facility in 2007. In 2006, the bingo parlor, located at the former Rock Hill Mall on Cherry Road, was closed. The Catawba filed suit against the state of South Carolina for the right to operate video poker and similar "electronic play" devices on their reservation. They prevailed in the lower courts, but the state appealed the ruling to the

South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.

. The state Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling. The tribe appealed that ruling to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, but in 2007 the court declined to hear the appeal, leaving the state supreme court in place. In 2014, the Supreme Court of South Carolina ruled similarly against the tribe in regards of the state's Gambling Cruise Act. In 2014, the Catawba made a second attempt to operate a bingo parlor, opening one at what was formerly a BI-LO, on Cherry Road in Rock Hill. It closed in 2017, unable to turn a profit.

Gaming relations with North Carolina

On September 9, 2013, the Catawba announced plans to build a $600 million casino along Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Cleveland County officials quickly endorsed the plans. But Governor Pat McCrory, over 100

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

members and the

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, federally recognized Indian Tribe, ...

(EBCI) opposed it. The Catawba submitted the required acquisition application to the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

(DOI) in August 2013, seeking to have the US place this property of in trust, but their application was denied in March 2018. In September, the Catawba submitted a new application under the discretionary process; they also pursued a Congressional route. Senate bill 790, introduced by South Carolina Senator

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

, with support of North Carolina senators Thom Tillis and

Richard Burr Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from North Carolina from 2005 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United Stat ...

, would have authorized the DOI to take the land into trust for gaming, but the bill died in committee. On March 13, 2020, the DOI announced its decision to approve the 2018 discretionary application and place the land in North Carolina in trust. On March 17, the EBCI filed a federal suit challenging the DOI decision in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. AS is customary, the suit names the DOI, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, Secretary

David Bernhardt David Longly Bernhardt (born August 17, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as the 53rd United States secretary of the interior from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Donald Trump. He previously was a shareholder at the Colorado law fir ...

, and several other department officials. In addition, the Catawba filed a motion to intervene to join the defendants. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma filed a motion to support the EBCI; both motions were approved. In May 2020, the EBCI filed an amended complaint in its federal lawsuit, saying that the DOI's approval of the trust land resulted from a scheme by casino developer Wallace Cheves. He was said to have persuaded the Catawba to lend their name to the scheme, and had a history of criminal and civil enforcement actions against him and his companies for illegal gambling. It said that the DOI disregarded early consultation with the EBCI and skipped an

Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma also filed an amended complaint, seeking to protect cultural artifacts on their ancestral land where the casino is planned. On January 24, 2021, Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

signed a revenue-sharing compact with the Catawba Nation, which allows for Class III gaming and wagering on sports and horse racing; the compact is similar to the one signed between the state and the EBCI. On March 19, a letter from Darryl LaCounte, Acting Director of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

, notified the Catawba Nation and Governor Roy Cooper that the agency has signed off on the agreement; it stated that the pact complies with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and other provisions of federal law. On April 16, the Catawba Nation received a victory in federal court, as U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found no basis for the Cherokees' claims in the lawsuit. Catawba Two Kings Casino opened on July 1, 2021, with a temporary modular facility containing 500 slot machines in Kings Mountain.

Citizenship

Citizens of the Catawba Nation must be of lineal descent from a tribal citizen listed on at least one of the three tribal rolls taken in 1943, 1961, and 2000. The tribe does not use

blood quantum Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws that define Native Americans in the United States status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the Federal government of the United States, federal government and S ...

to determine citizenship.

Footnotes

External links

Catawba Indian Nation

The Catawba Cultural Preservation Project
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Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History {{authority control Native American tribes in North Carolina Native American tribes in South Carolina Federally recognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Siouan peoples Native American people in the American Revolution