The Keyauwee Indians were a small

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 ...

tribe, native to the area of present day

Randolph County, North Carolina Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 144,171. Its county seat is Asheboro. Randolph County is included in the Greensboro- High Point, NC Metropolitan Statistica ...

. The Keyauwee village was surrounded by palisades and cornfields about thirty miles northeast of the Yadkin River, near present day

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

. The Keyauwee village was vulnerable to attack, so the Keyauwee constantly joined with other tribes for better protection. They joined with the

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 ...

Saponi The Saponi are a Native American tribe historically based in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia.Raymond D. DeMaillie, "Tutelo and Neighboring Groups," pages 286–87. They spoke a Siouan language, related to the languages of the Tutel ...

Occaneechi The Occaneechi are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands whose historical territory was in the Piedmont region of present-day North Carolina and Virginia. In the 17th century they primarily lived on the large, long Occoneechee Island ...

, and the

Shakori The Shakori were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. They were thought to be a Siouan people, closely allied with other nearby tribes such as the Eno and the Sissipahaw. As their name is also recorded as Shaccoree, they may be ...

tribes, moving to the

Albemarle Sound Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan River, Chowan and Roanoke River, Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean b ...

with the last two for a settlement that would later be foiled. The Keyauwee would move further southward along with the

Cheraw The Cheraw people, also known as the Saraw or Saura,Sebeok, Thomas Albert''Native Languages of the Americas, Volume 2.''Plenum Press, 1977: 251. were a Siouan-speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands,Swanton''The Indians ...

and Peedee tribes, close along the border of the two Carolinas, where they conducted deerskin trade with Charleston traders and allied with the Indian neighbors in the Yamassee War. Eventually, their tribe name vanished from historical records, and with time, they were absorbed by the Catawba tribe.

History

European contact

In 1701, English explorer John Lawson, on an expedition over 1,000 miles, contacted the Keyauwee tribe, a small group which numbered about 500 people. Lawson found the tribe on Caraway Creek in the Caraway mountain range, about fourteen miles south of

. Lawson’s vivid account of his visit describes the village surrounded by high wooden walls, large cornfields, a large cave where about 100 people could have been able to dine in, all situated by very high mountains. These geographical features of their village are what made the Keyauwee vulnerable to attack.

Language and Ties to Other Tribes

The language and name of the Keyauwee Indian Tribe was derived from that of the

Siouan Siouan ( ), also known as Siouan–Catawban ( ), is a language family of North America located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who ...

family with whom they merged. Tribal merging in North Carolina was inhibited by relationships built on exchange and alliance, and circular rounds of war, peace, and trade. The Keyauwees were motivated to merge with the surrounding North Carolina tribes due to threats of warfare with other tribal nations. Although the merge with the Tutelos and Sapponys was successful, continuous attacks were still experienced by the Keyauwees and their newly combined tribe. Later, the Keyauwees moved towards the Albemarle Sound region, situated on the northeastern coast of North Carolina, to form settlements with the Occaneechi and Shakori tribes. Ultimately, the Keyauwee moved southward from here, moving to the Pee Dee region of South Carolina to merge with the

tribe, and potentially the

Eno Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories business * Eno Center for Transportation, a non-profit t ...

and

tribes. It is here where the Keyauwee engaged in deerskin trade along with Charleston traders. According to the Jefferys Atlas of 1761, the Keyauwee settlements appear to be on the North Carolina/South Carolina border, along the Pee Dee River. After fighting along with their Indian allies in the ''Yamassee War'' against South Carolina colonists, it is believed that the Keyauwee merged with the Catawba tribe. The Keyauwee tribe merged with local tribes throughout their time due to factors like geographic proximity and Siouan language.

References

External links

The Keyauwee Indians
{{authority control Native American tribes in North Carolina Native American history of North Carolina Unrecognized tribes in the United States Pre-statehood history of North Carolina Extinct Native American peoples Randolph County, North Carolina