The Catawba Nation

Book excerpt: In this reconstruction of the history of the Catawba Indians, Charles M. Hudson first considers the "external history" of the Catawba peoples, based on reports by such outsiders as explorers, missionaries, and government officials. In these chapters, the author examines the social and cultural classification of the Catawbas at the time of early contact with the white men, their later position in a plural southern society and gradual assimilation into the larger national society, and finally the termination of their status as Indians with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This external history is then contrasted with the folk history of the Catawbas, the past as they believe it to have been. Hudson looks at the way this legendary history parallels documentary history, and shows how the Catawbas have used their folk remembrances to resist or adapt to the growing pressures of the outside world.