Native American Reading List
This page provides a list of recommended literature to help understand the culture,
contributions, and plight of the Catawba people and the Native American people in
general since the arrival of white man to the present day. If you have any literary
references you would like to submit for this page, please e-mail them to
webmaster@catawba-people.com.
Our special thanks to Dr. Thomas Blumer for submitting the following bibliography which
references many useful resources for understanding the history and culture of the Catawba
people, and is an excellent start for any research effort concerning these people.
This bibliography contains the beginnings of a basic Catawba Indian Nation reference
collection. With few exceptions, these volumes contain additional bibliographies.
Most are indexed to allow the user to go directly to the Catawba. As members of the
Southern Cult, the Catawba share many cultural similarities with the Cherokee, Chickasaw,
Choctaw, Creek and Seminole tribes. While these writings represent crucial sources for
any research in Catawba history and culture, this bibliography is only a starting point.
For instance, of all those linguists who studied the Catawba language early in this century,
Speck is the only scholar who published his findings in a substantial volume. If one is
interested in taking research in a linguistic direction, Speck is a good starting point,
but the researcher will have to locate and purchase copies of linguistic manuscripts from
several repositories. For assistance in Catawba research, feel free to contact the author
of this bibliography at
tblumer@shentel.net
Thomas J. Blumer, Ph.D.
Blumer, Thomas J. Bibliography of the Catawba, Scarecrow Press,
1987. 547 pages.
Contains over 4,000 entries pertaining to the Catawba Nation. Indexed.
Brown, Douglas Summers.
The Catawba Indians: The People of the River,
University of South Carolina Press, 1966. 400 pages
A solid history which may be used as a beginning point for any
historical investigation of the Catawba.
Caruso, John Anthony. The Southern Frontier, Bobbs Merrill Co.,
1963. 448 pages.
Discusses the explorations and settlement of the region from the first
Spanish excursions to the foundation of the republic.
Coe, Joffre Lanning. Town Creek Indian Mound: A Native American
Legacy, The University of North Carolina Press, 1995. 338
The only comprehensive study of an archaeological site located near the
center of the Catawba Nation. The site places the region firmly in the
Mississippian culture and also provides some indications of contact with
the Spanish, possibly Juan Pardo. Illustrated.
Fewkes, Vladimir J."Catawba Pottery-making, with Notes on Pamunkey
Pottery-making, Cherokee Pottery-making and coiling," Proceedings
of the American Philosophical Society (July 7, 1944), pp. 69-149.
Scholarly discussion of the Catawba pottery tradition. Notes Catawba
influences on the Pamunkey and Cherokee traditions. Illustrated.
Milling, Chapman. Red Carolinians University of
North Carolina Press, 1940. 438 pages.
Presents a history of the Carolina Indians from the earliest Spanish
contacts to the Trail of Tears. Illustrated.
Holmes, W. H. Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States.
Twentieth Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1898-1899.
237 pages.
The first comprehensive discussion of the topic. Prompted Harrington to
visit the Catawba and do his brief but important study of Catawba
pottery making in 1908.
Hudson, Charles. The Catawba Nation, University of Georgia Press,
1970. 142 pages.
Historical perspectives beginning with pre-Columbian times through to
the Colonial Period. Discusses the Nation's survival surrounded by an
alien culture.
----------, The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Explorations of the
Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566-1568. Smithsonian Institution Press,
1990. 342 pages.
Presents all that is currently known about the two Pardo excursions.
Documentation provided in original Spanish and in English translation.
Pardo's chronicler was the first to use the term "Catawba" in
identifying a group of Indians. Illustrated.
----------. The Southeastern Indians. University of Tennessee
Press, 1976. 573 pages.
Begins with a brief history of the region and explores much of the
area's culture which was and remains fairly uniform from North Carolina
to Texas. Includes a brief discussion on recent history. Illustrated.
Jacobs, Wilbur R. (ed.). The Appalachian Indian Frontier: The
Edmund Atkin Report and Plan of 1755, University of Nebraska Press,
1967. 108 pages.
An 18th century report written by a British official who both
sympathized with the Southern Indians and understood their needs. Atkins
was probably the author of Treaty of Pine Tree Hill, 1960 (now lost).
Lawson, John. A New Voyage to Carolina, Readex Microprint Co.,
1966. 259 pages.
Written in the early 18th century by a man who lived among the Carolina
Indians. Contains a host of cultural insights.
Lederer, John. The Discoveries of John Lederer, Readex
Microprint Co., 1966. 27 pages.
A 17th century journal which contains important information on the
Southern Indians.
Lorant, Stefan (ed.). The New World: The First Pictures of
America. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946. 292 pages.
Includes drawings of the Carolina Indians made by John Whyte and Jacques
Le Moyne and engraved by Theodore De Bry.
Martin, Judy Canty. It's About Time: The Complete Genealogy of
the Catawba Indians Early 1700 - 1961 (Including Both Western and
Eastern Families). Published by the author, 1998. not paginated.
A genealogical study written by a Catawba Indian which includes all the
major family names.
McDowell, William L., Jr. (ed.). Colonial Records of South
Carolina: Documents Relating to Indian Affairs, May 2, 1750 - August 7,
1754 South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1958.
592 pages.
Contains reports and correspondence. Indexed.
----------. Colonial Records of South Carolina: Documents
relating to Indian Affairs, 1754-1765. South Carolina Department of
Archives and History, 1970. 657 pages.
Contains reports and correspondence. Indexed.
----------. Colonial Records of South Carolina: Journal of the
Commissioners of the Indian Trade, September 20, 1710 - August 29,
1718. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1955. 368
pages.
Contains reports and correspondence. Indexed.
Merrell, James H. Indians' New World: The Catawbas and Their
Neighbors from European Contact Through the Era of Removal, Norton
Press, 1989. 381 pages.
A rewrite of a doctoral dissertation, this volume contains a wealth of
political and social information on the Catawba mainly drawn from the
Colonial Period.
Rights, Douglas LeTell. The American Indian in North Carolina,
John F. Blair, Winston-Salem, N.C., 1957. 298 pages
Presents a history of the Catawba Indians during a time when they still
dominated Catawban groups in central and southeastern N.C. Some history
and culture covered. Illustrated.
South, Stanley A. Indians of North Carolina North Carolina
Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History,
1959. 69 pages
Approaches Native Americans of the region from an archaeologist's
perspective. Illustrated.
Speck, Frank G. Catawba Texts,
AMS Press, New York, 1969. 91 pages.
Preserves much of Catawba folklore through Catawba language remnants.
English translations provided.
Swanton, John R. The Indians of the Southeastern United States.
GPO, 1946. 943 pages
Provides a brief historical sketch of all the documented tribes of the
region including Catawban speakers in both Carolinas. Contains wealth
of cultural data. Illustrated.
Van Doren, Mark (ed.). Travels of William Bartram
Dover Publications, 1928. 414 pages.
A reprint of an 18th century classic. Travel journal filled with
observation made at the sites of the then abandoned political and
ceremonial center of the region. Discusses contacts with contemporary
Indians.
Vega, Garcilaso de la (The Inca), John Grier & Jeannette Varner
(trans.). The Florida of the Inca, University of Tennessee Press,
1951. 655 pages.
The first classic of American history. Author belonged to the Peruvian royal family.
Used eyewitness accounts of de Soto's expedition as sources. Documents de Soto's visit
to Cofitachique (the Catawba Nation).
Williams, Samuel Cole (ed.). Adair's History of the American
Indians Promontory Press, 1986. 508 pages.
An 18th century masterpiece. The result of long years of living among
the Southeastern Indians. Especially valuable for its discussion of the
Southern Cult which is oddly mixed with Adair's theory that the Indians
could be culturally linked to the Hebrews.
Below are a listed a few books recommended by Cynthia Walsh to help understand the contributions
and plight of the Native American people from the first arrival of white man to the present day.
Walsh, Cynthia A. Viola and the Seven Generations, Published by Wilde Publishing
ISBN 1-8822-04936-0
A personal reflection on the Catawba tribal roll development from the 1930s through to 2000 as seen
through the eyes of Viola (Patterson)Garcia Schneider and told by her daughter Cynthia. It will present
the frustration of a US WWIIveteran who has fought to reclaim her full heritage as a recognized Catawba
as declared in 1937by Chief Sam Blue that she belongs to the Catawba Nation.
Vine, Deloria. Custer Died for Your Sins
Vine, Deloria. God Is Red
Neihardt, John G. Indian Tales and Others
Jack Weatherford Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America
Weatherford, Jack.