Welcome to Cheraw Catawba Band of Florida!

 The Cheraw and Catawba were Siouan-speaking tribes in the Carolinas who merged in the mid-18th century due to devastating disease and colonial warfare. The Cheraw joined the powerful Catawba Confederacy around 1738–1739. Both suffered severe population declines before uniting, ultimately sharing a history of resistance and cultural survival in the Piedmont area of North Carolin. 

Cheraw History

The Cheraw, also known as the Saraw or Saura, were first noted by Spanish explorers Hernando De Soto (1540) and Juan Pardo (1566) in the upper Piedmont. Following involvement in the Yamasee War (1715), they migrated from their original territory near the North Carolina/Virginia border to the Pee Dee River area in Cheraw, South Carolina. Decimated by disease and war, the remaining Cheraw officially incorporated into the Catawba Nation by 1739, though they maintained a distinct identity for some time, inhabiting a "Shara Town" within the Catawba territory. 

Catawba History

The Catawba, also known as "People of the River", were a dominant force in the Carolina Piedmont with a 6,000-year history in the region. They faced severe population reduction from smallpox epidemics, particularly in 1738 and 1759, which killed thousands. Despite these losses, they maintained strong ties with British colonists, fighting alongside them in the French and Indian War and later supporting the Patriots in the American Revolution, even after British troops destroyed their village in 1781. In 1763, they were granted a 144,000-acre reservation in South Carolina, though most land was lost to treaties and leases with white settlers by 1840. 

Shared Legacy

The Cheraw and Catawba blended over time. Both groups were known for their distinct pottery-making traditions. Today, descendants of these communities make up the federally recognized Catawba Indian Nation, based near Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Migration

The Cheraw Tribe, historically centered in Robeson County, North Carolina, descends from the Cheraw, Tuscarora, and other Eastern Woodland peoples, blended over centuries with African and European ancestry. Known for resilience, strong family ties, and cultural continuity, the Cheraw have long maintained their identity despite challenges from segregation, misclassification, and displacement.

Historical records show that many ancestors of these families were listed as “Free People of Color” before the Civil War and were later categorized among several American “racial isolate” communities in the Southeastern United States. Despite the changing legal classifications imposed by government systems, families maintained cultural identity and kinship networks across generations.  

Over time, economic opportunity, family networks, and social pressures led many Cheraw families to migrate from North Carolina to Florida, establishing communities in North, Central, and South Florida.

• North Florida: Settlements formed in Calhoun, Gulf, and surrounding counties, including Scott’s Ferry and Apalachicola. Early families like the Scotts, Ayers, Bakers, Blanchards, Quinns, Stephens, and Robins/Robbins played a central role in community formation.

• Central Florida: Families moved into counties such as Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Polk, drawn by agricultural, industrial, and military employment.

• South Florida: Some Cheraw migrated to Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach for work in tourism, construction, and other service industries, maintaining cultural practices through church and family networks.