Congaree people facts for kids

The Congaree were a group of Native American people. They lived in what is now central South Carolina in the United States. Their homes were along the Congaree River.

They spoke a language that was different from the Siouan languages spoken by many nearby tribes, like the Catawba people. Because of this, their language is considered "unclassified." This means experts are not sure which language family it belongs to.

The Congaree Language

For a long time, people thought the Congaree language might be part of the Siouan languages family. This was because they lived near other tribes, like the Catawba, who spoke Siouan languages. The Cherokee people, who lived to the west, spoke an Iroquoian language. This language family is more common for tribes near the Great Lakes.

However, since the late 1900s, many experts now agree that the Congaree people were not Siouan. Their language was quite different. People from nearby Siouan tribes, like the Wateree people, could not understand the Congaree language.

Congaree History

The Congaree people lived along the Santee and Congaree rivers. This area is in central South Carolina. They lived both above and below where the Wateree River joins the Santee.

Early Life and Challenges

Native American tribes sometimes took captives during wars. These captives, especially women and children, might be kept or sold as slaves. European colonists encouraged tribes to sell Native American captives to them. By 1693, the Congaree and other tribes were involved in this Atlantic slave trade. Some Cherokee people were even sold in Charles Town. The Cherokee sent a group to Governor Thomas Smith to ask for protection.

In 1698, a terrible disease called smallpox hit the Congaree. They lost most of their tribe members. Native Americans often got very sick from diseases that Europeans had been exposed to for a long time. Europeans had some immunity to these diseases, but Native Americans did not. This caused many deaths.

Meeting European Explorers

The English explorer John Lawson met the remaining Congaree people in 1701. He found them on the northeastern bank of the Santee River. Their village had about twelve houses. Lawson said they were a small tribe. They had lost many people due to fights with other tribes and, especially, smallpox.

A map from 1715 shows their village in a new spot. It was on the southern bank of the Congaree River. This new location might have been near where Columbia is today. They might have moved upriver to be further away from the English colonists.

Wars and Merging with Other Tribes

During the Tuscarora War in 1711, the Congaree fought alongside the English colonists. They helped John Barnwell and his soldiers. In early 1715, a count showed that the Congaree lived in one village. There were 22 men and 70 women and children.

However, during the Yamasee War of 1715, the Congaree joined other tribes to fight against the South Carolina colony. More than half of the Congaree were killed or enslaved by the colonists and the Cherokee. Some were even sent to be slaves in the West Indies.

After this war, the remaining Congaree moved upriver. They joined the Catawba people. They were still living with the Catawba in 1743.

In 1718, Fort Congaree was built near the Congaree village. This fort was close to modern-day Columbia. It became an important place for trading. A European-American settlement grew around it.

Over the next few decades, the Congaree survivors became part of the larger Catawba people. Different tribes lived in their own villages within the Catawba group. The Congaree kept their unique identity for a while because their language was different from the Siouan Catawba language. But eventually, they became extinct as a separate tribe. Their descendants married into the Catawba and other tribes in the area.

An American expert named James Mooney described the Congaree in 1928. He said they were "A friendly people, handsome and well built, the women being especially beautiful compared with those of other tribes."

A man named Keyauwee Jack, who was born Congaree, later became the chief of the Keyauwee tribe through marriage.

Legacy of the Congaree

Congaree National Park and the Congaree River are both named after the tribe. Some members of the Catawba people and other tribes in the Carolinas today are likely descendants of the Congaree people.

See also

In Spanish: Tribu congaree para niños