History of Lowcountry Indigenous Nations

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By Christophe Boucher

At the dawn of the 16^th century, the Lowcountry coastal region extending south from the Santee River in South Carolina to the St. Johns River in northern Florida was inhabited by four different Indigenous peoples: the Sewees and Cusabos in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, the Guales between the Savannah and the Altamaha rivers in Georgia and the Timucuas to their south.  While such designations can be useful to distinguish one population from the next, they can also be confusing. In the early eighteenth century, for instance, European colonists in South Carolina called the Native Americans who lived close to them Cusabos.  Yet, it is highly unlikely that the Escamaçus, the Edistos, the Kussoes, the Etiwans, Kiawahs, or any other Indigenous communities usually included under this designation, saw themselves as a collective.  It is more accurate to think of the so-called Cusabos as a loose alliance of Indigenous polities whose number varied over time and according to the circumstances. The same is true of the Timucuas who were divided into rival alliance systems despite their linguistic and cultural similarities.

The Indigenous peoples who lived in the coastal plains of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida belonged to several linguistic families.  Unfortunately, the overall dearth of evidence makes it difficult to determine their exact affiliations with certainty.  For this reason, scholars assume that the Sewees were Siouan speakers.  Until recently, it was commonly held that the Cusabos, just like the Guales, were Muskogean.  However, recent research now suggests that the former possibly spoke a language related to the Arawakan family with origins in the circum-Caribbean world.  Similarly, questions remain about the linguistic affiliation of the Timucua language. Some have described it as a language isolate while others have speculated that it could have been Siouan or Arawakan.

On the eve of contact with Europeans, the peoples living in these coastal plains shared cultural similarities but they also displayed differences.  Contrary to long-standing stereotypes, they were not nomadic hunter-gatherers. Instead, they practiced agriculture but their location along the coast allowed them to rely less on food production than their counterparts who lived deeper in the interior. Food collection, fishing, and hunting accounted for a good part of their diet even though proportions varied seasonally and geographically.  While agriculture made it possible to adopt a sedentary lifestyle, differences in residence patterns were noticeable. The Cusabos, for instance, settled along the coast in the warm season but retreated in the interior the rest of the year.  They lived in scattered homesteads as well unlike the Timucuas who lived year-round in villages counting on average 200 inhabitants.  Differences were also noticeable from a socio- political standpoint.  In the South Carolina Lowcountry, the polities that made up the Cusabos were politically autonomous. A leader’s authority rested on charisma and on qualities that community members valued like the ability to create consensus.  In contrast, the Timucuas and the Guales lived in chiefdoms where members were ranked based on clan affiliation.  In this system, chiefs stood at the top of the hierarchy by birthright and as such, they enjoyed certain privileges.  Among other things, for instance, they obtained tribute from their subordinates.  Some chiefs only exercised power over their Native communities while others ruled over multiple polities.  In contrast to the egalitarianism characterizing Cusabo society, inequality was institutionalized among their southern neighbors and Europeans observed that members of the elite could be easily identified by the finely crafted clothes and ornaments they wore as well as the deference the rest of the population showed them. 

It is impossible to know precisely when the Indigenous peoples of the region made first contact with Europeans since the event might not have been recorded.   What is clear however is that colonial ambitions in France, Spain and England made contact inevitable. In 1562, the French explorer Jean Ribault founded a short-lived outpost called Charlesfort on Parris Island, SC on the territory of the Escamaçus.  From there, the colonists also opened relations with the Guales.  In 1564, the French built yet another outpost, Fort La Caroline, at the entrance of the St. Johns River, on the territory of a Timucua chief called Saturiwa. French colonial aspirations were short-lived however. In 1565, the Spaniards violently evicted their European rivals.  They then deployed small garrisons and missionaries from St. Augustine to Parris Island in an effort to strengthen their claim to this section of what they called La Florida.  Despite their efforts to keep other European powers at bay, the Spaniards were unable to stop the English from establishing colonial footholds in South Carolina in 1670 and later in Georgia.

For the Indigenous peoples of these coastal plains, sporadic contact with Europeans provided certain benefits.  Their trade goods could be easily incorporated in their worldview.  Timucua and Guale chiefs, for instance, had used their exclusive access to exotic objects like quartz and native copper to strengthen their authority by controlling the distribution of these prized items.  In this context, they could easily integrate manufactured beads and metal objects through a process of conventionalization.  Similarly, they strived to incorporate Europeans in pre-existing alliance systems to boost their power. It is in this optic that Chief Saturiwa endeavored to recruit French auxiliaries against Utina, his archenemy who lived in the upper St. Johns River Valley.

While American History textbooks have traditionally presented European expansion in a triumphant fashion, the experience was clearly traumatic for Native Americans. Sustained contact with the newcomers presented Indigenous peoples with unprecedented challenges that ultimately triggered a demographic cataclysm and their near extinction.  In the second half of the sixteenth century, Spanish authorities in the region destabilized local societies by launching a virulent program to integrate their hosts into their empire. Whether they were Timucuas, Guales or Cusabos, Native Americans were forced to contribute food and manpower to sustain the Spanish settlers, demands that interfered with daily activities and left local economies in a precarious state.  Evangelization was also highly disruptive since missionaries equated conversion with Europeanization.  As a result, missionary efforts dangerously frayed the fabric of local cultures weakening traditional moorings and stimulating demoralization.  Conversion could also stimulate political rifts between the new Christians and traditionalists, thus undermining social and political cohesion in communities.  In response, some Natives relocated to other Indigenous polities further afield and out of Spanish reach.  In many cases however, stress led many to rise up against their parasitic colonial overlords. In 1576, for instance, the Escamaçus revolted and so did the Guales in 1597.  Such decisions were inevitably followed by Spanish reprisals, loss of life, material destructions, and, sooner or later, the reestablishment of the colonial presence.

The economic orientation of English colonies in the tidewater region had even worse repercussions for Native American populations.  The adoption of labor-intensive cash crops in Virginia and later South Carolina led the colonists to rely on Indigenous captives to compensate for the shortage of European manpower.  In 1659, a group of Northern Iroquoian refugees who had been displaced during the so-called Beaver Wars that raged in the Great Lakes region relocated in Georgia.  From there, they launched devastating raids in all directions to seize Indigenous captives who were then funneled to slave markets in Virginia.  Equipped with firearms and other European weapons, the Westos, as they became known, quickly emerged as a powerhouse in the Southeast, especially since they targeted populations that were unable to obtain these novelties.  In 1661, the Westos attacked the Guales. Two years later, they launched the first of many attacks in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

The arrival of English colonists in 1670 was a major diplomatic breakthrough for the Cusabos.  An alliance with these newcomers helped them gain a modicum of security against the Westos and other traditional Native American enemies.  Recognizing an economic opportunity when they saw one, the Lord Proprietors of the new colony initiated a rapprochement with the Westos in 1676, making Charleston Harbor the new terminus in the profitable slave trade.   The demise of these Northern Iroquoian refugees six years later did not result in a lull in raiding activities since other Indigenous polities were eager to fill the vacuum.  While the Cusabos were somewhat protected, terror continued unabated until the end of the Yamasee War in 1717.  As allies of the Spaniards, the Guales and the Timucuas were easy targets considering their proximity to Charleston.    

Adding to the plight of Native Americans was the spread of diseases brought by Europeans.  Since they had never been exposed to the new pathogens, Indigenous peoples had no immunity to contagious ailments such as the measles, chickenpox and influenza. Smallpox alone could kill up to 60% of the infected population and its highly contagious nature could incapacitate entire communities at once. As a result, individuals dependent on others for care, such as the elderly and young children, often died of neglect.  Since daily economic activities came to a standstill, survivors often faced starvation.  The direct and indirect fallouts of the new pathogens could therefore reduce populations by 90%.  The cumulative effects of settler colonialism took their toll on the indigenous peoples of the coastal plains.  Two centuries after the arrival of Europeans, barely a hundred Guales were left out of the thousands who had welcomed the Spaniards in the 1500s. By 1763, the Timucuas were reduced to a handful.  Ultimately, both disappeared from the historical records.

The First Peoples of the South Carolina Lowcountry faced similar challenges even though association with the Charlestonians offered some protection against slave raiders.  Diseases, wars and the many other detrimental consequences of colonialism however triggered a rapid demographic decline that left the Sewees and the Cusabos vulnerable to European expansion.  While the latter proved to be staunch allies of the English, their commitment did little to secure their place in the new emerging colonial world.  Starting in 1675, the Cusabos experienced the first of many land cessions that would ultimately deprive them of their territories. Attempts by the Kussoes and the Stonos to resist expropriation in the 1670s were in all vain.  By 1717, what was left of the much-reduced Cusabo population lived on small holdings at the discretion of colonial authorities. The Sewees’ decision to join the Yamasees in 1715 led to their utter destruction.  In a great display of resilience, Indigenous survivors in the Lowcountry plotted different courses to prolong their existence in a world that was becoming increasingly hostile. Some relocated at a safe distance from white settlements joining polities like the Muscogees (Creeks) or the Catawbas that, by their number, could resist colonial interference more effectively. 

Those who opted to stay in the Lowcountry had to adapt to colonial society.  While they still resided in Indigenous communities, albeit much less populous than before, their livelihood depended on their ability to carve a place for themselves in the local economy.  Among the occupations available were farming, hunting to supply the needs of their white neighbors, trading deerskins, and capturing enslaved individuals who had runaway, to cite a few.   Over time, these survivors became known as settlement Indians.  While the Native Americans who remained in the Lowcountry were better treated than their neighbors of African descent, the hardening of racial divides and the institutionalization of racism in the South made it difficult for them to thrive during the national period.  By the nineteenth century, they had become politically disenfranchised, socially marginalized, and economically impoverished despite their efforts to assimilate in the dominant society.  As was the case in other part of the South during this period, survival depended on the ability of Native Americans to become invisible and settle in areas that were not desirable to their covetous white neighbors.  This strategy insured their longevity. Unlike the Guales and the Timucuas who are extinct, descendants of the Cusabos still live in the Lowcountry today despite the widespread public belief to the contrary.  In fact, some 3,000 individuals identified as Native Americans in the 2000 census.  Because the cataclysmic effects of colonialism forced survivors from various Indigenous communities to coalesce over time, members of specific Native American groups in our region today are not necessarily all direct descendants of the people designated by the same names in the 1500s.  Yet, they are committed to assert their Native Americanness and reclaim their place in the land of their ancestors.   Since the 1960s, they have endeavored regain visibility in the state and they have also launched initiatives to kindle a cultural Renaissance.  The Edisto Natchez-Kussos, for instance, have applied to obtain federal and state recognitions.  They have also attempted to develop greater public awareness to their culture as attested by the success of the powwow they have put up each year since the late 1970s.  Native Americans in the Lowcountry reflect centuries of resilience, a rich history that though often tragic, reminds us of the enduring spirit of indigeneity.

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