Resources
Indigenous Land Granted to Clemson University
How the United States funded land-grant universities with expropriated Indigenous land. Nearly 11 million acres of Indigenous land. Approximately 250 tribal nations. Over 160 violence-backed treaties and land seizures. Fifty-two universities. Discover the bloody history behind land-grant universities.
https://www.landgrabu.org/universities/clemson-university
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were once part of a much larger Cherokee Nation population. However, when the Trail of Tears was mandated, and forced removal and relocation were directed by the US government and then President Andrew Jackson, the Cherokee Tribe became divided into what is known today as the Cherokee Nation and United Kituwah Band, located in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band, made up of those who remained and rebuilt within North Carolina’s Qualla Boundary (sometimes called the Cherokee Indian Reservation).
University of South Carolina - Lancaster: Native American Studies Center
Established in August of 2012, this comprehensive center for the study of South Carolina’s Native American peoples, their histories, and their cultures offers visitors the opportunity to view the single largest collection of Catawba Indian pottery in existence; study primary and secondary texts on Native Americans in the Southeast; participate in educational classes and programs; and observe archaeology, language, and folklore and oral history labs.
South Carolina State Library - Native Americans
Historical guide of Native Americans in the United States throughout history.
https://guides.statelibrary.sc.gov/c.php?g=11794&p=4842428
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation is the sovereign government of the Cherokee people. We are the largest of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes and are based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Originally located in the southeastern United States in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, the Cherokee Nation was forced to relocate to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1838 after gold was discovered in our homelands. The thousand-mile forced removal became known as the “Trail of Tears” and came at a cost of nearly 4,000 Cherokee lives through sickness and harsh travel conditions.
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians has a rich and vibrant history. In the face of adversity, the Band has continued to strive and prosper. The UKB Department of Language, History, and Culture was established in 2005 in an effort to perpetuate the history that binds the Keetoowah Cherokee People.
https://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/about-ukb/history.html
Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina
The Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina provides a preserve for a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the Cherokee heritage of South Carolina. Gather and provide a repository for artifacts and historical information relating to the inhabitants, formation and development of the Cherokee in South Carolina. Provide a facility for continuing educational opportunities for students, county residents, and visitors to Oconee County.
Western Carolina University Cherokee Studies Program
Our Cullowhee, North Carolina campus is at the heart of the spiritual and cultural homeland of the region's largest Native American population, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Uniquely located amidst rich cultural and academic resources, our interdisciplinary program enables students to study at the source. In partnership with the Cherokee community, we offer students and scholars a wide range of academic and support services.
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area - Traditional Artist Directory
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area’s Traditional Artist Directory is a guide to many of the finest traditional craft artisans, musicians, dancers, and storytellers in the North Carolina mountains and foothills. The directory contains listings for more than 500 artists and groups. The Traditional Artist Directory project is an ongoing initiative to provide resources to event planners and educators. Visit for access to Cherokee artists, dancers, musicians, and storytellers for programming.
https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/traditional-artist-directory/
Clemson Sites with Known Cherokee History
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Esseneca historical marker across from the Student Organic Garden
Esseneca exhibit: artworks that address the Cherokee town upon which Clemson is built, Lee Hall
Clemson’s Special Collections
Cherokee Worldview Garden in the SC Botanical Garden
Catawba Indian Nation
The Catawba Indians have lived on their ancestral lands along the banks of the Catawba River dating back at least 6000 years. Before contact with the Europeans it is believed that the Nation inhabited most of the Piedmont area of South Carolina, North Carolina and parts of Virginia. Early colonial estimates of the Catawba population when settlers arrived are between 15,000-25,000. The Catawba Indians represent the only federally-recognized people in South Carolina.
http://www.catawbaindian.net/index.php
Catawba Cultural Preservation Project
As early as 1989, a group of Catawba met in member’s homes to organize a cultural preservation committee and began efforts to collect and preserve scrapbooks, letters, diaries and photographs. The committee formally incorporated in 1989, as the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project (CCPP) with the simple yet critical mission to “preserve, protect, promote and maintain the rich culture and heritage of the Catawba Indian Nation.”
Located on the Catawba Indian Reservation, the Cultural Center is housed in the historic school house. It is host to the historic Yehasuri trail and provides cultural immersion classes to Catawba children and adults.