Description
The Wateree were a Native American tribe in the interior of the present-day Carolinas. They probably belonged to the Siouan-Catawba language family. First encountered by the Spanish in 1567 in Western North Carolina, they migrated to the southeast and what developed as South Carolina by 1700, where English colonists noted them. There they had settled along the Wateree River, near the site of what developed as present-day Camden, South Carolina. Originally a large tribe, they suffered high mortality during the Yamasee War of 1715 and became extinct as a tribe by the end of the century.
Language
Siouan-Catawba
Culture
The Wateree appeared to have been able to maintain their culture and distinct language as late as 1744. A record of land sale noted that Wateree Indians sold to a white man. The tribe as a group culture has become extinct, but some present-day Catawba are likely genetic descendants of the Wateree.