Little is known about the Cheraw history prior to encountering the Europeans in 1534.
Sometime prior to 1700, the Cheraw left their homelands and temporarily settled along the Dan River on the Virginia border.
In 1710, they returned to the Great Pee Dee River area due to attacks by the Iroquois.
During 1711, they fought against the Tuscarora alongside the Catawba and the British in the Tuscarora War.
From 1715-1716, the Cheraw joined several other Native American tribes to fight against colonists and traders in the Yemassee War.
In the 1730s, some Cheraw joined the Catawba, others move into Robeson County, North Carolina and eventually formed the Lumbee tribe.
A smallpox epidemic killed many of the remaining independent Cheraw in 1759.
The last recorded mention of the Cheraw as a separate tribe was in 1768.
In 1934, the Leland Grove School was constructed in Little Rock, South Carolina. It educated about 50 Lumbee children each year from Dillon and Marlboro counties. A Lumbee named James K. Brayboy served as the school's principal, teacher, bus driver, and custodian from the time the school opened until it closed in 1970. (Source: Mark Locklear, James K Braboy, Leland Grove School Honored with Historical Marker)
Pants, leggings, and capes made of various animal hides were worn in the winter and for travel by both men and women
Dwellings – Cheraw Indians
Homes – Small and round, made of saplings covered with bark and animal skins
Villages – Usually formed along a river, consisting of groups of homes and in some cases a ceremonial building and plaza in a central location
Food – Cheraw Indians
Farming – Beans, corn, and squash
Fishing – ?
Hunting – Various wild game, relied heavily on deer and bear
Beliefs and Practices – Cheraw Indians
Due to the fact that many Cheraw merged with the Catawba and others merged with various Siouan speaking tribes to form the Lumbee, little is known about their original culture.
Related Cheraw Indian Resources
Bruch, Susan M. "Catawba." Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998, pp. 378-79.
Swanton, John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984, pp. 76-77.
SC Native Americans 
