South Carolina – Indians, Native Americans – Winyah

South Carolina SC Native Americans SC Indian Tribes SC Winyah Indians

Name, Language

• Alternate spellings: Winyaw, Weenee
• Possible meanings: "People of the Black Water" or "The Black Water People" (contributed by Chief Ben Thompson)
  
• Language family: Siouan

Current Status

• Active

• Chartered by the South Carolina Secretary of State December 30, 2005.
  

Contact Information

• The Winyah Indian People
  

  Chief Ben Thompson
  Patsy Brinson, Tribal Council
  Sylvia Hyman, Tribal Council
  Betty Wilkerson, Tribal Council
  Email: carlosbthompson@gmail.com
  

SC Location, Territory

• Traditional: Winyah Bay, Black River, and Lower Pee Dee River in Georgetown County

Related SC Names

• Winyah Bay in Georgetown County

Population Estimates

• 1715: 106

History

• Warriors fought with colonists in the Tuscarora War of 1711, but later withdrew.

• May have fought with colonists against the Waccamaw tribe in 1720.

• Sometime in the mid 1700s, the tribe disappeared, possibly merged with a neighboring group.

Dwellings

Food

• Farming –
• Fishing –
• Hunting –

Beliefs and Practices

Related Winyah Indian Resources

• Swanton, John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Instition Press, 1984, pp. 90-92.