New guide to SC Indian sites

Note: This is an indication of an answer to prayer from the Cherokee Prayer Initiative. We located and prayer-walked many of the Cherokee Lower Towns sites ourselves in 1999.

Visitors guide will spotlight state's Indian sites
Nov 12, 2007
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A new guide to American Indian sites in South Carolina is expected to be available this month at state welcome centers and libraries.

"It's time for us to come out of hiding," said Will Goins, chief executive officer for the Eastern Cherokee Southern Iroquois United Tribes of South Carolina.

The state has one federally recognized tribe, the Catawba Indian Nation near Rock Hill, and 11 groups recognized by the state.

Goins' guidebook will help visitors find monuments, schools and churches used by those tribes and it also helps document the history of those tribes. Goins worked with a team from Clemson University to locate the Lower Towns, 60 villages or towns in Oconee and Pickens counties that made up the southeastern edge of the Cherokee nation.

The team found 45 sites, most of which were on private property, and some that are under manmade lakes created in the past century. Some of the sites were listed in the visitors guide. The team hopes to find the 15 other documented sites this year.