Chicora tribe
The Chicora tribe was a small Native American tribe of the Pee Dee area in northeastern South Carolina, ranging to the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. Scholars consider them a Catawban group, likely to have spoken a Siouan language.
In 1521 a Spanish expedition from Santo Domingo, led by Francisco Gordillo, landed in this area. They took 70 natives captive and returned with them to Hispaniola. While most of the captives died within two years, one native, whom the Spanish named Francisco de Chicora, was baptized and learned Spanish. He worked for Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and was taken to Spain on a trip with him. Chicora gave an account of his people and their practices to the court chronicler, Peter Martyr.
In 1526 de Chicora accompanied another Spanish expedition to North America. When the party reached land at the Santee River, he escaped and rejoined his people.
Martyr's De Orbe Novo was published in "Decades". It was translated into English in 1555 and a fuller account in 1912. "The Testimony of Francisco de Chicora" is included in the seventh Decade.
Remnants of the tribe are centered in Conway, South Carolina and are seeking official recognition by the state.
Legacy
- A Confederate ironclad ship was named CSS Chicora.
- A regional council of the Boy Scouts of America is named for the tribe.