![]() ![]() "And I thought, 'Well this has certainly gotta change.'"īut how? The few Catawbas still living on the reservation were low-wage textile workers. "There were people in '73 that still didn't have indoor plumbing," recalls Blue. ![]() Through a series of broken treaties with white settlers and the state of South Carolina, the tribe's land had dwindled, too - from some 144,000 acres in the 1700s down to a single square mile of dirt roads and rundown shacks. When he was elected in the early 1970s, the Catawbas had dwindled to less than 2,000. "That's why my hair is gray," jokes Blue, noting the length of his time as chief. In the place of honor: a framed copy of the "Catawba Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993."The tribe's current quest to build a casino in North Carolina ties back to this document and Blue's tenure as chief, which ended in 2007 after 34 years. "And it's where I keep letters and things from the presidents," says Blue, gesturing to a photo of him with President Bill Clinton. Musical instruments and the tribe's distinctive pottery made of clay from the Catawba River line the walls. The "Indian Room" is where Gilbert Blue - one of the longest-serving Catawba chiefs in modern history – invites guests to his home. Credit Julie Rose Former Catawba Chief Gilbert Blue. ![]()
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