Winyah
Close-up of Emanuel Bowen's 1752 map, Provinces of North & South Carolina, Georgia, depicting the location of the Winyah or 'Winyou' Indians. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct 106 (1715) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Winyah Bay, Black River, and the lower course of the Pee Dee River. | |
| Languages | |
| Siouan (Catawban) | |
| Religion | |
| Native American religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Cape Fear, Pedee, Waccamaw |
The Winyah (/ˈwɪnjɑː/ WIN-yah) were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands who lived near Winyah Bay, the Black River, and the lower course of the Pee Dee River in South Carolina during the 18th century. In the early 20th century, anthropologist John R. Swanton suggested they had ceased to exist as a distinct group by 1720 and speculated that members of the tribe may have merged with the nearby Waccamaw. However, the Winyah appear thirty-two years later on a 1752 map between the Black River and Pee Dee River. Their ultimate fate remains unknown.