Career

His obituary was later published in this language in the New York Times. Cromwell West developed a passion for Native American history during his teenage years. He embraced a Native American identity and throughout his life, studied Native American languages extensively.

Gordon (2005) reports the other last native speakers of Catawba died before 1960.

There are claims that Red Thunder Cloud is apparently an impostor and he is not really a native speaker of Catawban.