Catawba people
Native Americans had been inhabiting the area that is today known as Cary for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. When the English colonists arrived in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, they encountered the Sissipahaw, Eno, and Shakori. Little knowledge remains of these people, but it is believed that their numbers were greatly reduced due to smallpox epidemics and military conflicts with settlers. It is assumed that they were absorbed by the Catawba people, who still live in North Carolina and South Carolina.