Catawba Indian Nation leader Butch Sanders dies from COVID-19 complications, tribe says
A leader of the Catawba Indian Nation has died from complications after contracting COVID-19, tribal officials said.
Thomas Cornelious “Butch” Sanders, a member of the tribe’s governing executive committee, died Saturday, according to an obituary from Whitesell Funeral Home and posts on the tribe’s official public Facebook and Twitter pages.
Sanders was 74.
A graveside service will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Grandview Memorial Park on Cherry Road in Rock Hill, according to the obituary.
In a statement on social media, tribal leaders praised Sanders for his commitment to the tribe and its people.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Catawba Executive Committee member, Butch Sanders, from complications following COVID-19,” tribal officials posted. “Butch has served our people for many years on the Executive Committee and Housing Board. He loved being able to help others. He always had a smile on his face and was known for being a advocate for the tribe. He was very excited for the Two Kings Casino project and the growth that will bring the Nation. This is an unimaginable loss and to say he will be missed is a huge understatement.”
The Catawbas are the only federally recognized tribe in South Carolina. The tribe’s 144,000 acre reservation is in York County. The tribe has broken ground on a casino in Kings Mountain, N.C., southwest of Charlotte.
The tribe’s five-member executive committee is elected by tribal members to oversee the routine daily operations of the Nation government. Members serve four year terms. Sanders was elected to the executive committee in 2019, but had been an executive committee in earlier periods, according to Herald archives.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 12:35 PM.
