The occaneechi band of the saponi and the haliwa saponi are recognized by the state of north carolina. Masters paper giving voice to the occaneechi people. Geographical reference points are the virginia and north carolina piedmont as well as the ohio river valley. Deposit scholarly works such as posters, presentations, conference papers or white papers. In 1677, all nations in virginia signed the middle plantation treaty. Please note that inclusion on this list does not constitute endorsement of the resource. John hayles blackfeather jeffries collection on occaneechi. The saponi had been away from virginias borders for over twenty years. Minor vocabularies of tutelo and saponi american language. This page is devoted to the true history of the saponi reservation and fort christanna, which resided in present day brunswick county virginia.
Saponi language and the saponi indian tribe haliwasaponi. Indians and to revitalize american indian cultures, as language loss is implicated in. Jack goins declares war on indian heritage posted may 26, 2012. The obsn community is a lineal descendant of the saponi and related indians. Occaneechi academic dictionaries and encyclopedias. Occaneechi band of saponi nation with vivette jeffrieslogan, wanda whitmorepenner, john blackfeather jeffries. Do not send genealogy information or leave lengthy phone messages with genealogy information or in depth comments or questions. Total population 700 regions with significant populations united states north carolina, virginia languages english, formerly the occaneechi language religion indigenous religion. Indigenous history from origins to removal ebook written by gregory d. Pdf notes on saponi settlements in virginia prior to 1714. Budding interest in genealogy and history prompted several occaneechi descendants to reorganize the tribe as the eno occaneechi in 198 my note here is that the occaneechi joined the saponi and became known as the saponi instead of occaneechi, also the eno occaneechi is now known as the occaneechi saponi. They spoke the siouan tutelo saponi language, which was related to the languages of the tutelo, occaneechi, monacan, manahoac and other eastern siouan peoples.
There the path split off and went more west to the occaneechi village near clarksville, va. Their language was never well recorded, but was clearly closely related to tutelo and may have been a dialect of the same language. The first known notice of the occaneechi is that of lederer, who visited them in 1670. The book also speaks about how cate collingscollins was related to john collins aka john sauana the proven saponi indian.
These are siouan people, commonly referred to generically as the saponi, tutelo. The ghostmen of the woodlands anciently the siouan speaking groups originated in the ohio river valley. The haliwa saponi, primarily based in halifax county and formally recognized. Occaneechi band of the saponi nation preserving the. Shortly before the american revolution, occaneechi began settling in orange county now part of alamance in a community called little texas. Occaneechi saponi pursue a government stamp of approval. The occaneechi band of the saponi nation recognized the harm that smoking has on tribal members and realized the harm secondhand smoke has on children and others. These persons would now be identified as lumbee, alabama creek, meherrin, haliwa, and occaneechi saponi, along with a number of individuals who probably were of unmixed white or black ancestry.
It makes our dictionary english tutelo real, as it is created by native speakers people, that uses language for every day. They were siouanspeaking, and thus related to the saponi, tutelo, eno and other southeastern siouanlanguage peoples living in the piedmont region of. And a journal of a thoufand miles, traveld thro feveral nations of i nd ia ns. The name of the indian town at fort christanna, junkatapurse, meant horses head, probably in reference to a nearby bend in the river. This same tactic was used back in the days of walter a. Vance hawkins said the following was taken from the book mentioned below. Near there the occaneechi path was joined by the upper road and they stayed together all the way south past charlotte, nc.
May 26, 2012 saponi descendants association researches the saponi, eno, monacan, catawba, cherawsaralumbee, melungeon, tutelo, occaneechi, and powhatan tribes that gave rise to assimilated citizen indians during the colonial period. There is still uncertainty about many of the tribal origins of many of the native american groups in north carolina. By the late 1700s, the ancestors of the modern occaneechi had returned to what is now alamance and orange counties, where they lived as small farmers and craftsmen. Books and journal articles books, theses, and government reports. They were siouanspeaking, and thus related to the saponi, tutelo, eno and other southeastern siouan language peoples living in the. He counted the occaneechi, saponi, stuckanox, and tutelo among nine tributaries of the colony, with an estimated total population of 700, including 250 fighting men of which the siouan affiliates may have represented less than half. The occaneechi also occoneechee and akenatzy are native americans who lived in the 17th century primarily on the large, 4mile 6. Book project in portuguese and german about the largest ethnographic collection from brazil of. However, meherrin chief ununtequero and next chief horehannah were the last two to sign the treaty in 1680. Occaneechie saponi and tutelo of the saponi nation, aka piedmont catawba. It only means that ive accessed this resource for this project. The state is home to and find homework help for other native americans questions at.
Siouan, siouan language a family of north american indian. Masters paper the information seeking behaviors, needs. I guess because all theyve seen of indians is in the book and on. Altho the above article form forest is great, it leaves the impression that mr hazel, foremost living expert and researcher of these people, believes that no descendant of the group of occaneechi saponi members moved westward, which is far from the case. Masters paper the information seeking behaviors, needs and. Their history is closely interwoven with that of the saponi and tutelo, and there is historical evidence that their language was similar. Occaneechi, saponi, and tutelo of the saponi nation.
A small tribe of the eastern siouan group formerly residing in south virginia and northern north carolina. Occaneechi band of the saponi nation alamance and adjoining counties. Descended from the same language group as the cherokee and tuscarora. Several of those elders have since passed on to the spirit world and i honor them and their memories by continuing to tell their stories so that they wont be lost or forgotten. The state of north carolina names recognizes a group of indians descended from the saponi, tutelo, and occaneechi tribes as the indians of person county.
Help us in creating the largest englishtutelo dictionary online. This site is for those seeking to research native american ancestry deriving from the piedmont of virginia and north carolina. If you have other resources of documents to contribute, please contact me. Saponi descendants not allowed membership in nc page 21. The occaneechi path was joined by the fall line road at petersburg, va, and followed the same path south to near the virginia border. I encountered linking the word blackfoot to the saponi was in richard and vicky haithcocks book, occaneechi saponi and tutelo of the saponi nation. Occaneechi saponi 7 occaneechi town was almost completely abandoned by 17, when the occaneechi signed a treaty of peace with the virginia colonial government at williamsburg.
They were siouanspeaking and thus related to the saponi, tutelo, eno and other southeastern siouan language peoples living in the piedmont region of presentday north carolina and virginia. The tribe wanted to address the dangers of discarded cigarette litter as a fire risk and a poison risk to children if ingested. Some of the stories that i use come from oral interviews that i have conducted with occaneechi saponi elders in our community. Experiences of the occaneechi band of the saponi nation occaneechi in constructing a. Saponi tribe the saponi indians were a small siouan tribe of virginia, allies of the tutelo tribe. The book is rare and has taken me some time to find a library which carried itbut i found itthe book even speaks about how the collins ancestors can be proven as being in the orange county va area as far back as 1640. Under the 17 treaty with the colony of virginia, the communities of saponi, occaneechi, eno, tutelo, and cheraw, among others, agreed to form a confederation. Saponi, keyauwee, occaneechi and eno or schoicories according to. Occaneechi indian village rising from banks of eno river. Get an answer for north carolina is home to the largest number of native americans east of the mississippi. Halifax county land book, and was held in trust by fellow high plains. Historical saponitutelo settlements and territory, 16501750. Minor vocabularies of tutelo and saponi american language reprints, 26 english and siouan languages edition edward sapir, leo joachim frachtenberg on. The occaneechi tribe lived primarily on a large, fourmilelong occoneechee island and east of the confluence of the dan and roanoke rivers, near current day clarksville, virginia in the 17th century.
Shortly before the american revolution, occaneechi began. The collection of john hayles blackfeather jeffries contains photographic prints, photographic albums, printed items, clippings, articles and essays, transcriptions of interviews, a petition for acknowledgment of tribal status for the occaneechi band of the saponi nation in north carolina, sound recordings, video. Siouan, sioux a member of a group of north american indian peoples who spoke a siouan language and who ranged from lake michigan to the rocky mountains n the siouan language spoken by the tutelo type of. Occaneechi indigenous peoples of north carolina libguides.
But is having native american blood enough to win state and federal recognition. At that point, it is indicated from reading the document that the occaneechi, stuckanok, and tottero, although signing the treaty separately, were dominated by the saponi. Talking eagle richardson led the retribalization effort among the haliwa saponi. Occaneechi would unite with the saponi, tutelo, and other smaller tribes at fort christanna, virginia, forming a federation that went under the name saponi. Minor vocabularies of tutelo and saponi american language reprints, 26 english and siouan languages edition. The occaneechi band of the saponi nation are descendants of the historic saponi and other siouanspeaking indians who occupied the piedmont of north carolina and virginia. The term saponi or sappony has been applied to three contemporary groups of people in north carolina. Community researchers drew the codes in one circle to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the codes and the equal importance of each code. The saponi indian tribe is an eastern siouan language tribe with ancestral land located in virginia and north carolina. Event kickoff jana mashonee lumbee jana will sign autographs and copies of her latest book, american indian story. Iroquoian iroquoian languages are spoken primarily in the northeastern united states and southern canada. This is a list of the resources ive accessed so far. To the southeast of powhatans domain lived the meherrin and nottoway tribes, who also spoke iroguoian languages. Tutelo, also known as tutelosaponi, is a member of the virginian branch of siouan languages.
The historic yesa people include the saponi, tutelo, occaneechi, manahoacmahock, eno, saracheraw and monacan. North carolina american indian history timeline nc museum. In the southwest of what is now virginia lived cherokee people, who spoke an iroguoian language. D, possibly following migrating buffalo herds in the directions they went. Linguistically our people spoke tutelo which is an ohio valley siouan language or ovs for short. Blessing of the arena and grounds reggie brewer lumbee 1111. That is one of only a few dozen words that were recorded for the saponi language. The tribal name was occasionally applied to the whole group of ft christanna tribes, also occasionally included under tutelo.
Bicentennial plaza dance and music stage hostemcee sharon berrun haliwasaponi arena director reggie brewer lumbee 10. We have included twenty basic tutelo and saponi words here, to compare with related american indian languages. So are are any of the occaneechi saponis member of your family. North carolina tribes and urban indian organizations. The saponi indians were a small siouan tribe of virginia, allies of the tutelo. Obsn can not be held responsible for the handling of this private and legal documentation via mail or phone messages.
In april of 1771, in the brunswick county court order book 11, page 346 the churchwardens were ordered to bind out william, robert, and mary watkins, mulatto poor children of anne. Saponi descendants association researches the saponi, eno, monacan, catawba, cherawsaralumbee, melungeon, tutelo, occaneechi, and powhatan tribes that gave rise to assimilated citizen indians during the colonial period. The community is located primarily in pleasant grove township, alamance county, north carolina. They share language, traditions and culture with the nottoway and other haudenosaunee nations. That this tribe belonged to the siouan stock has been placed beyond doubt by the investigations of hale saponi tribe read more. Now you say your family is also jeffries, of which their are jeffries surnames in the occaneechi saponi tribal members. Tutelo saponi words welcome to our tutelo vocabulary page. The coharie receive state recognition, but this recognition is rescinded two years later. North carolina is home to the largest number of native. Occaneechisaponi descendants in the north carolina. But the catawbas went with the cherokees what time period was this. Carpenter noah mace, 29, of west hillsborough steadies a cedar pole as it is placed in the ground saturday, feb.
The name saponi means red earth people, and that phrase had been used in several contexts by the haliwa saponi. In august 2002, the occaneechi band of the saponi nation embarked on an ambitious project. Tribal documents occaneechi band of the saponi nation. One of the eastern siouan tribes, formerly living in north carolina and virginia, but now extinct. The occaneechi band of the saponi nation wants to be recognized as an official tribe. John lederer claims he found the saponi living near the roanoke river upstream of modernday clarksville, virginia in 1670. The occaneechi band of the saponi nation is continuously committed to the preservation, protection and promotion of our history, culture and traditions.
The saponi tribe moved around several times seeking various advantageous alliances, especially from their siouxspeaking cousins, including the catawba nation in what is now south carolina. This was called the occaneechi homeland preservation project. Occaneechi, saponi, and tutelo of the saponi nation richard l haithcock on. It makes our dictionary english saponi real, as it is created by native speakers people, that uses language for every day. Southern indian studies research laboratories of archaeology. It is not known when the language died out completely. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read native southerners. Pdf on mar 1, 1974, christian feest and others published notes on saponi settlements in. Occaneechie saponi and tutelo of the saponi nation, aka. However, recent archaeological work near the occaneechi village on the banks of the eno river near hillsborough exposed the community as descendants of the saponi and occaneechi, thought to have been completely gone years ago.
Siouan is a language family spoken mainly by tribes in the midwest. A brief history of the occaneechi band of the saponi nation. The saponi in mebane are not saponi, but are catawba posing as saponi. They may have been a mixture of monacans, saponi and tutelo who migrated to the occaneechi trading place after european colonists disrupted native american societies. Tutelo, also known as saponi, is a siouan language, related to other languages like crow and dakota sioux. Help us in creating the largest english saponi dictionary online. The high plains sappony of person county, north carolina and. Sep 18, 2016 saponi descendants association researches the saponi, eno, monacan, catawba, cherawsaralumbee, melungeon, tutelo, occaneechi, and powhatan tribes that gave rise to assimilated citizen indians during the colonial period. The saponi or sappony are a native american tribe historically based in the piedmont of north carolina and virginia. Glosbe is a collaborative project and every one can add and remove translations. Occaneechi saponi the occaneechi community is descended from the saponi and related indians who occupied the piedmont of north carolina and virginia the in precontact period. Richardson returned to north carolina from philadelphia in 1955 and was elected the tribes first chief. Searching for saponitown native american genealogy research. The saponi reservation and fort christanna home facebook.
Around the chesapeake, the monacan, mannahoac, saponi, and occaneechi spoke variations of this language. This is a total bunk job and shear genocidal activity against the saponi, lumbee, occaneechi, tutelo, cherokee, tuscarora, haliwa and powhatan and other indian peoples of appalachia. The sappony, formerly known as the indians of person county, formally recognized by the state of north carolina in 1911. Occaneechi tribe of north carolina legends of america.