Tuscarora (tribe)

Tuscarora
Total population
7,500+
Regions with significant populations
United States (New York)  United States (North Carolina)  Canada (Ontario)
Languages
English, Tuscarora
Religions
Christianity, Longhouse, Handsome Lake, Other Indigenous Religion
Related ethnic groups
other Iroquoian peoples

The Tuscarora are an American Indian tribe originally in North Carolina, which moved north to New York, and then partially into Canada.

History

Pre-contact distribution of Tuscarora

The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina during the autumn of 1711 until 11 February, 1715 between the British, Dutch, and German settlers and the Tuscarora, a local American Indian tribe. A treaty was signed in 1715.

The first successful and permanent settlement of North Carolina by Europeans began in earnest in 1653. The Tuscarora lived in peace with the European settlers who arrived in North Carolina for over 50 years at a time when nearly every other colony in America was actively involved in some form of conflict with the American Indians. However, the arrival of the settlers was ultimately disastrous for the aboriginal inhabitants of North Carolina.

There were two primary contingents of Tuscarora at this point, a Northern group led by Chief Tom Blunt and a Southern group led by Chief Hancock. Chief Blunt occupied the area around what is present-day Bertie County on the Roanoke River; Chief Hancock was closer to New Bern, North Carolina, occupying the area south of the Pamplico River (now the Pamlico River). While Chief Blunt became close friends with the Blount family of the Bertie region, Chief Hancock found his villages raided and his people frequently kidnapped and sold into slavery. Both groups were heavily impacted by the introduction of European diseases, and both were rapidly having their lands stolen by the encroaching settlers. Ultimately, Chief Hancock felt there was no alternative but to attack the settlers. Tom Blunt did not become involved in the war at this point.

The Southern Tuscarora, led by Chief Hancock, worked in conjunction with the Pamplico Indians, the Cothechneys, the Cores, the Mattamuskeets and the Matchepungoes to attack the settlers in a wide range of locations in a short time period. Principal targets were the planters on the Roanoke River, the planters on the Neuse River and Trent River and the city of Bath. The first attacks began on September 22, 1711, and hundreds of settlers were ultimately killed. Several key political figures were either killed or driven off in the subsequent months.

Governor Edward Hyde called out the militia of North Carolina, and secured the assistance of the Legislature of South Carolina, who provided "six hundred militia and three hundred and sixty Indians under Col. Barnwell." This force attacked the Southern Tuscarora and other tribes in Craven County at Fort Narhantes on the banks of the Neuse River in 1712. The Tuscarora were "defeated with great slaughter; more than three hundred American Indians were killed, and one hundred made prisoners." These prisoners were largely women and children, who were ultimately sold into slavery.

Chief Blunt was then offered the chance to control the entire Tuscarora tribe if he assisted the settlers in putting down Chief Hancock. Chief Blunt was able to capture Chief Hancock, and the settlers executed him in 1712. In 1713 the Southern Tuscaroras lost Fort Neoheroka,located in Greene County, with over a thousand killed or captured.

It was at this point that the majority of the Southern Tuscarora began migrating to New York to escape the settlers in North Carolina.

The remaining Tuscarora signed a treaty with the settlers in June 1718 granting them a tract of land on the Roanoke River in what is now Bertie County. This was the area already occupied by Tom Blunt, and was specified as 56,000 acres (227 km²); Tom Blunt, who had taken on the name Blount, was now recognized by the Legislature of North Carolina as King Tom Blount. The remaining Southern Tuscarora were removed from their homes on the Pamlico River and made to move to Bertie. In 1722 Bertie County was chartered, and over the next several decades the remaining Tuscorara lands were continually diminished as they were sold off in deals that were frequently designed to take advantage of the American Indians.

After the Tuscarora War most of the tribe removed from North Carolina to New York to become the sixth nation of the Iroquois, settling near the Oneidas. There were two primary contingents of Tuscarora at this point, a Northern group led by Chief Tom Blunt and a Southern group led by Chief Hancock. Chief Blunt occupied the area around what is present-day Bertie County on the Roanoke River; Chief Hancock was closer to New Bern, occupying the area south of the Pamplico River (now the Pamlico River). While Chief Blunt became close friends with the Blount family of the Bertie region, Chief Hancock found his villages raided and his people frequently kidnapped and sold into slavery. Both groups were heavily impacted by the introduction of European diseases, and both were rapidly having their lands stolen by the encroaching colonists. Ultimately, Chief Hancock felt there was no alternative but to attack the settlers. Tom Blunt did not become involved in the war at this point.

The Southern Tuscarora, led by Chief Hancock, worked in conjunction with the Pamlico Indians, the Cothechneys, the Cores, the Mattamuskeets and the Matchepungoes to attack the settlers in a wide range of locations in a short time period. Principle targets were the planters on the Roanoke River, the planters on the Neuse and Trent Rivers and the city of Bath. The first attacks began on September 22nd, 1711, and hundreds of settlers were ultimately killed. Several key political figures were either killed or driven off in the subsequent months.

File:Chief pelers tuscarora tribe.jpg

Chief Pelers, Tuscarora Tribe

Governor Edward Hyde called out the militia of North Carolina, and secured the assistance of the Legislature of South Carolina, who provided "six hundred militia and three hundred and sixty Indians under Col. Barnwell." This force attacked the Southern Tuscarora and other tribes in Craven County at Fort Narhantes on the banks of the Neuse River in 1712. The Tuscarora were "defeated with great slaughter; more than three hundred savages were killed, and one hundred made prisoners."

Chief Blunt was then offered the chance to control the entire Tuscarora tribe if he assisted the settlers in putting down Chief Hancock. Chief Blunt was able to capture Chief Hancock, and the settlers executed him in 1712. In 1713 the Southern Tuscaroras lost Fort Neoheroka, with 900 killed or captured.

It was at this point that the majority of the Southern Tuscarora began migrating to New York to escape the settlers in North Carolina. The migration period took approximately 90 years to complete. To this day there are still many people in North Carolina and other states who claim Tuscarora descent.

The remaining Tuscarora signed a treaty with the settlers in June 1718 granting them a tract of land on the Roanoke River in what is now Bertie County. This was the area already occupied by Tom Blunt, and was specified as 56,000 acres (227 km²); Tom Blunt, who had taken on the name Blount, was now recognized by the Legislature of North Carolina as King Tom Blount. The remaining Southern Tuscarora were removed from their homes on the Pamlico River and made to move to Bertie. In 1722 Bertie County was chartered, and over the next several decades the remaining Tuscorara lands were continually diminished as they were sold off in deals that were frequently designed to take advantage of the Indians.

A substantial portion of the Tuscaroras sided with the Oneida nation against the rest of the League of the Six Nations by fighting for the US government during the American Revolutionary War. Those that remained allies of the Crown would later follow Joseph Brant into Ontario.

In 1803 the final contingent of the Tuscarora migrated to New York to join the tribe at their reservation in Niagara County, under a treaty directed by Thomas Jefferson. In 1831 the Tuscarora sold the remaining rights to their lands in North Carolina. By this point the 56,000 acres (227 km²) had been pared down to a mere 2000 acres (8 km²). They lost even more land in the 20th century when developer Robert Moses expropriated 550 acres of their land for a hydroelectric project in the vicinity of Niagara Falls.[1]

Culture

Language

Skarure, the Tuscarora language, is a member of the Northern branch of the Iroquoian languages. It is spoken in southern Ontario, Canada, and northwestern New York around Niagara Falls, in the United States. The original homeland of the Tuscarora was in eastern North Carolina, in and around the Goldsboro, Kinston, and Smithfield areas, and some, though few, still live in this region. The name Tuscarora (pronounced approximately "Tuh-skuh-roar-uh") comes from the tribe's name and means "hemp people," after the Indian hemp or milkweed that they use in many aspects of their society. "Skarureh" refers to the long shirt worn as part of the men's regalia, hence "long shirt people."

Tuscarora is a living but severely endangered language. As of the mid-1970s, only about 52 people spoke the language on the Tuscarora Reservation (Lewiston, New York) and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation (near Brantford, Ontario) . The Tuscarora School in Lewiston has striven to keep the language alive, teaching children from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade. Despite this, Ethnologue reports a total of only 11 to 13 speakers in the 1990s, all of whom are older adults.

The Tuscarora language can appear complex to those unfamiliar with it, more in terms of the grammar than the sound system. Many ideas can be expressed in a single word, and most words involve several components that must be considered before speaking (or writing). It is written using mostly symbols from the Roman alphabet, with some variations, additions, and diacritics.

Contemporary Tuscarora

• Tuscarora at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario
• Tuscarora Nation at Lewiston, New York

There are several bands, groups, and organizations without federal recognition:

• Skaroreh Katenuaka at Tosneoc Village in Elm City, North Carolina
• Southern Band Tuscarora Indian Tribe at Windsor, North Carolina
• Hatteras Tuscarora at Cape Fear, North Carolina
• Tuscarora Nation of Indians of the Carolinas at Maxton, North Carolina
• Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation at Robeson County, North Carolina

There is also significant evidence the Tuscarora are among the ancestors of the Lumbee, a tribe in Robeson County, North Carolina.

At present, though some tribes have the recognition of their state but not the US federal government, the Tuscarora are not officially recognized in the state of North Carolina or in any other state than New York. This is true in the case of Oklahoma by relocated Tuscaroras with the Seneca and Cayuga brought into the Northeast corner of former Indian Territory in the mid 19th century. ^{[citation needed]}

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook Of American Indians V2: North Of Mexico Part Two. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006 (original 1906). ISBN 1428645586.
• Waldman, Carl. 2006. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, NY: Checkmark Books. ISBN 978-0816062744
• Graymont, Barbara (ed.). Fighting Tuscarora: The Autobiography of Chief Clinton Rickard. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1994. ISBN 0815601905
• Printup, Bryan, and Neil Patterson Jr. Tuscarora Nation (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0738549538

External links

• History of the Tuscarora
• Tuscaroras and the Six Nations
• Catechna and The Tuscarora War
• Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation website
• Coastal Carolina Indian Center
• The Tuscarora War

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