Occaneechi
Ofo peoples[1] |
The Occaneechi are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands whose historical territory was in the Piedmont region of present-day North Carolina and Virginia.[2]
In the 17th century they primarily lived on the large, 4-mile (6.4 km) long Occoneechee Island and east of the confluence of the
In 1676, in the course of
Name
The meaning and origin of the name Occaneechi is unknown. They have also historically been called the Achonechy, Aconechos, Akenatzy, Hockinechy, Occaneches, Occaanechy, Occhonechee, Occonacheans, Occoneechee, Ockanechees, Ockanigee, Okenechee, Acconeechy, Occaneeches, Ochineeches, and Ockinagee.[4]
Language
The Occaneechi language was a
History
Precontact
Archeological studies have found finely chipped projectile points, which provide evidence of thousands of years of habitation, on the former Occoneechee Island, as well as nearby Field's Island, Lewis Island, and Tottero (or Nelson's) Island in the Roanoke River.[5]
17th century
The Occaneechi were first written about in 1650, by English explorer Edward Bland.[6] He wrote that they lived on the Trading Path that connected Virginia with the interior of North America. Their position on the Trading Path gave the Occaneechi the power to act as trading "middlemen" between Virginia and various tribes to the west. German physician John Lederer wrote about them in 1670.[2]
In 1673, Abraham Wood, a Virginian fur trader, sent James Needham and Gabriel Arthur into the southern Appalachian Mountains in an attempt to make direct contact with the Cherokee, thus bypassing the Occaneechi. The party did make contact with the Cherokee. It was not until the last decades of the 17th century when South Carolina colonists established a strong relationship with the Cherokee and other interior tribes, that the Occaneechi role as trading middleman was undermined.[7]
In May 1676, the Occaneechi allied with Nathaniel Bacon and his British troops in a war with the Susquehannock; however, the British immediately turned on their allies and attacked three forts within the Occaneechi village. The British killed the Occaneechi's leader Posseclay, approximately 100 men, as well as many women and children. A Susquehannock war party attacked Occoneechee Island in the summer of 1678.[8] Old records in the British Public Record Office describe Bacon's expedition traveling southward from the James to Roanoke Rivers, expecting the fleeing Susquehannocks would try to buy powder from the Occaneechi at their island in the Roanoke River, and entering an agreement with the Occaneechee and their Manneking, Haykolott, and Annelector allies, who raided the Susquehannocks and captured about 30 men, some of whom they put to death.[9] The records also include a letter written by Mrs. Bacon to her sister on June 29, 1676 (which the sister received on September 26) describing many Indian raids, and Bacon's losses including an overseer at one of his outward plantations, as well as many cattle.[10] Bacon himself also complained of losing an overseer and cattle before his expedition, and described a two-day fight at the Occaneechee island, and killing about 100 men and two of their kings, beside women and children.[11]
By 1676, the Saponi and Tuleto settled near the Occaneechi, later to be joining by the
18th century
In 1701
Historian
Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood mentioned the Occaneechi as being one of nine Native nations within Virginia in 1712.[12] Along with the "Stuckanok, Tottero, and Saponi," the Occaneechi signed a "Treaty of Peace" with the colony of Virginia in 1713. They moved to Fort Christanna in southeast Virginia. Occaneechi Town was almost entirely abandoned by 1713.
Fort Christanna was operated by the Virginia Company from 1714 to 1717. Its closure was apparently due to a lack of profits as an Indian trading center. Although several distinct groups of Siouan Indians lived at Fort Christanna, the English Virginians tended to refer to them simply as "Saponi" or "Fort Christanna Indians." After the closing of Fort Christanna in 1717, colonial records contain few references to the Occaneechi. Those references that do exist indicate a continued trade between Virginia colonists and the Saponi and Occaneechi.[7]
By 1720, after ongoing losses from warfare, the remnant bands of the Occaneechi, Saponi, and Stukanox, "who not finding themselves Separately Numerous, enough for their Defence, have agreed to unite in one Body, and all of them now go under the Name of the Sapponeys, as William Byrd II wrote.[13]
In 1727, a settler living near the
In 1730 Virginia's
Most of the remaining Saponi members were recorded as migrating north in 1740 for protection with the
Starting in the middle of the 18th century, however, historic records note Saponi living in North Carolina. Some Saponi moved from Virginia to various places in North Carolina. There is some evidence that isolated Indians never left these areas of North Carolina and became consolidated with Saponi from Virginia.[citation needed]
In 1756, Moravian settlers living near present-day
In 1763, Lt. Governor Francis Fauquier of Virginia wrote a letter that included a description of the Indians of Virginia: "There are some of the Nottoways, Meherrins, Tuscaroras, and Saponys, who tho' they live in peace in the midst of us, lead in great measure the lives of wild Indians."[7] He contrasted these Indians with the Eastern Shore and Pamunkey Indians, whom he described as more assimilated to English ways. Thus, there are still indications of Saponi in Virginia during this period.[citation needed]
Archaeology
For years lay people and researchers have discovered thousands of artifacts from Occoneechee Town, Saponi Town, and Tutelo Town on islands in the Roanoke River near Clarksville, Virginia. Until the completion of the John H. Kerr Dam on the Roanoke River in 1952 and the islands' flooding by the resultant Kerr Lake reservoir, this was site had an abundance of artifacts. Since 1983 the Research Laboratories of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been uncovering another "Occaneechi Town", a late 17th and early 18th century Occaneechi village on the Eno River near present-day Hillsborough, North Carolina.[7]
Occoneechee State Park
In 1968, Virginia established Occoneechee State Park on 2,698 acres on the Virginia shore of 48,000-acre Kerr Lake. Kerr Lake, created by the John H. Kerr Dam on the Roanoke River near its confluence with the Dan River, flooded Occoneechee Island where the tribe had been decimated in May 1676. A Virginia historical marker at the park's entrance mentions the massacre, as well as tribal members' return to Fort Christanna nearby decades later. The visitor's center now features exhibits about the indigenous people of the area.[14]
North Carolina state-recognized tribe
In the late 20th century, descendants of the remnant Siouan peoples formed the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. In 2002 the tribe was recognized by the state of North Carolina. The members of the tribe live primarily in Alamance and Orange Counties.[15]
In 1995, a community centered around
Citations
- ^ a b Demallie 286
- ^ a b c d e f James Mooney (1912). "Occaneechi". In Frederick Webb Hodge (ed.). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30. Vol. 2 (Second ed.). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p. 103. Retrieved 19 February 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ Demallie 287
- ^ a b Demallie 298
- ^ John W. Tisdale, The Story of the Occconeechees (Richmond: The Dietz Press, Incorporated 1953) pp. 8-9
- ^ Demallie 291
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hazel 1991
- ^ a b Demallie 292
- ^ "Bacon's Rebellion". The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. 9 (1): 1–10. July 1900. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "Bacon's Rebellion". The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. 9 (1): 4. July 1900. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "Bacon's Rebellion". The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. 9 (1): 6–7. July 1900. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Demallie 293
- ^ Demallie 295
- ^ "Occoneechee State Park". Virginia State Parks. Virginia Department of Conversation and Recreation. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ Lerch 333
- ^ Lerch 328
See also
References
- Demallie, Raymond J. "Tutelo and Neighboring Groups." Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.
- Hazel, Forest (October 1991). Mathis, Mark A (ed.). "Occaneechi-Saponi Descendants in the North Carolina Piedmont: The Texas Community" (PDF). Southern Indian Studies. 40. The North Carolina Archaeological Society, University of North Carolina. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
- Hodge, Frederick Webb (1907). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: N-Z. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 103. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- Lerch, Patricia B. "Indians of the Carolinas Since 1900." Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.
External links
- Excavating Occaneechi Town: An archaeology primer, University of North Carolina
- The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
- The Historic Occaneechi: An Archaeological Investigation of Culture Change, Research Laboratories of Anthropology, UNC—Chapel Hill