Information about Tuscarora (tribe)

Tuscarora
Total population
unknown
Regions with significant populations
Originally from New York, North Carolina
United States (New York)  United States (North Carolina)  Canada (Ontario)
Languages
English, Skarure
Religions
Christianity, others
Related ethnic groups
Iroquois, other Iroquoian peoples, Lumbee, Meherrin

The Tuscarora are an American Indian tribe with members in New York, Canada, and North Carolina. While some are under the impression that the tribe originated in North Carolina, the Tuscarora actually emigrated to North Carolina from the region now known as New York State, and were first found by the Europeans in North Carolina and Virginia.

History

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. The Tuscarora were originally a tribe of the ancient Iroquois nations and orginated from New York. 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 Corees, 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 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. 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 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. However, significant numbers of Tuscarora continued to live in North Carolina, some openly, others in hiding.

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 Tuscarora.

In New York, a substantial portion of the Tuscarora 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] However, it must be remembered that despite not having a reservation territory in North Carolina, significant numbers of Tuscarora remained there.

Skarure, the Tuscarora language, is a member of the Northern branch of the Iroquoian languages.

Modern Tuscarora bands

• Tuscarora at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario
• Tuscarora Nation at Lewiston, New York
• Southern Band Tuscarora Nation at Windsor, North Carolina
• Tuscarora Tribe of North Carolina at Robeson County, North Carolina
• Hatteras Tuscarora at Cape Fear, North Carolina
• Tuscarora Nation of Indians of the Carolinas at Pembroke, 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 of mysterious origins.

External links

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

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