tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
who historically inhabited the coastal area of the Upper South of the United States. At the time of the first
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
contacts in 1585 and 1586, they were the largest and most powerful Algonquian tribe in present-day
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, occupying most or all of the coastal banks of the
Chowan River
The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN) , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
indigenous cultures
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
occupied the area from 4500 BC.
After warfare, in 1677 English colonists set aside a reservation for the tribe near Bennett's Creek. The Chowanoke suffered high mortality due to
infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
, including a
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
in 1696. Descendants with Chowanoke ancestry survived but merged with other groups, and they lost the last of their communal land in 1821. Chowanoke descendants still live in the state, particularly in
Gates
Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to:
People
* Gates (surname), various people with the last name
* Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player
* Gates McFadde ...
and Chowan counties. Through the centuries some families have maintained their Chowanoke identity; others intermarried and gradually identified with other ethnic groups.
History
The Algonquian peoples who developed in what is now known as North Carolina likely migrated from northern coastal areas, and developed a culture modified by local conditions. The numerous tribes occupied an approximately area of Carolina Algonqkian territory in northeastern North Carolina, from the
Neuse River
The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in No ...
to the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
. Tribes included the Chowanoke,
Weapemeoc
The Weapemeoc Indians were a small Native American tribe from northeastern North Carolina. They lived on the north shore of Albemarle Sound. that was first noted in literature in 1585/1586. At that time, they approximately had 700 to 800 people. T ...
,
Poteskeet
The Weapemeoc Indians were a small Native American tribe from northeastern North Carolina. They lived on the north shore of Albemarle Sound. that was first noted in literature in 1585/1586. At that time, they approximately had 700 to 800 people. T ...
Secotan
The Secotans were one of several groups of American Indians dominant in the Carolina sound region, between 1584 and 1590, with which English colonists had varying degrees of contact. Secotan villages included the Secotan, Aquascogoc, Dasamonguep ...
(
Secoughtan
The Secotans were one of several groups of American Indians dominant in the Carolina sound region, between 1584 and 1590, with which English colonists had varying degrees of contact. Secotan villages included the Secotan, Aquascogoc, Dasamongue ...
), Pomuik,
Neusiok
The Neusiok were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Wooodlands in present-day North Carolina. They were also known as the Neuse Indians.
Territory
The Neusiok lived along the southern banks of the Neuse River, primarily in what are now C ...
,
Croatan
The Croatan were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them.
The Croatan lived in current Dare County, an a ...
and possibly the
Chesepiooc
The Chesepian or Chesapeake were a Native American tribe who inhabited the area now known as South Hampton Roads in the U.S. state of Virginia. They occupied an area which is now the Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach areas. To t ...
.
According to the 16th-century English
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
Ralph Lane
Sir Ralph Lane (c. 1532 – October 1603) Boston: Directors of the Old South Work, 1902, ''Documenting the America ...
, the Chowanoke (''Chowanoc,'' ''Chawonoc'') had 19 villages, with the capital being the town of ''Chowanoke.'' Present-day
Harrellsville
Harrellsville is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 106 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Harrellsville is located in southeastern Hertford County at (36.303895, -76.790083). North Carolina Highway 45 runs ...
in Hertford County developed near this historic site. The Chowanoke were the most numerous and most powerful of the Algonquian tribes in North Carolina. Lane described this town as being large enough to muster 700-800 warriors, which meant the capital's population was likely more than 2100. A later account by
Thomas Harriot
Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his cont ...
estimated that all the villages could muster 800 warriors. Lane's account was quite accurate in terms of his description of the town, its location and structures, which was confirmed by later archeological excavations there. The population estimates may have accurately been between his (which might have been 4,000 for all the people, and Harriot's, about 2100 overall).
Archeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
excavation in the 1980s at the site of Chowanoke confirmed Lane's report of its location and elements of his description. The town had been occupied by humans for nearly 1000 years, with
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
establishing 825 AD as the earliest date of culture related to the Chowanoke people. The town was a mile long, including large agricultural fields for cultivated crops. It was home to several hundred Chowanoke people and possibly as many as 2100. Near the north end of what the archeologists called Area B, they found a precinct for the ruler and nobility of elite residences, public buildings,
temples
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
and burials. This may have been the 30-
longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often rep ...
cluster observed by Harriot. Evidence of other residences was found in areas that have been eroded at the edges of the peninsula, as the site has been reduced by the river.
Other parts of the site showed older habitation: occupation in the Middle Archaic Morrow Mountain phase (ca. 3500-4500 B.C.); and again in the Deep Creek (8000-300 B.C.) and Mount Pleasant (300 B.C.-A.D. 800) phases of the
Woodland period
In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...
. This is typical of other sites of indigenous habitation, in which different groups lived in certain areas and abandoned them for a time, and other groups later migrated to occupy the area again.
It is probable that
infectious diseases
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
transmitted by contact with European explorers and colonists, such as
measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
and
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, caused high fatalities and considerably weakened the Chowanoke, as took place with other coastal Carolina
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
. None had natural
immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
to such new diseases, which had been endemic among Europeans for centuries. The neighboring
Iroquoian
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...
-speaking
Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following:
First nations and Native American people and culture
* Tuscarora people
**''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960)
* Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people
* ...
, who had inhabited areas to the inland, moved in and expelled the remaining Chowanoke from the territory along the river.
In 1607 an English colonial expedition, in the area on orders from
Captain John Smith
John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
of Jamestown, found that hardly any Chowanoke people were left along the Chowan River. They had been reduced to one settlement across the river in
Gates County
Gates County is a small, rural county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the border with Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,478. Its county seat is Gatesville. Gates County is includ ...
on Bennett's Creek.
Several decades later, in 1644 and 1675–77, the Chowanoke had regained sufficient strength to wage two wars against English settlers. They met defeat each time. After these wars, in 1677 the settlers designated the Chowanoke settlement on Bennett's Creek as the first
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
in the territory of the present-day United States of America. It consisted of 11,360 acres. The Chowanoke through the 18th century gradually lost land through sales and other actions. Men's names were recorded on tribal land conveyance documents. In 1821 they lost the last 30 acres of communal land.
Once they were landless, the Chowanoke were often no longer considered Native Americans. The European Americans tended to classify everyone as either colored (even free people of color) or white, not taking into account the continued existence of Native American people. Like other Algonquian peoples, the Chowanoke had a traditional matrilineal kinship system, in which children were considered born into the mother's family and clan.
Native American descendants, such as the Chowanoke, were often classified among the free people of color on census documents. They no longer functioned formally as a tribe and disappeared from most historical accounts.
Heritage group
In the early 21st century, Chowanoke descendants in the Bennett's Creek area formed an organization called the Chowanoke Indian Nation. Although they use ''nation'' in their name, the group is neither
federally recognized
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
nor
state-recognized
State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established under ...
as a
Native American tribe
In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, tribal nation, or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Native Americans in the Unit ...
.
Delois Chavis has been a leader in this effort; she grew up in Winton and said her parents and grandparents gave her a strong sense of Native American identity. As part of efforts to renew their people, she and other Chowanoke bought 146 acres of their former reservation land in Gates County, in an area known as Indian Neck. They plan to build a cultural center there to aid in revitalization of their culture.