The Shakori were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. They were thought to be a

Siouan Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who call the ent ...

people, closely allied with other nearby tribes such as the

Eno Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics * "Eno", a song by X-Wife from '' Rockin' Rio EP'' Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories busine ...

and the

Sissipahaw The Sissipahaw or Haw were a Native American tribe of North Carolina. They are also variously recorded as ''Saxahapaw'', ''Sauxpa'', ''Sissipahaus'', etc. Their settlements were generally located in the vicinity of modern-day Saxapahaw, North ...

. As their name is also recorded as Shaccoree, they can be confused with the Sugaree, but the latter are Catawba people. Yardley in 1654 wrote about a

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 * ...

guide's accounts of the ''Cacores'' people from ''Haynoke'' who, although smaller in stature and number, were able to evade the

. Their villages were located around what is now Hillsborough, North Carolina along the banks of the

and Shocco rivers.

Culture

Although little is known about the Shakori, at the time of contact, they were not noted as being noticeably different from the surrounding tribes. They made their

wigwams A wigwam, wickiup, wetu ( Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam ( Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiu ...

and other structures out of interwoven saplings and sticks; these were covered in mud as opposed to the bark typically used by other nearby tribes. They were described as being similar to traditional dwellings of the Quapaw from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. In the center of the village, men often played a slinging stone game, probably similar to the chunkey played by tribes further south and west.

Language

The Shakori were associated with other Siouan tribes of the Piedmont, such as the Sissipahaw and Eno, and they all are believed to have spoken the same Siouan language. Scholars debate whether the Shakori,

, and Sissipahaw were different tribes or bands of the same tribe. This distinction became moot as the tribes merged with one another as their numbers decreased. Although they merged into remnants of other tribes and the larger Catawba, their Siouan dialect survived as late as 1743 among the Eno. They resisted Catawba assimilation the longest.Mooney, J. (1894). ''The Siouan Tribes of the East.'' Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

History

Although their origins are uncertain, the Shakori were among the Siouan-speaking tribes found in the Piedmont area of numerous southern states. They are believed to have joined against the English colonists in the

Yamasee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...

. It is likely that by this time they were already confederated or merged with remnants of other tribes, such as the Saponi. On February 27, 1714, the Virginia colony reached an agreement. The remnants of the Saponi, Tottero, Occaneechi, Keyauwee, Enoke (or Eno), and Shakori formally coalesced, becoming "The Saponi Nation". Descendants with partial Shakori ancestry are likely among the Catawba and other regional groups, but the Shakori are extinct as a tribe.

Notes

Extinct Native American peoples Siouan peoples Native American tribes in North Carolina Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands {{NorthCarolina-stub