Chowanoc
 16th-century territories of the North Carolina Algonquian | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| extinct[2](1820) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| North Carolina | |
| Languages | |
| Algonquian | |
| Religion | |
| Tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Coree,Machapunga,Weapemeoc[citation needed] |
TheChowanoc,[1]alsoChowanoke,were anAlgonquian-speakingNative American tribewho historically lived near theChowan RiverinNorth Carolina.[2]
At the time of the firstEnglishcontact in 1580s, they were a large and influential tribe and remained so through the mid-17th century.[2]
In 1677, after theChowanoc War,English colonists set aside a reservation for the tribe nearBennett Creek.The Chowanoc suffered high mortality due toinfectious disease,including asmallpoxepidemic in 1696.
Descendants of the Chowanoc merged with theTuscarorain the early 18th century.[2]
Name
[edit]The nameChowanochas also been spelled Chawanook, Chowanock, Chowanoke, and Chawwonock. They are also known as the Chowanoc Confederacy.[1]Their name isAlgonquianand translates as "they of the south" or "southerners".[3]
Territory
[edit]
The Chowanoc had settlements from north of the confluence of the Chowan andMeherrin Riversto the mouth of the Chowan River. Smaller towns were likely built along Bennett Creek and tributaries of the Meherrin andWiccacon Rivers.[1]
Archaeology
[edit]Archaeologists explored the primary town also called Chowanoc in the 1980s and found that it was settled in the 10th century CE.[1]
History
[edit]16th century
[edit]About 1,200 to 2,500[1]Chowanoc lived near the Chowan River, near theNottowayand Meherrin rivers, when English colonists arrived in 1584, and they were most populous tribe in their region.[3][2]Colonial GovernorRalph Laneencountered the tribe when they were led by the elderly Chief Menatonon (fl. 1580s).[1]Lane's took Menatonon's son Skiko hostage to force the chief to assist English colonists in their efforts to cultivate positive relationships with neighbor tribes and to ensure Menatonon’s support of the English colonists.[2][1]When Skiko attempted to escape, Lane “laid him in the bylboes, threatening to cut off his head.”[4]
Their villages included Maraton, Ramushonok, and Obanoak, and likely also included Metocaum and Catoking.[3]
English mathematician and cartographerThomas Harriotrecorded that the Chowanoc had 18 villages.[1]Harriot estimated that the tribe could mobilize 700 or 800 warriors in a battle.[1]Lane described this town as being large enough to muster 700 to 800 warriors, which meant the capital's population was likely more than 2,100.[citation needed]Theodor de Bry's1590 map sited five of the tribe's villages on the river of their name.[5]
17th century
[edit]
In 1607 an English colonial expedition, in the area on orders fromCaptain John SmithofJamestown,found that hardly any Chowanoc people were left along the Chowan River.[citation needed]They had been reduced to one settlement across the river inGates Countyon Bennett Creek.[citation needed]
In 1607 an English colonial expedition, in the area on orders fromCaptain John SmithofJamestown,found that few Chowanoc people were left along the Chowan River. They had been reduced to one settlement across the river inGates Countyon Bennett Creek.
The Chowanoc maintained a large population through 1650.[2]More English colonists settled near theAlbemarle Soundand signed a peace treaty with the Chowanoc in 1663. However, the tribe breached the peace by entering the Susquehannah War.[2]Several decades later, in 1644 and theChowanoc Warof 1675 to 1677, the Chowanoc had regained sufficient strength to wage two wars against English settlers. They met defeat each time.
After these wars, in 1677 the settlers forced the Chowanoc to cede most of their territory and move to anIndian reservationon Bennett's Creek.[2]It consisted of 11,360 acres.[6]
Infectious diseasestransmitted by contact with European explorers and colonists, such asmeaslesand smallpox, likely caused high fatalities and considerably weakened the Chowanoc, as took place with other coastal CarolinaAlgonquian peoples.None had naturalimmunityto such new diseases, which had been endemic among Europeans for centuries.
18th century
[edit]By 1701, their population had been reduced to a single village, located on theBennetts Creek.[3]
The Chowanocs fought with the English against the Tuscarora in theTuscarora Warfrom 1711 to 1713.[2]They were devastated, and English people had encroached upon their lands by 1718.[2]Around 1723, the surviving Chowanoc and Tuscorara shared a 53,000-acre reservation,[2]located on Bennetts and Catherine creeks.[3]Their population declined, and survivors merged into the Tuscarora by 1733.[2]
19th century
[edit]Historian Joseph Norman Heard wrote, "They were extinct by 1820."[2]
Heritage group
[edit]In the early 21st century, people who claimed Chowanoc ancestry in the Bennett's Creek area formed an organization called the Chowanoke Indian Nation. Although they usenationin their name, the group is neitherfederally recognized[7]norstate-recognized[8]as aNative American tribe.Delois Chavis of Winton has been a leader of this organization, which purchased 146 acres of land in Gates County.[6]
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghijRoy F. Johnson (1991). "Menatonon". In Powell, William S. (ed.).Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: L–O.Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 251.ISBN0-8078-1806-2.
- ^abcdefghijklmnHeard, J. Norman (1987).Handbook of the American Frontier: The Southeastern Woodlands.Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 101.ISBN978-0-8108-1931-3.Retrieved10 November2023.
- ^abcdeHodge, Frederick Webb (1907).Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: A-M.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 292.
- ^Oberg, Michael Leroy (2013-02-12).The Head in Edward Nugent's Hand: Roanoke's Forgotten Indians.University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN978-0-8122-0341-7.
- ^Milteer, Warren E. “From Indians to Colored People: The Problem of Racial Categories and the Persistence of the Chowans in North Carolina.”The North Carolina Historical Review,vol. 93, no. 1, 2016, pp. 28–57. JSTOR,http:// jstor.org/stable/44113316.Retrieved 14 Dec. 2023.
- ^abPetrone, Justin (13 September 2018)."Chowanoke Descendants Reclaim Ancestral Land, Envision Cultural Center".Indian Country Today.Retrieved4 April2022.
- ^"Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs".Indian Affairs Bureau.Federal Register. 4 April 2022. pp. 7554–58.Retrieved21 January2022.
- ^"State Recognized Tribes".National Conference of State Legislatures.Archived fromthe originalon 25 October 2022.Retrieved4 April2022.
Further reading
[edit]- David B. Quinn,Set Fair for Roanoke: Voyages and Colonies, 1584-1606(1985)
External links
[edit]- Chowanoac,North Carolina History Project
- Marvin T. Jones, "A Chowanoke Family",Roanoke-Chowan
- Chowanoke Indian Nation,cultural heritage organization
