The Tuscarora (in

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 * ...

''Skarù:ręˀ'') are an

indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part ...

in Canada and the United States. They are an

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, almost all surviving I ...

Native American and

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people. The

Tuscarora Nation The Tuscarora Reservation (Nyučirhéʼę in Tuscarora) is an Indian reservation of the Tuscarora Nation (Skaru:reʔ Kayeda:kreh in Tuscarora) is an Indian reservation in Niagara County, New York. The reservation population was 1,152 at the 2010 ...

, a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

, is based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and the

Tuscarora First Nation Tuscarora First Nation is a Tuscarora First Nation in southern Ontario, and is a member nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River. Its reserves include Glebe Farm 40B and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation Six Nations (or Six ...

is one of the

Six Nations of the Grand River Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of whom live on the reserve. The six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Prior to European contact, the Tuscarora lived in

the Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

along the Roanoke, Neuse,

Tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

, and

Pamlico The Pamlico (also ''Pampticough'', ''Pomouik'', ''Pomeiok'') were Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans of North Carolina. They spoke an Algonquian languages, Algonquian language also known as ''Pamlico'' or Carolina Algonquia ...

Rivers.F.W. Hodge, "Tuscarora"
''Handbook of American Indians'', Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906, at AccessGenealogy, accessed 28 Oct. 2009 Their lands were annexed by English colonists in North Carolina. After the

Tuscarora War The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711, until February 11, 1715, between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamasee, and other allies on the other. This was con ...

of 1711 to 1713 against English colonists and their Indian allies, most surviving Tuscarora left North Carolina and migrated north to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and New York, over a 90-year period. They aligned with the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

(Iroquois) in New York, because of their ancestral linguistic and cultural connections. In 1722, sponsored by the

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

, the Tuscarora were accepted as the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, those Tuscarora who allied with the colonists shared reservation land with the Oneida before gaining their own. Today, the

Tuscarora Nation of New York The Tuscarora Reservation (Nyučirhéʼę in Tuscarora) is an Indian reservation of the Tuscarora Nation (Skaru:reʔ Kayeda:kreh in Tuscarora) is an Indian reservation in Niagara County, New York. The reservation population was 1,152 at the 201 ...

is a

. Those Tuscarora who allied with the British in the American Revolution resettled with other Haudenosaunee people to

, where they became part of the

Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of whom live on the reserve. The six nations of the Iroquois Confederac ...

. Only the tribes in New York and Ontario have been recognized on a government-to-government basis by the respective national governments. After the migration was completed in the early 18th century, the Tuscarora in New York no longer considered those remaining in North Carolina as members of the tribal nation. Since the late 20th century, some North Carolina individuals claiming Tuscarora ancestry formed organizations self-identifying as tribes.

Name

The Tuscaroras'

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

, ''Skarù:ręˀ'', may translate to "hemp gatherers" or "shirt-wearing people".

History

Precontent to 17th century

The Tuscarora people were a confederacy of three tribes, when first encountered by Europeans in North Carolina. These were the: * Katenuaka (people of the submerged pine trees), Kautanohakau * Kawenteaka (translation unknown), Akawenteaka, Kauwetsaka,Hodge, p. 842
/ref> Kauwetseka * Skaruren (

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

gatherers), Skarū'reⁿ, Skuarureaka The members of these three tribes belonged to about seven

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

clans: Bear, Beaver, Deer, Eel, Snipe, Turtle, and Wolf; however, clans may have had different subclans throughout time. These affiliations continued to be active as independent groups after the tribe migrated to New York, and later Ontario. Hodge, an early 19th-century historian, wrote that the Tuscarora in North Carolina traditionally were said to occupy the "country lying between the sea shores and the mountains, which divide the Atlantic states," in which they had 24 large towns and could muster about 6,000 warriors, probably meaning persons.

18th century

In early 18th-century North Carolina, European colonists reported two primary branches of the Tuscarora: A northern group led by Chief Tom Blunt, and a southern group led by Chief Hancock. Varying accounts around 1708–1710 estimated the number of Tuscarora

warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

s as from 1200 to 2000. Historians estimate their total population may have been three to four times that number. Chief Blunt occupied the area around what is present-day

Bertie County, North Carolina Bertie County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Col ...

, on the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

. Chief Hancock lived closer to present-day

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, occupying the area south of the

Pamlico River The Pamlico
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

< ...

. Chief Blunt became close friends with the colonial Blount family of the Bertie region and lived peacefully. By contrast, Chief Hancock had to deal with more numerous colonists encroaching on his community. They raided his villages and kidnapped people to sell into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. The colonists transported some Tuscarora to

to sell into slavery. Both groups of Tuscarora suffered substantial population losses after exposure to

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

infectious diseases 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Europeans. Both also suffered territorial encroachment. By 1711, Chief Hancock believed he had to attack the settlers to fight back. Chief Tom Blunt did not join him in the war. The southern Tuscarora collaborated with the

, Cothechney,

Coree The Coree were a very small Native American tribe, who once occupied a coastal area south of the Neuse River in southeastern North Carolina in the area now covered by Carteret and Craven counties. Early 20th-century scholars were unsure of w ...

, Mattamuskeet, and Matchepungoe nations to attack the settlers in a wide range of locations within a short time. Their principal targets were against the planters on the Roanoke, Neuse, and Trent Rivers, as well as the city of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. They attacked on September 22, 1711, beginning the

. The allied Indian tribes killed hundreds of settlers, including several key political figures among the colonists. Governor Edward Hyde called out the North Carolina

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

and secured the assistance of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, which provided 600 militia and 360 allied Native Americans commanded by Col. John Barnwell. In 1712, this force attacked the southern Tuscarora and other nations in

Craven County Craven County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is New Bern, North Carolina, New Bern. The county was ...

at Fort Narhontes, on the banks of the Neuse River. The Tuscarora were "defeated with great slaughter; more than 300 were killed, and 100 made prisoners." The governor offered Chief Blunt leadership of the entire Tuscarora Nation if he would assist in defeating Chief Hancock. Blunt succeeded in capturing Hancock, who was tried and executed by North Carolina officials. In 1713, the southern Tuscarora were defeated at their

Fort Neoheroka Fort Neoheroka (or just Neoheroka, Neyuherú·kęʼRudes, B. ''Tuscarora English Dictionary'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999 in Tuscarora), or Nooherooka, is the name of a stronghold constructed in what is now Greene County, North C ...

(formerly spelled Neherooka), with 900 killed or captured in the battle. Fort Neoheroka Historical Marker

After the defeat in the battle of 1713, about 1,500 Tuscarora fled north to New York to join the Iroquois Confederacy, while as many as 1500 additional Tuscarora sought refuge in the colony of Virginia. Although some accepted tributary status in Virginia, most of the surviving Tuscarora are believed to have returned to North Carolina.Bruce Trigger, ed., ''Handbook of American Indians''; Volume 15, 1978, pp. 287–288 In 1715, about 70 warriors of the southern Tuscarora went to South Carolina to assist colonists against the

Yamasee The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees, Yemasees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. ...

. Those 70 warriors later asked permission to have their wives and children join them, and settled near

Port Royal, South Carolina Port Royal is a town on Port Royal Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,220 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area. Port Royal is home to Marine Corps R ...

. Under the leadership of Tom Blunt, the Tuscarora who remained in North Carolina signed a treaty with the colony in June 1718. It granted them a tract of land on the Roanoke River in what is now Bertie County. This was the area occupied by Chief Blunt and his people. The colonies of Virginia and North Carolina both recognized Tom Blunt, who had taken the last name Blount, as " King Tom Blount" of the Tuscarora. Both colonies agreed to consider as friendly only those Tuscarora who accepted Blount's leadership.Bruce Trigger, ed., ''Handbook of American Indians''; Volume 15, 1978, p. 287 The remaining southern Tuscarora were forced to remove from their villages on the Pamlico River and relocate to the villages of Ooneroy and Resootskeh in Bertie County. In 1722, the Bertie County Reservation, which would officially become known as Indian Woods, was chartered by the colony. As colonial settlement surrounded Indian Woods, the Tuscarora suffered discrimination and other acts; they were overcharged or denied use of ferries, restricted in hunting, and cheated in trade; their timber was illegally logged, and their lands were continuously encroached upon by herders and squatters. Over the next several decades, the colonial government continually reduced the Tuscarora tract, forcing cessions of land to the encroaching settlers. They sold off portions of the land in deals often designed to take advantage of the Tuscarora. Many Tuscarora were not satisfied with the leadership of Tom Blount, and decided to leave the reservation. In 1722, about 300 fighting men, along with their wives, children, and the elderly, resided at Indian Woods. By 1731, the population fell to 200 warriors, and by 1755, only 100 warriors remained, with a total population at Indian Woods of 301. When Moravian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

visited the reservation in 1752, they had noted "many had gone north to live on the Susquehanna" and that "others are scattered as the wind scatters smoke." This refers to the Tuscarora migrating to central-western New York to live with the Oneida and other Iroquois nations. In 1763 and 1766, additional Tuscarora migrated north to settle with other Iroquoian peoples in northern and western Pennsylvania and in New York. By 1767, only 104 persons were residing on the reservation in Bertie County. In 1804, the last band to leave North Carolina went to New York. By then, only "10 to 20 old families" remained at Indian Woods.

19th century

In 1802, the last Indian Woods Tuscarora negotiated a treaty with the United States, by which land would be held for them that they could lease. As the government never ratified the treaty, the North Carolina Tuscarora viewed the treaty as null and void. In 1831, the Indian Woods Tuscarora sold the remaining rights to their lands. By this point, their area had been reduced to . Although without a reservation, some Tuscarora descendants remained in the southern regions of the state, intermarrying with European settlers. In 1971, the Tuscarora in

Robeson County Robeson County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina C ...

sought to get an accounting of their lands and rents due them under the unratified treaty of 1803. At least three bands have organized in Robeson County. In 2010, they united as one group.

Migration north

The Iroquois Five Nations of New York had penetrated as far as the Tuscarora homeland in North Carolina by 1701, and nominally controlled the entire frontier territory lying in between. Following their discovery of a linguistically related tribe living beyond Virginia, they were more than happy to accommodate their distant cousins within the Iroquois Constitution as the "Sixth Nation", and to resettle them in safer grounds to the north (The Iroquois had driven tribes of rival Indians out of western New York to South Carolina during the

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...

several decades earlier, not far from where the Tuscarora resided). Beginning about 1713 after the war, contingents of Tuscarora began leaving North Carolina for the north. They established a main village at present-day

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

, on what is still known as Tuscarora Creek. Another group stopped in 1719–1721 in present-day

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

along the

Monocacy River The Monocacy River () is a free-flowing left tributary to the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data ...

, on the way to join the

nation in western New York. After White settlers began to pour into what is now the Martinsburg area from around 1730, the Tuscarora continued northward to join those in western New York. Other Tuscarora bands sojourned in the

Juniata River The Juniata River () is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 8, 2011 in central Pennsylvania. The river is ...

valley of Pennsylvania, before reaching New York. The present area from Martinsburg, West Virginia, west to Berkeley Springs, has roads, creeks, and land still named after the Tuscarora people, including a development in Hedgesville called "The Woods", where the street names contain reference to the Tuscarora people, and which contains a burial mound adopted by the West Virginia Division of Culture as an archaeological site in 1998. A record ''circa'' 1763 indicates that some Tuscarora had not migrated to the Iroquois, and remained in the Panhandle, instead, and stayed and fought under Shawnee Chief

Cornstalk "Corn stalk" or "Cornstalk" may refer to: * The stem of a maize plant * ''Dracaena fragrans'' or cornstalk dracaena, a flowering plant * Cornstalk (Shawnee leader), a Shawnee Indian chief during the American Revolution (1720–1777) * Cornstalk, We ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, part of the Tuscarora and Oneida nations in New York allied with the rebel colonists. Most of the warriors of the other four Iroquois nations supported

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and many participated in battles throughout New York. They were the main forces that attacked frontier settlements of the central Mohawk and Cherry Valleys. Late in the war, the pro-British Tuscarora followed Chief

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

of the Mohawk, other British-allied tribes, and

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

north to Ontario, then called Upper Canada by the British. They took part in establishing the reserve of the

in what became Ontario, Canada. In 1803, a final contingent of southern Tuscarora migrated to New York to join the reservation of their tribe in

Niagara County Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of ...

. After that, the Tuscarora in New York no longer considered southern remnants as part of their nation. Some descendants of the southern remnants have continued to identify as Tuscarora and have organized some bands. Through the generations they had intermarried with neighbors, but identify culturally as Tuscarora. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

in the British attack on

Lewiston, New York Lewiston is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named aft ...

, on December 19, 1813, a band of Tuscarora living in a village on an escarpment just above the town fought to save Americans fleeing the invasion force. The British were accompanied by allied Mohawk and some American

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

disguised as Mohawk. The American militia fled, leaving only the Tuscarora—outnumbered 30 to one—to fight a delaying action that allowed some townspeople to escape. The Tuscarora sent a party of warriors to blow horns along the escarpment and suggest a larger force, while another party attacked downhill with war whoops, to give an exaggerated impression of their numbers. The British force burned Lewiston, as well as the Tuscarora village, then undefended. The

has continued to struggle to protect its land in New York. In the mid-20th century, New York City commissioner

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

generated controversy by negotiating with the Tuscarora Sachem council and purchasing of the Tuscarora reservation for the reservoir of the new hydroelectric project along the Niagara River, downriver from Niagara Falls. (At the time of first power generation in February 1962, it was the largest project in the world.) The plant continues to generate electricity for households located from the Niagara area to as far away as New York City.

Language

Skarure, the

Tuscarora language Tuscarora, sometimes called , is the Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people, spoken in southern Ontario in Canada, as well as North Carolina and northwestern New York around Niagara Falls in the United States, before becoming dormant in late ...

, belongs to the northern branch of the

Iroquoian languages 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, almost all surviving I ...

. Linguists and historians have both tried to determine when the Iroquoian-speaking

Meherrin The Meherrin people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who spoke an Iroquian language. They lived between the Piedmont and coastal plains at the border of Virginia and North Carolina. The Meherrin Indian Tribe is a stat ...

and Nottoway tribes separated from the Tuscarora. Before initial contact (1650), the English, based on reports from Algonquian natives, thought the three tribes were one people, as the Algonquian speakers referred to them by the

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

''Mangoag.'' Following encounter by the English with the Tuscarora and other tribes, the colonists noted they used the same interpreters to translate with each of the peoples, which meant their languages were closely related. Although the Nottoway language went extinct in the early 1900s, linguists have been able to determine that it was distinct, although closely related to Tuscarora. In addition, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Tribe has been working to revitalize the Nottoway Language in recent times. In historic times, the three tribes always identified as distinct and independent peoples.

Recognized Tuscarora nations

at Lewiston, New York *

at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario

Tuscarora descendants in Oklahoma

Some Tuscarora descendants are part of the

Seneca–Cayuga Nation The Seneca–Cayuga Nation is one of three federally recognized tribes of Seneca people in the United States. It includes the Cayuga people and is based in Oklahoma, United States. The tribe had more than 5,000 people in 2011. They have a tribal ...

headquartered in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. They are primarily descendants of Tuscarora groups absorbed in the early decades of the 19th century in Ohio by relocated Iroquois, Seneca, and

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada *Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinois ...

bands from New York. They became known as

Mingo The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, a ...

, while in the Midwest, coalescing as a group in Ohio. The Mingo were later forced in Indian removals to Indian Territory in present-day Kansas, and lastly, in Oklahoma. In 1937, descendants reorganized and were federally recognized as the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma. The nation occupies territory in the northeast corner of the former

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

Unrecognized groups in North Carolina

Numerous

unrecognized tribes These organizations, located within the United States, self-identify as Native American tribes, heritage groups, or descendant communities, but they are not federally recognized or state-recognized as Native American tribes. The U.S. Governmental ...

in North Carolina claim Tuscarora descent. Beginning in the late 20th century, they have organized and reformed in various configurations. None have

state recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accor ...

federal recognition This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

. They have included: # Cape Fear Band of Skarure Woccon (located mainly in Brunswick, Bladen, Columbus, and Pender Counties and also South Carolina) # Skaroreh Katenuaka Tuscarora Nation of Indians, Windsor, NC # Southern Band Tuscarora Indian Tribe, Windsor, NC # Tosneoc Tuscarora Community, Wilson County, NC # Tuscarora Indian Tribe, Drowning Creek Reservation, Maxton, NC # Tuscarora Nation East of the Mountains, Bowland, NC # Tuscarora Nation One Fire Council, Robeson County, NC (formed in 2010 from several bands in Robeson County) # Tuscarora Nation of Indians of the Carolinas, Charlotte, NC # Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina, Maxton, NC. # Tuscarora Tribe of Indians Maxton, NC, (1979) effective date per Sec. of State NC, 08/20/1990 Tuscarora Nation officials in New York dispute claims that anyone in North Carolina has continuity as a tribe with the Tuscarora.Gerald M. Sider, ''Living Indian Histories:

Lumbee The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water, are a mixed-race community primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, which claims to be descended from myriad Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited th ...

and Tuscarora people in North Carolina'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003 In the spring of 1973 students from NC State and members of the local Tuscarora people staged a protest seeking "federal and state recognition of the autonomous bands of the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina, the right to run their own school systems, and better job opportunities for Native American communities." The protest involved a walk from Pembroke, North Carolina to the State Capitol in Raleigh. The Tuscarora Nation of New York says that the great majority of the tribe moved north to New York. New York leaders consider any individuals remaining in North Carolina as no longer having tribal status, although they might possibly have some Tuscarora ancestry.

Notable historical Tuscarora

* Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson (Tuscarora Nation, 1927–1985), Native activist * David Cusick (Tuscarora Nation, ''circa'' 1780–1840), artist and author * Dennis Cusick (Tuscarora Nation, ''circa'' 1800–1824), painter * John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt (1859–1937), linguist and ethnographer * Henry Berry Lowrie, led a resistance in North Carolina during and after the American Civil War. *

Frank Mount Pleasant Franklin Pierce Mount Pleasant Jr. (June 13, 1884 – April 12, 1937) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American American football, football player, track and field athlete, and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He p ...

(Tuscarora Nation, 1884–1937), athlete *

Clinton Rickard Clinton Rickard (1882–1971) was a Tuscarora (tribe), Tuscarora chief known for founding the Indian Defense League, and for promoting Native American sovereignty. He worked for free passage of Native Americans across the US–Canada border, and t ...

(Tuscarora Nation, 1882–1971), Native activist * Alicia Elliott (

Six Nations Tuscarora Tuscarora First Nation is a Tuscarora First Nation in southern Ontario, and is a member nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River. Its reserves include Glebe Farm 40B and the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation Six Nations (or Six Na ...

), author *

Theodore Curtis Williams Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (gi ...

( Tuscarora Nation, 1930-2005 ), author

Iroquoian-speaking peoples

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

* Chonnonton *

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

Huron Huron may refer to: Native American ethnography * Huron people, who have been called Wyandotte, Wyandot, Wendat and Quendat * Huron language, an Iroquoian language * Huron-Wendat Nation, or Huron-Wendat First Nation, or Nation Huronne-Wendat * N ...

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

* Nottoway * Mohawk *

* Seneca *

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capit ...

* Tuscarora *

Petun The Petun (from ), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati (Dionnontate, Etionontate, Etionnontateronnon, Tuinontatek, Dionondadie, or Khionotaterrhonon) ("People among the hills/mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the w ...

(See also Protohistory of West Virginia ) *

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

( Conestoga) *

* Iroquois

References

External links

Tuscarora and Six Nations Websites
official website
Six Nations Of The Grand River Territory
official website
Tuscarora Nation of New York
IDA Treaties Explorer {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuscarora People Federally recognized tribes in the United States First Nations in Ontario Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands Iroquois Iroquoian peoples Native American history of New York (state) Native American tribes in Maryland Native American tribes in New York (state) Native American tribes in North Carolina Native American tribes in West Virginia Native American people in the American Revolution