Meherrin Native Americans

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 spoke the Meherrin language, which is most likely an Iroquian language. This designation is based on their close relationships to the Iroquoian-speaking Tuscarora and Nottoway. Linguistic evidence indicates that these three groups share a common ancestry and likely all spoke the same Iroquoian language or similar dialects. Tuscarora oral history also indicates common origins.

American anthropologist James Mooney estimated that the Meherrin population was 700 in 1600. They lived in dispersed villages, where they farmed, hunted, and gathered wild foods. British colonist Edward Bland encountered the Meherrin in 1650 and first wrote about them. Their village Cowinchahawkon was on an early British trade route. A 1669 Virginia Indian census said they had two villages and 50 fighting men, for an estimated total of 180 Meherrin. In 1681 they moved south to the banks of the Meherrin River.

In 1705 the Virginia Colony established a reservation for the Meherrin at Maherrin Neck (later renamed Manley’s Neck), in an area claimed by both Virginia and Carolina. It was finally assigned to Carolina, and in 1706 Carolina ordered the Meherrin out of her territory, threatening violence to expel them. The Meherrin asked for more time, a year in order to harvest their crops, and asked for help from the Virginia colonists to make their case. Virginia took their side in the quarrel, but in August 1707 Carolinian official Thomas Pollock, leading a troop of 60 men, attacked Meherrin Town, destroying crops, homes, and all belongings; his forces seized 36 men, depriving them of water for two days. In September the Virginia militia met with the chiefs, promising Virginia’s protection to prevent them from retaliating against Carolina. Col. Edmond Jennings, Virginia Council President, wrote a harsh reprimand to leaders of Carolina.

From 1711 to 1712, the Meherrin allied with the Tuscarora against British colonists in the Carolinas and their Indian allies during the Tuscarora War. In 1713, they delivered two of their paramount chief’s sons as hostages to be kept by the colonists at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia to ensure that they would keep the peace.

Overview of the Meherrin and Nottaway Peoples

The Meherrin and Nottaway are both Indigenous groups from the Northeastern Woodlands, sharing linguistic and cultural ties.

Geographic Locations

Tribe Primary Location

Meherrin Along the Meherrin River, near the Virginia-North Carolina border

Nottaway Primarily located in Virginia

Language

Both tribes spoke Iroquoian languages.

The Meherrin language is closely related to that of the Nottaway.

Common Ancestry

The Meherrin and Nottaway share a common ancestry, indicating that they likely descended from the same ancestral group.

Historical Interactions

Historically, the Meherrin lived in close proximity to the Nottaway, which facilitated cultural exchanges and alliances.

Both tribes faced similar challenges due to European colonization, which led to displacement and conflicts over land.

Lifestyle

Both tribes engaged in farming, hunting, and gathering, typical of Indigenous peoples in the Northeastern Woodlands.

They maintained distinct cultural practices but shared similarities due to their geographic and linguistic connections.

The Meherrin Native Americans are of the Iroquoian language group, which is the same as the Cherokee, Tuscarora, and other tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy of New York and Canada. The Meherrin Indians spoke a language that was very similar to the Tuscarora language. The Europeans used various spellings of the Meherrin Tribal name in documents and historical writings. These spellings include: Meherrin, Maherineck, Maharineck, Maherrin, Menheyricks, Maherine, Meherins, Meahaearin, Meheren, Macherine, Maherring, Meherron, Maherin, Mecharens, Mehorin, Meherring, Maherians, and Meharins.

The Meherrin Indians were first encountered by English colonists on August 29, 1650. An English merchant named Edward Bland arrived in the Meherrin village of Cowochahawkon on the north bank of the Meherrin River, two miles west of the present-day city of Emporia, Virginia. He was accompanied by five other Englishmen, one Nottoway Indian, and one Appamattuck Indian. There were two other Meherrin villages in the same vicinity at that time: Taurara, near present-day Boykins, Virginia and the village of Unote, which was on the Meherrin River between Emporia and Boykins. Much of the Meherrin territory extended beyond the villages and included the land bordering the Meherrin River, which they used for hunting, fishing, and farming. The river begins in present-day Lunenburg County, Virginia, and runs southeast for more than eighty miles into Hertford County, North Carolina, where it feeds into the Chowan River.

1606

John Smith puts “Mangoags” on the southwest section of his 1612 map of Virginia, indicating Meherrin territory.

1646

The Nottoway, Iroquoian-speakers whose territory lay along the Nottoway River in the upper Chowan drainage, resided within the Virginia-North Carolina coastal plain. Like their neighbors, the Tuscarora and Meherrin, they were agriculturalists who relied heavily on hunting and gathering. The Nottoway’s remoteness from the more thickly settled part of the Virginia colony spared them from European intrusion until the mid-seventeenth century. However, they were seated only 32 miles from Fort Henry, a trading post and military garrison built at the falls of the Appomattox River in 1646.

COLONIAL (National Park Service)

A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown: The First Century CHAPTER 4:

Narrative History

Martha W. McCartney 1646

Dudley Map 1646

1650

On Aug 29, 1650 Edward Bland led an expedition into a Meherrin village called Maharineck.

The Discovery of New Brittaine. By Edward Bland.

1650

Aug 30, 1650

Edward Blands speaks with a Tuskarood Indian while visiting the Meherrin village of Maharineck.

The Discovery of New Brittaine. By Edward Bland.

1650

Aug 31, 1650

The Discovery of New Brittaine. By Edward Bland.

1650

Aug 32, 1650

The Discovery of New Brittaine. By Edward Bland.

1650

In 1650, Bland visited the Meherrin and provided a record of low social stratification, a serious investment in international trade, and a separate ethnic identity. His

account also provides information on relations between the Meherrin and the Tuscarora,

Chowanoke, and Powhatan prior to 1650. We know that cross-group marriage ties, and even bride capture, were not uncommon occurrences.

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 89)

1650

1650

1651

Sir Edward Bland’s map included in his 1651 pamphlet published in London the following year after his exploration to the Chowan, Meherrin, and Roanoke river area were he met with the Tuscarora and Meherrin Indians.

1660

Most of the information on the Meherrin’s early movements comes from depositions given by Englishmen between 1707 and 1711, who were queried in an investigation of the

Virginia-Carolina boundary dispute (see Documents B-21, B-22, B-27, B-28, B-29, B-39). These

men were early settlers along the Meherrin or Chowan Rivers and had personal and frequent

contacts with the Meherrin. Two of them, Thomas Wynn and Thomas Briggs, had served as the Meherrin’s official interpreters in colonial business. Although their memory may not be perfect,

the authority of the deponents is indisputable (assuming, of course, they did not conspire to

commit perjury). According to their testimony, the Meherrin lived at two villages

upstream in Virginia ca. 1660: Cowinchahawkon and Unote. (The Secret History of the Meherrin page 74)

1665

Map Showing Boundaries of the Carolina Charters. (Boundary Lines for 1665 and 1663).

1667

We know the Meherrin had vacated Unote by

the year 1667, as the Weyanokes, in their perpetual flight, had settled there for a season upon “old fields.” The Meherrin then reoccupied the Unote site at some point and remained there until the mid-1680s.

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 74)

1667

In 1667, Richard Booth, with another

Englishman and a Weyanoke Indian, made a trip up the river by canoe to trade at the

“Meherrin towns” (Document B-22).

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 72)

1667

Deposition of Richard Booth “…in the year 1667 he being employed by one William

West to go in a Canoe with Certain goods &c. to the Maherine Indian Towns one Jno Browne and a certain Weyanoke Indian called Tom Frusman being in the Canoe with him as they went down Blackwater River…”

North Carolina Colonial Records (Saunders) I: 661-662. January, 1707.

1669

The preceding table contains a state of these several tribes, according to their confederacies and geographical situation, with their numbers when we first became acquainted with them, where these numbers are known. The numbers of some of them are again stated as they were in the year 1669, when an attempt was made by the assembly to enumerate them. Probably the enumeration is imperfect, and in some measure conjectural, and that a further search into the records would furnish many more particulars. What would be the melancholy sequel of their history, may however be augured from the census of 1669

1669

Virginia census, the Meherrins are listed as the “Menheyricks.” (Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico .

University of Michigan. 1910. p 33)

1669

The Meherrin were reported as having 50 bowmen in Charles City County (which then encompassed much of Southside Virginia) in 1669, or 185 people.

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 72)

1669

Oct 1669, An Act for Destroying wolves, lists 50 Meherrin Bowmen/Hunters having taken 10 Wolves.

1670

Lederer passed through their town without comment (Lederer 1958:33) This town (called “Menchoerinck” in the text and “Mendaerink” on map) appears on Lederer’s map. The Meherrin were reported as having 50 bowmen in Charles City County

(which then encompassed much of Southside Virginia) in 1669, or 185 people.

1670

Smallpox epidemic swept Meherrin communities.

1670

Deposition of Robert Bolling.

“… And that at the same time [ca. 1670] the Meherin Indians lived upon Meherin River; some of them at Cowinchahawkon, and the others at Unote; and there they continued to Live till about the year one thousand six hundred and eighty, or Longer, as the Deponent believes, but he cannot particularly remember the time of their Removal.”

Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Standard, ed.) VII(4), 1900: 340-341. 1707

1670

Estimates of pre-contact population levels for any Native American group are extremely

difficult to calculate and bound to be fraught with controversy. “Censuses” of native populations appear in colonial papers and miscellaneous accounts which shed light on historic populations.

These are usually expressed in numbers of “bowmen” or men eligible to tight. Since

Mook

(1944), it has been accepted practice by ethnohistorians to calculate the entire population using

a 3.3 or 3.5 ratio to the bowmen count (Binford 1964). The earliest of these counts we have for the Meherrin is 1670 (Stanard 1907:289) and it reports 50 bowmen, or a population of 175.

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 32)

1670

July 16, 1670 John Lederer arrives in the Meherrin town of Kawitziokan (Kauwitzihocken, Cowinchahawkon).

1670

July 17, 1670 John Lederer arrives in the Meherrin town of Menchooerink (Maherineck).

1670

John Lederer Map

1671

1670 Map. A new description of Carolina by the order of the Lords Proprietors. Created by John Ogilby and James Moxon.

This map shows the locations of two Meherrin villages/towns, these are listed on this map as Kauwitzihocken and Menderink.

1673

1673 Map. A new description of Carolina by the order of the Lords Proprietors.

Created by John Ogilby and James Moxon.

1675

Meherrins provided a safe haven for the Conestoga/ Susquehanna who were fleeing Nathaniel Bacon and his militia. (Frantz, John B. Bacon’s Rebellion: Prologue to the Revolution? 1969)\

1676

1676 Map. A New Description of Carolina. John Speed.

This map shows the locations of two Meherrin villages/towns, these are listed on this map as Kauwitzihocken and Menderink

1677

The Meherrins and Virginia colony had signed a treaty which outlined the boundaries of Meherrin territory and brought the Meherrins under their jurisdiction. At this time North Carolina was also claiming Meherrin territory. The two chiefs that signed the

“Treaty of Middle Plantation” were named Ununtequero, “Chiefman” and

Harehannah, “Next Chiefman. Their signature symbols are shown above, in a section of the original treaty document. The Harehannah’s resembles a snipe.

1677

Ununtequero, “King” of the Meherrin, signed a 1680 second version of the 1677 treaty; he was joined by Harehannah, the Meherrins’ “second chief.”

Virginia Magazine of History & Biography XIV (Stanard, ed.), Ja uary 1907, No. 3: 287-296. Treaty of May 29 ,1677 (1680).

1677

Deposition of Thomas Wynn [Meherrin Interpreter].

“That about thirty years ago [ca. 1677] the Meherrin Indians Lived part at

Cowonchahawkon and parte at Unote; and about two and twenty years ago [ca. 1685] they settled their chief Town at the mouth of the River where they now live. That about fifteen years ago this Deponent having some Discourse with the old Meherin Indians, they told him that Waynoke creek lay to the Southward of Meherrin River, about Eight or Tenn miles from the present Meherrin Town…”

Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Stanard, ed.) VII(4), 1900: 342. November 12,1707 1680

Between April and June of 1680 Chief Ununtequero and next Chief Harehannah signed the second version of the

Treaty of Middle Plantation. This treaty outlined the boundaries of Meherrin territory and brought the Meherrin under the jurisdiction of Virginia. At this time North Carolina

was also claiming Meherrin territory

1680

Meherrins abandoned Cowonchahawkon near Emporia, Virginia after as a result of the Treaty of Middle Plantation” which was really an effort to subjegate the Meherrin (and other Indian) people under the Crown of England. Abandoning

Cowonchahawkon was a strategic move on the part of Meherrins to avoid conflict with Colonists.

1681

Nathaniel Bacon’s List of Tributary payments for 1681. Blathwayt Papers, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

States on the bottom that the Meherrin didn’t pay tribute.

Before 1683

The Meherrin reoccupied the Unote site at some point and remained there until the mid-1680s.

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 74)

1683

All the accounts agree on one important fact: the Meherrin had abandoned the two old towns of Cowinchahawkon and Unote between 1683 and 1685. No reason is given.

They then settled at a place downstream, probably near present-day Boykins, Virginia, which they called Tawarra.

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 74)

1680-1690

The Village at Tartara Creek was founded by Meherrins, at present-day Boykins, Virginia. This area was settled by the Meherrin to isolate themselves from the Colonials. This area was not inhabited by Whites at the time.

1685

1686

…the Nation of Indiana Called the Meherins hath Deserted their former place of

Residence, or Habitations, and hath lately Seated themselves on the North Side of the

Blackwater, Contrary to the Limitts, and Bounds in former ycares Sett unto the Indians, and to which the Meherins never made any pretention unto, and being Come upon the Skirts, and Borders of the English Plantations they are Injurious to them in their Stocks, by private Killing, and destroying of them, and not only soe, but by their Insolent Carriadge, terrifye, and affright the Inhabitants… (Mcllwaine, Vol. 1:83-84, April 29, 1687).

(The Secret History of the Meherrin page 76)

1687

[Marauding Meherrins on the north side of the Blackwater – ordered to move south]

“The Honorable Coll John Lear haveing acquainted this Board, that the Nation of Indians Called the Meherins hath deserted their former place of Residence, or Habitations, and hath lately seated themselves on the North Side of the Blackwater, contrary to the limits, and bounds in former years set unto the Indians, and to which the Meherins never made any pretention unto, and being come upon the skirts, and borders of the English plantations they are Injurious to them in their stocks, by private killing, and destroying of them, and not only soe, but by their Insolent carriadge, tenifye, and affright the Inhabitants, which this board taking into their serious Consideration, and the ill rffects, which from such ungoverned neighbours may be, if not timely prevented, have therefore upon due consideration had of the same, desired and ordered the honorable Coll: William Cole, and Coll John Lear two of his Majesties councel, to meet at the House of Coll John Lear, Sometime towards the latter End of May next, to cause to come before them the Warowance, or Chiefe Man of the Meherins, and some of his Great Men, as also the Warrowance of Nanzemond, and some of his Great Men and to know the reason why the Meherins come to seate soe neer upon the Skirts of Our Inhabitants, and on Lands they have noe pretensions unto, and therefore they are not to think soe to continue, to make a fixed Being. But if they have for this present yeare there planted Come, that they may continue to tend that come, and when ripe, to remove the come together with themselves to the southside of the Blackwater, where they may be suffered to sett down, and make seatment for themselves, no Injuring, molesting, nor destroying the Englishmens Stocks; It is also further ordered, that what effect this treaty appointed hath, with those

Meherins, Coll William Cole, and Coll John Lear are to Report to his Excellency and Councell, att the next meeting of the Councell, at Mr. Auditor Bacon’s on the

Sixteenth day of June that accordingly Such Measures may be taken as shall be found

fit

Virginia Executive Journal of Council (Mcllwaine), I: 83-84; April 29, 1687

1688

1688 Map. Nouvelle carte de la Caroline. Robert Morden.

The Meherrin village of Kawitzihocken (Kauwitzihocken, Cowinchahawkon), is listed on this map.

1691

In 1691 Daniel Pugh, a settler in Nansemond County (present-day city of Suffolk), abducted four Tuscarora Indians and sold them as slaves in the West Indies, action for which government officials attempted to prosecute him. Making use of the legal system, eight or ten Tuscarora great men and a Meherrin testified about the event and one witness said that the missing men had been transported to Barbados.

COLONIAL (National Park Service)

A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown: The First Century CHAPTER 4:

Narrative History

Martha W. McCartney 1691

In 1691 several Surry County citizens requested compensation for transporting

Indians to Jamestown and back, so that they could pay their tribute. Nicholas Witherington testified that on April 25th he had brought six Meherrin Indians to the capital city and two days later he had taken six Nansemonds there.

COLONIAL (National Park Service)

A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown: The First Century CHAPTER 4:

Narrative History

Martha W. McCartney 1691

“… the begining of this Month Eight or ten of the Kings and Great men of the Tuskaroro Indians Complained to him that two of their Indians were wanting, and they Imagined the English had killed them, but a Maherin Indian being present told them that Danll Pugh of Nansimond County in this Government had Sent them to Barbados, on which they threatnd Revenge”

Virginia Executive Journal o f Council (Mcllwaine) I: 146-147. Jan u ary 26, 1691

1692

In 1692 Captain Thomas Swann testified that his ferryman had transported nine Weyanoke Indians to and from Jamestown and had made round trips to the capital with ten Appomattocks and five Meherrin.

COLONIAL (National Park Service)

A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown: The First Century CHAPTER 4:

Narrative History

Martha W. McCartney 1696

Meherrins began moving down the Meherrin River into the area of present-day

Murfreesburough, in Hertford County, North Carolina near “Meherrin Neck” (today known as Manley’s Neck). (This area was part of Virginia colony until 1728 when it became North Carolina territory) Meherrins are noted at “Meherrin Indian Town” on this section of a 1711 map.

1699

“Ordered that Mr. Thomas Blunt Interpreter to the Indians on the south side of James River do cause such of the Nottoway Nansemund and Meheren Indians as he shall be directed by Benjamin Harrison Esqr to appear before His Excellency and the Councill at James Citty, on Friday the tenth day of this Instant November, and also that the said Interpreter himself do give his attendance at the same time and place. ”

Virginia Executive Journal of Council (Mcllwaine) II: 22. November 2, 1699

1699

Feb 22, 1699

1699

Virginia ordered its official interpreters to interfere with peace treaties between the Indians residing in the Virginia Colony (including Meherrin) and with other Indian nations seeking peace with Virginia Nations. They ordered Indian “Great Men” to turn their peace treaty belts (Wampum belts) over to the colony, rather than to present them to one another, directly interfering in peace agreements and soverign affairs. The colony was fearful that the First Nations would form a powerful alliance that could threaten the colony’s land-grabbing and expansion.

“Whereas in Obedience to an Order of ye second of November last, the Great Men of ye Nottoway, Meheren, Nansemund, Pamunkey, Chickahomini, Rappahanock, and Nantiatico Indians appeared before His Excellency and The Council and being examined concerning a Peace they intended to make with some Foreign Indians without ye knowledge or consent of His Majesty’s Government of this Dominion they Confessed that they had Designed a Treaty of Peace with ye Tawittawayes and other Foreign Indians and according [ly] every respective nation of them had prepared a

Peake Belt (being a token that usually passed between them when they desired a

Treaty of Peace ) and put them into the hands of ye Nantiaticoes to be sent to ye said Foreign Indians but since His Excellency and ye Council were not pleased to allow of such a Treaty they would not proceed any further therein and also they promised that ye Peace Belts should be brought to James City and delivered to His Excellency which being accordingly done and this day laid before ye said Council it is thought necessary they be restored to ye severall Nations to whom they belong respectively therefore, His Excellency by and with ye advice of His Majesties Honorable Council is pleased to direct that ye interpreters to ye severall Nations of Indians aforementioned to whom ye said belts belong do cause them to send two Great Men of every Nation to James City the next time they pay their Tribute to receive their belts back again.

“Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia , Aug. 3, 1699- April 27,1705- Vol. II ,p.2 & p.41 ( Library of Virginia 1928)

1699

Nov 2, 1699

Overview of Virginia Native Americans

Long before the birth of the United States, the lands of Virginia were home to thriving Indigenous nations — Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian-speaking peoples. Among them were the Kikotan (Kecoughtan) people, who lived along the Chesapeake Bay and maintained early contact with English settlers at Jamestown.

Kikotan Nation

Although the Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee, originated hundreds of miles north in present-day New York, its influence reached far south into Virginia through diplomacy, migration, trade, and intertribal kinship. The Haudenosaunee not only reshaped Indigenous relations in the mid-Atlantic but also inspired democratic ideas that later influenced Benjamin Franklin and the U.S. Constitution.

The Foundation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, meaning People of the Longhouse, was founded centuries before European arrival by two great visionaries — the Peacemaker (Deganawida) and Hiawatha (Ayonwatha). Together they united five powerful nations — the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca — under the Great Law of Peace, a constitution emphasizing unity, equality, and governance by consensus.

This system created one of the world’s first participatory democracies. Later, in 1722, the Tuscarora Nation — an Iroquoian-speaking people originally from North Carolina and southern Virginia — joined the alliance as the Sixth Nation, strengthening the bond between northern and southern Iroquoian peoples.

Virginia’s Indigenous Landscape in the 1600s

When English settlers arrived in 1607, Virginia was already a tapestry of powerful Indigenous nations:

The Kikotan (Kecoughtan) lived near modern-day Hampton, Virginia, at the mouth of the James River. The Kikotan's chief was killed by the Powhatan Confederacy, led by Chief Powhatan (Wahunsenacawh). The Kikotan were among the first tribes to encounter the English and played a key role in early diplomacy and conflict.

The Monacan and Mannahoac, Siouan-speaking peoples, occupied the Piedmont region.

The Nottoway and Meherrin, Iroquoian-speaking tribes, lived along Virginia’s southern border and shared linguistic and cultural ties with the Tuscarora and the Haudenosaunee.

Virginia thus became a meeting ground for multiple language families and cultural alliances. The Kikotan, with their coastal presence, represented the Algonquian-speaking southern connection, while the Nottoway and Meherrin linked Virginia to the northern Iroquoian world.

The Tuscarora Migration Through Virginia

The Tuscarora were Iroquoian-speaking people originally inhabiting the Carolinas and parts of southern Virginia. After enduring devastating losses in the Tuscarora War (1711–1713) against English colonists, their leaders — Chief Blunt and Chief Tom Blount — led their people northward.

As they migrated, the Tuscarora traveled through Nottoway and Meherrin territories in Virginia, renewing ancient kinship and trade relationships. Their journey symbolized the enduring bond between the Iroquoian-speaking peoples of the North and South.

By 1722, the Tuscarora were formally welcomed into the Iroquois Confederacy as the Sixth Nation, linking Virginia’s Indigenous history directly to the political and spiritual heart of the Haudenosaunee world.

Expansion of Iroquois Power into Virginia

During the Beaver Wars of the 1600s, the Iroquois Confederacy expanded its influence southward to control hunting territories and trade routes. By the 1670s, the Iroquois claimed large areas of the Shenandoah Valley and western Virginia as their hunting grounds, exerting political dominance through both warfare and diplomacy.

Although they did not establish permanent settlements in Virginia, the Iroquois negotiated directly with colonial leaders. Governor Alexander Spotswood recognized their authority in western lands, leading to the Treaty of Albany (1722), which confirmed Iroquois hunting rights and helped secure peace with Virginia tribes such as the Nottoway and Meherrin.

Key Leaders and Diplomats Who Shaped This Era

Haudenosaunee and Tuscarora Leaders

The Peacemaker (Deganawida) and Hiawatha (Ayonwatha) – Founders of the Great Law of Peace, which united the Iroquois nations in harmony.

Canasatego (Onondaga) – Grand Council orator who, during the Treaty of Lancaster (1744), advised the colonies to unite like the Six Nations — inspiring Benjamin Franklin’s vision for colonial unity.

Chief Hendrick Theyanoguin (Mohawk) – Diplomat who represented the Iroquois Confederacy in discussions with Virginia and other colonies.

Chief Blunt and Chief Tom Blount (Tuscarora) – Guided the Tuscarora migration through Virginia and into Iroquois membership.

Chief Logan (Cayuga/Mingo) – Descendant of Iroquois lineage who lived near Virginia’s frontier and became known for his eloquent “Speech of Logan” (1774), a moral appeal for peace and justice.

Virginia and Colonial Leaders

Chief Powhatan (Wahunsenacawh) and Chief Opechancanough (Powhatan Confederacy) – Leaders of the Algonquian-speaking nations, including the chief of the Kikotan, who managed both war and diplomacy during early English settlement.

Governor Alexander Spotswood – Negotiated directly with the Iroquois, recognizing their rights in western Virginia.

Governor William Gooch – Represented Virginia at the Treaty of Lancaster (1744).

Benjamin Franklin – Witnessed Iroquois diplomacy and later used their federal system as a model for the Albany Plan of Union (1754) — a precursor to the U.S. Constitution (1787).

How the Iroquois Influenced the U.S. Constitution

The Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois Confederacy established a representative government that balanced power, valued consensus, and emphasized individual rights alongside collective responsibility.

When Benjamin Franklin and other colonial delegates attended the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744, they were struck by the wisdom and organization of Haudenosaunee governance. Canasatego’s speech, urging the colonies to “join in one union like the Six Nations,” inspired Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union (1754) — the first blueprint for colonial unity.

Later, elements of Iroquois political structure — such as federalism, checks and balances, and participatory decision-making — were reflected in the U.S. Constitution.

In 1988, the U.S. Congress formally recognized the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s influence on the development of American democracy, acknowledging that Indigenous governance systems contributed directly to the founding principles of the United States.

The Kikotan and the Indigenous Web of Virginia

The Kikotan hold a special place in Virginia’s early history. Living near the mouth of the James River, they were among the first to encounter the English settlers in 1607. Though part of the Powhatan Confederacy, the Kikotan maintained their own identity, culture, and leadership.

Their strategic coastal location made them intermediaries between inland tribes and early European traders. The Kikotan represent the southern Algonquian voice in the larger story of Indigenous diplomacy, one that existed alongside Iroquoian expansion and Tuscarora migration.

While the Iroquois influenced political structures far beyond Virginia, the Kikotan people shaped the first contact era — balancing alliance, resistance, and cultural preservation during a time of rapid change.

Legacy of the Iroquois Confederacy in Virginia

The story of the Iroquois Confederacy in Virginia is one of connection, not conquest. Through the Tuscarora migration, the diplomacy of Canasatego and Hendrick Theyanoguin, and the wisdom of the Peacemaker, the Haudenosaunee extended their influence into the heart of the South.

At the same time, Virginia’s tribes — from the Kikotan on the coast to the Nottoway and Meherrin inland — preserved their traditions and languages, ensuring that the story of Indigenous unity and survival continues to this day.

Their combined legacies — Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian — form the foundation of Virginia’s earliest history and the philosophical roots of American democracy.

Nottoway Tribe Notes

Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe

ETHNO-HISTORICAL SNAP SHOT OF THE CHEROENHAKA (NOTTOWAY) INDIAN TRIBE

Southampton County, Virginia

Compiled by: Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, Tribal Historian

Updated December 15, 2009

From http://www.cheroenhaka-nottoway.org/nottoway-history/snap-shot.htm

The Hand Site Excavation (44SN22) – in Southampton County carbon dates the ancestors of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian in Southampton County, Virginia to around 1580. It is believed the site existed in 900 AD.

The Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe made first ethno-historic contact with the English in 1607-1608 in what is now Nottoway County, Virginia. The English were looking for information germane to Roanoke Island -the “Lost Colony.” In 1607 the tribe was called Man-goak or Men-gwe by the Powhatan Confederation’s “Algonquian Speakers” and further listed in the upper left hand quadrant on John Smith’s 1607 map of Virginia by the same name in what is now Nottoway County.

The Colonials gave names to other Indian Tribes based on what the Indians they had first contact with called other tribes; such as, the Algonquian Speakers calling the Cheroenhaka, NA-DA-WA or Nottoway as perceived by the Colonials. In the Seventeen Century, Virginia Indians (Natives) were divided into three language groups: Algonquian Speakers, Siouan Speakers and Iroquoian Speakers.

In the 17th Century, the Iroquoian Speaking Tribes occupied lands east of the Fall Line on the inner Costal Plains of Southeastern Virginia. These tribes were the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway), the Meherrin and the Tuscarora. In 1650 per the dairy entries of James Edward Bland, the Nottoway Indians were called by the Algonquian Speakers as NA-DA-WA which the Colonials reverted to Nottoway.

August 1650 Bland encountered two Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Villages: The first town located in what is now Sussex County near Rowantee Branch / Creek was “Chounteroute Town.” At that time Chounteroute (Cho-un-te-roun-te) was king /Chief of the Nottoways. The second town, Tonnatorah, was located on the south side of the Nottoway River where the current Sussex - Greensville County line meets the River.

The true name of the tribe is Cheroenhaka (Che-ro-en-ha-ka), meaning “People at the Fork of the Steam.” The tribe’s lodging area was where the Nottoway River fork with The Blackwater River to form the Chowan River – thus “People at the Fork of the Stream.”

The Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe signed three treaties: The Treaty of 1646; 1677 and a STAND ALONE Treaty of February 27th, 1713. The “Stand Alone” Treaty of 1713 was signed between Colonial Lieutenant Governor Spotswood and the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe’s Chief “Ouracoorass Teerheer”, AKA William Edmund Edmond, as called by the Colonials. Said Treaty has a “Successor Clause.” Our tribal government (Council) contends that the Successor Clause meant that the recognized relationship the tribe had with the Colonials from 1713 to1775 continued with the Commonwealth of Virginia beginning in 1776 to the present time.

Tribal Warriors of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe joined forces with Bacon in what became known as the infamous Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion of May 1776 resulting in the downfall of Occaneechee Island / Indians on the Roanoke River.

In the mid 1680s, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, due to encroachment by the Colonials and to avoid war with other tribes, move from the Nottoway Town of Ta-ma-hit-ton / Tonnatorah in Sussex County to the mouth of the Assamoosick Swamp in what is now Surry County and again in the mid 1690s moved further down the Assamoosick toward present day Courtland and Sebrell in what was then Isle of Wight County - currently Southampton County Virginia.

In 1705 the House of Burgess (now House of Delegates) granted two tracks of land to the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe – the Circle and Square Tracks consisting of some 41,000 acres of Reservation Land. The tracks of land fell within the confines of what was then Isle of Wight County – now Southampton County. Note: Southampton County was annexed from Isle of Wight County in 1749.

In 1711 Colonial Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood, along with 1600 armed men, met with the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Chief Men, offering “Tribute” forgiveness, referenced in The Treaty of 1677, (Tribute was 20 Beaver Skins and 3 Arrows) if the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Chief Men would send their sons to the “Brafferton,” a school for Indians at the College of William and Mary.

Even though the Cheroenhaka were fearful their sons would be sold into slavery, ethno-historic records document that Spotswood reported on November 17, 1711 that two sons of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Chief’s men were attending the “Brafferton.” Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians “Surnames” continue to appear on the enrollment roster of the “Brafferton” throughout the 1750s and 1760s.

March 1713 the Colonial Council at Williamsburg ordered that the Meherrin Indians be incorporated with the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians and that the Nansemond Indians be incorporated with the Saponies. Purpose: remove to a place where they would be less liable to have differences with the English and for the convening of instructing their children in Christianity by missionaries at the two settlements.

On August 10, 1715 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian “King,” William Edmund and 8 Great Men (Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Chief Men) were invited to the Capital in Williamsburg and put in irons and chains for three days until they consented to send 12 of their children to attend school at Fort Christiana. On August 13, 1715 the chains were removed and they were ordered release.

On December 10, 1719 a list of names of 8 Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) and 12 Meherrin children were given to the Colonial Council in Williamsburg, Virginia to attend school at Fort Christiana in what is now Brunswick County.

On November 30, 1720 the Colonial Council ordered that a collection of all transaction with Tributary Indians or Foreign Indians be made and that the clerk of the council make a collection of all negations with the Indians from first settlement of the Colony.

On April 7 and 8, 1728, William Byrd visited the town of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe on the tribes reservation land in what is now Courtland, Virginia. He described how the men and women looked, sang, danced and dressed, the nature of their Fort, Longhouses and bedding; to include, the colors that the women were wearing – Red, White and Blue. Byrd noted in his dairy that the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe was the only tribe of Indians of any consequence still remaining within the limits of Virginia.

Byrd noted that that the Palisade Fort was square about 100 yards on each side. He also described how the young men danced for him with their faces painted, singing and keeping step to the sound of a gore drum stretched tight with a animal skin. Byrd's papers also note how the women looked in a there finery (damsels of old) to include the white and blue couch shell beads in their braided hair and around their necks. He wrote of the red and blue match coat wrapped loosely around their body that their mahogany skin shown through. He also noted that though they be sad colored that they would make great wives for the English planters and that their dark skin would bleach out in two generations.

On August 7, 1735, the Indian Interpreters, Henry Briggs and Thomas Wynn, for the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians were dismissed by an Act by the Commonwealth and on the same day the “first” of many land transfer deeds for the “Circle Tract of Land” transpired between the Colonials and the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe’s Chief Men and would continue up until November 1953, until both Circle and Square Track of Lands (41, 000 Acres of Reservation Lands), were in the hands of the Europeans.

On December 19, 1756 George Washington submits letter to The Honorable Robert Dinwiddie expressing and interest among the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians in engaging some assistance from them.

On March 8, 1759 a petition for pay to Tom Steph, Billy John(s), School Robin, and Aleck Scholar, all of which are Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians, who served under George Washington in the French & Indian Wars until the reduction of Fort Duquesne.

In July 1808, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia mandated a “Special” Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Census be taken of those Indians living on the remaining lands of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Reservation in what is now Courtland, Virginia. – some 7, 000 + remaining acres.

The Special Census was conducted by “White” Trustees in Southampton County. They were Henry Blow, William Blow, (a descendant of John Blow) and Samuel Blunt. Note: Not all Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian living on the Reservation were enumerated.

In 1816, new trustees were appointed for the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe. Theses Trustees were empowered to make reasonable ruled and regulations for the government of the tribe and for the expenditure of the money held in trust for them, which was to continue so long as any number of the tribe were living. Any funds remaining on hand were then to be paid into the public treasury.

In 1820 Former President Thomas Jefferson procured a copy of the language of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians as recorded by John Wood. Wood recorded the language on March 4th, 1820, from Edie Turner, (Wana Roonseraw) who lived on the tribe’s reservation in Southampton County, Virginia. Jefferson sent a copy of the language to Peter DuPonceau of Philadelphia who recognized the language as Iroquoian. On March 17, 1820, Jefferson was quoted in a article that appeared in the Petersburg Newspaper, “that the only remains in the state of Virginia of the formidable tribes are the Pamunkeys and Nottoways [Cheroenhaka…WDB] and a few Mottoponies.”

According to writings of Albert Gallatin (Gallatin 1836:82), The Honorable James Tresevant (Trezevant), a former Judge in Southampton County, compiled a second recording of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Language in Southampton County, Virginia, between 1831 and 1836. Tresevant reports that the Nottoway name for themselves was Cheroenhaka, sometimes spelled Cherohakah.

In 1823-24 William Bozeman AKA Billy Woodson whose name was listed on the Special Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Census of 1808, Note: Billy Woodson’s father was white – Michal Boseman), filed a petition with Court of Southampton County to have remaining Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Reservations Lands divided “Free and Simple” between the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians.

On February 5, 1849, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe filled suite within the Commonwealth of Virginia Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery for the County of Southampton County against Jeremiah Cobb. The suite was filled on behalf of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribal Members and all other members of said tribe by the tribe’s Trustees (white), James W. Parker, G.N.W. Newsom, and Jesse S. Parham.

On November 8, 1850, Judge Rich H. Baker, Court of Southampton County ruled in favor of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe and on March 3, 1851, as witness by Littleton R. Edwards, Clerk of said court, awarded the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe $818.80 with interest from June 1, 1845.

As a result of the successful Court Case in 1851, the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery for the County of Southampton County, Virginia RECOGNIZED the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County, as a Tribe and has never, since said time, by way of Law, Act, Bill or Policy negated its Tribal Status.

In 1825 -1850 as the final bits of Reservation Lands was disappearing into the hands of the Europeans many Tribal members with the surnames of Artis, Bozeman, Turner, Rogers, Woodson, Brown, Boone, Williams, relocated to what became known a “Artist Town” near what is now Riverdale Road in Southampton County, Virginia. Their descendants continue to live there as a tribal communal group up until the late 1990s sharing their Native American Traditions and Customs – hunting, trapping, tanning hides, fishing, farming, and raising Hogs, some of which still own land in said Artis Town.

The Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe is the only “Iroquoian Tribe” still residing in the Commonwealth of Virginia claiming a documented continual existing “STATE RECOGNIZED” status. [Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Vs Jeremiah Cobb, March 3rd, 1851, Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery for the County of Southampton County].

In 1877 some 575 acres of Tribal Reservation Land in Southampton County was divided between five Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian families whose descendents still reside in Southampton County Virginia.

In 1965, 66, & 69 an excavation of the Hand Site Settlement (44SN22), in Southampton County, Virginia, off hwy 671 was conducted; wherein, some 131 “Documented” grave remains (Bones) of Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians were removed and placed on a shelf in boxes at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC. All non skeletal remains are housed at the Department of Historical Resources, Richmond, Virginia.

In February 23, 2002, the Historic Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County, Virginia, reorganized by bringing together family clusters of Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Descendants and families still living in Southampton County Virginia.

In May 2002 a tribal government was in place with the election of a Tribal Chief and Council Members. Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown was elected as the first modern day Chief. He is the 5th “Foster” Great Grandson of Queen Edith Turner (1734-1838) aka “Wana Roonseraw” and the 4th Great Grandson of Mary “Polly” Woodson Turner aka “Kara Hout” (Foster daughter of Queen Edith Turner) and Pearson Turner.

The first Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Pow Wow and Gathering took place on the grounds of the Southampton County Agriculture and Forestry Museum, Courtland, Virginia, on July 24, 2002 and has continued annually at the Southampton County Fair Grounds on the fourth weekend of July as a celebration of the “Green Corn Harvest.”

On December 7, 2002 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe filed a letter of intent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announcing that it would be filing for Federal Recognition. Effective date on BIA Website is December 30, 2002.

On July 29, 2003, the Court of Southampton County, Virginia issued a license to Chief Walter David “Red Hawk” Brown, III, as Chief of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, with all legal rights to perform the rites of matrimony for said Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe in accordance with the customs and traditions of said tribe and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

On February 27, 2004, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribal Shield and Heraldry was copyrighted with the Library of Congress. (VA 1-256-506)

On July 23, 2004 Issue I of the Journal of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Southampton County Virginia, the WASKEHEE, was published documenting the ethno-history of the tribe as written and documented by Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown under the title “Creator My Heart Speaks” and has continued annually thereafter. All of which have been archived into the Library of Virginia. Issue I of the Waskehee was copyright with the US Copyright Office on August 3, 2007 – Reg. #: TX 6-627-973.

On July 24, 2004 the elected official body of Southampton County Virginia, the Southampton County Board of Supervisors, issued under it seal, a Proclamation of Recognition of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe proclaiming July 24 of said year as “Cheroenhaka Day.”

On September 21, 2004, the tribe participated, as one of 500 tribes, some 25,000 Natives, in the “Grand Procession” of the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown was interviewed by ABC News, as narrated by Peter Jennings on the “6:30 World News,” giving comments as to what it meant, as a Native American, to be a part of the great celebration – video clip located in the tribe’s historical archives. Vice Chief Ellis “Soaring Eagle” Wright was interviewed by ABC news appearing on the 12:00 O’clock local news.

On June 3, 2005, the State Recognized WACCAMAW Indian Tribe of South Carolina voted in favor of a Joint Resolution of the WACCAMAW Tribal Government, Resolution Number: Joint-HH-06-04-05-001, recognizing the sovereignty of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County, Virginia as signed by the Honorable Chief Harold D. Hatcher.

On June 13, 2005 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribal Heritage Foundation was Incorporated as the Non Profit, 501 (c) 3, entity of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County Virginia.

On July 23, 2005 Issue II of the Journal of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Southampton Virginia, the WASKEHEE, was published depicting Spotswood’s Treaty with the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians in February 27, 1713; to include, listing the tribe’s vocabulary as recorded by John Wood in 1820. Issue II of the Waskehee was Copywrite with the US Copyright Office on April 23, 2007 – Reg. #: TX 6-595-331.

On October 14, 2005, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe’s “Elected Officials” along with other tribal members and educators, visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, at the invite of Dr. Dorothy Lippert, Case Officer, Repatriation Programs, and viewed, in a special showing, of Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian “Skeletal Remains” taken from the Hand Site Excavation in Southampton County (44SN22). The skeletal remains “carbon dated,” date back to 1580.

On January 18, 2006 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Offered to the General Assembly of Virginia Senate Joint Resolution (SJ) 152, Title: Extending state recognition to the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe. The SJ 152 was struck by Senator L. Louise Lucas, voice vote, on February 10, 2006, in the Senate Rules Committee without receiving any testimonial from tribal representatives.

On February 9, 2006, at the recommendation of Senator Thomas Norment, Chairperson of the Senate Rules Committee, the “Tribal Elected Government” of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County Virginia submitted a “Letter of Intent” to the Chairperson and Council members of the Virginia Council on Indians as an official notice of intent to petition the Virginia General Assembly to extend State Recognition to the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe.

On July 9, 2006 Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, as Chief of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County Virginia, was the first to appear on the televised documentary “My Hampton Roads,” Wavy TV 10, as narrated by Andy Fox. Chief Red Hawk shared the tribes history, televised on site in Southampton County, and the surnames of his family ancestors by way of a televised visit to his family’s cemetery and farm; to include, the one room school that he and his ancestors walked two miles to attend, with more than a half million viewers.

On July 22, 2006 Issue III of the Journal of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Southampton County, Virginia, the WASKEHEE, was published capturing the tribe’s visit to the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, on October 14, 2005; wherein, the skeletal remains of the Hand Site Excavation were viewed. The journal also documents the writing of William Byrd and his visit to the tribe’s reservation in what is now Southampton County on April 7, 1728. Issue III of the Waskehee was copyright with the US Copyright Office on December 11, 2006 – Reg. #: TX 6-506-719.

On July 22, 2006 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe published its World Wide Web Site which documents the tribe’s Constitution and Bylaws, Ethno historic and current history, Language, Powwow Events, by name tribal 1808 special census, and educational presentations. http://www.cheroenhaka-nottoway.org

On September 25, 2006 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe conducted a “Public” Peake Belt and Pipe Ceremony by the banks of the Nottoway River on the grounds of the Southampton County Court House, Courtland, Virginia; wherein, elected officials, Board of Supervisors, from five counties (Nottoway, Sussex, Isle of Wight, Surry and Southampton Counties) attended and shared in the tribe’s traditional ceremony of passing the Peake Pipe and accepting a Wampum (Ote-ko-a) Belt from Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown. All five counties presented Proclamations of Recognition, under their Counties’ Seal to the tribe.

In February 2007, the National Museum of American Indians (NMAI), in recognition, added the name of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County, Virginia to the “Honor Wall” of the NMAI, Washington DC. The name of the tribe is listed on panel 4.22, Line 20 of the Wall.

The tribe’s Six Annual Pow Wow and Gathering took place on July 21st and 22nd 2007 at the Southampton County Fairgrounds, Courtland, Virginia as a celebration of 427 years of documented Ethno-History (1580 to 2007).

On July 21, 2007 Issue IV of the Journal of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Southampton County, Virginia, the WASKEHEE, was published as a Jamestown 2007 Special Edition recording Colonial Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood visit to the tribe reservation in 1711 with 1600 armed men inviting the Chief Men to send their sons to the Brafferton. Issue IV also records the first Land Deed of Sale, on November 24, 1735, between Charles Simmons and the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians with actual marks of the tribal Chief Men. Issue IV of the Waskehee was copyright with the US Copyright Office on August 16, 2007- Reg. #: TX 6-820-738.

On July 26, 2008 Issue V of the Journal of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Southampton County was published documenting the tribe’s visit to the Library of Virginia to accept an award on behalf Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Queen Edith Turner (Wane’ Roonseraw) 1734-1838. The Journal captures Turner last will and testament; to include a transcribe copy of the 1808 Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian “by name” Special Census.

On March 20, 2009, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County Virginia reclaimed, by purchase, 100 acres of its former 41,000 acre reservation land – formerly the Square Tract. The land will be used to build a combined Tribal Educational Center and Museum, an Interactive “Palisade” Native American Indian Village with “Longhouses” – Cattashowrock Town, a Worship Center and Powwow Grounds.

On July 25, 2009 Issue VI of the Journal of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe Southampton County Virginia, the WASKEHEE, was published with a second listing our tribal language as recorded by John Wood in 1820, with copies of letters between Thomas Jefferson and Peter DuPonceau certifying that we are Iroquoian speakers.

On August 10, 2009, J. Walter D. “Spirit Hawk” Brown, IV, son of Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, was admitted to Bacone College, Muskogee, Okalahoma, on an American Indian Student of Promise Scholarship – Student ID A000038451.

Bacone College was originally founded in 1880 to educated American Indians; as such, “Spirit Hawk” made history for the tribe in becoming the first recorded Tribal Member, since 1711 (The Brafferton) and 1878 (Hampton Normal School), to attend College at a school originally set aside for the education of American Indians.

On November 20 and 21, 2009 the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe entered into a partnership with First Landing Foundation Historical Villages at Cape Henry, Fort Story, Virginia Beach Virginia and the Archeological Society of Virginia, Nansemond Chapter, and conducted a Native History School Day and a Corn Harvest Fall Festival Powwow.

May 2009 through December 2009 Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, along with the support of other tribal members and the Archeological Society of Virginia, Nansemond Chapter, gave Native American Ethno Historical Educational Presentations (SOL Specific) to more than 2,500 students from different public school throughout Hampton Roads, Richmond, Southside and Western Virginia; to include sharing the history, Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian and other Prehistoric Artifacts, and the spoken language of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County.

From July 2002 through December 2009 Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, along with other members of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe; to include, the support of the Archeological Society of Virginia, Nansemond Chapter, have addressed more than 500,000 people throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia consisting of students, educators, historical societies, libraries, professional organizations, the general public, and military audiences at different post, bases and installations, (Army, Navy, Air force Marines) by way of onsite classroom presentations, historical lectures, Powwows, television documentaries, sharing the history and language of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, Southampton County Virginia.

The Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe currently owns 100 acres of tribal land which is a small portion of the former 41,000 acre reservation granted our tribe by the House of Burgess in 1705. We have also put up a palisade native village with arbors and long houses pattern after the documented visit by William Byrd II of Westover to what is now Southampton County on April 7 and 8, 1728. The name of our Native Palisade Village is Cattashowrock Town. The village bears the name of a documented Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Village as noted in a sworn statement by James Threatt in the court of Prince George County in 1703. The village is open to the public every Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.