Distinctions between Tuscarora, Lumbee, and Coharie people.

It is no real mystery in North Carolina that the Tuscarora, and Lumbee as well as the Coharie people are closely related by blood, but what may not be widely known is the distinction between the three groups that makes them a seperate people today.

To put it short, the main distinction is Traditionalist vs Pan-Indian/Pow-Wow culturalist.

The Tuscarora, preferably called Skarure people in their various communities tend to stick to the more traditional; Iroquois/Woodland culture of their ancestors where as the majority of the Lumbee and Coharie nations have adopted the Pan-Indian movement that started in the mid-early 20th century. This cultural movement mimicked the culture of Plains Nations people, however these displays of Pan-Indian culture is oftentimes looked at as disrespectful by traditionalist here as well as traditionalist of the people it is intended to mimic. In fact the name Lumbee and Coharie as a tribal identity was only created in recent history as the Lumbee was only established in 1958 and the Coharie in 1971. However the Tuscarora was established as a confederacy shortly after the establishment of the Haudenosaunee when split families migrated to what is now North Carolina, generations before the migration of Europeans to these lands.

Today, much of the Coharie acknowledges their ancestral ties to the Tuscarora people via directly or by way of the Coree/Nusiock people who belonged to the Tuscarora Confederacy.

(The name Coharie iteself is a Tuscarora word, Coharie was named after the Tuscarora Chief, Coharie/Cohary who was executed alongside Chief Hancock at the end of the first Tuscarora war)

Their direct relatives, the Lumbee, seem to mostly agree that they have Tuscarora in them, but often times find confusion in this as the federal and state governments had insisted on changing their name multiples of times for the sake of their termination movement which was designed to eliminate indigenous rights and rights to lands. Today however, a minority, much of which consist of none native ‘historians’ have convinced the tribal government to seek full recognition under the identity of Cheraw despite all evidence indicating other wise.

Although their is small traces of Cheraw ancestry via the Grooms and possibly a few other families, it is not enough to claim it as their sole or primary heritage. The Catawba of whom the Cheraw absorbed into deny the Cheraw claims of the Lumbee.

The Tuscarora of the state is currently split into various communities and currently does not operate in a centralized single council despite various attempts being made to do so. They tend to oblige themselves by the traditional Iroquois laws and traditions of the ‘Great Law of Peace’ with a combination of values distinct among the Tuscarora.

Some of the language is still intact, and a renaissance to save it has been taking place for the last decade and a half. Traditional stories that originate with the Tuscarora, as well as the Haudenosaunee are still shared and the ceremonies are still practiced. Although some communities do host Pow-Wows, they do not tend to represent the same style of Pow-Wows hosted by the Coharie or Lumbee nations. Socials among the Tuscarora are more common than Pow-Wows, and they resemble something close to that of a close knit family reunion complete with food; song, dance, stories, and political and historical discussions, things like food stands or store fronts are none-existent among these socials, and the food is often cooked either on sight by a group of volunteers, or various individuals chip in with their own dishes for the whole community to enjoy. The songs and styles of drums and rattles are rather different than what is used at Lumbee/Coharie Pow-Wows, and one of the most noticeable differences is that the Tuscarora dance/move around the singers/fire counter clockwise, (with their heart on the side of the singers/fire). The Lumbee/Coharie Pow-Wows, like most Pow-Wows move clock wise and most traditionalist refuse to participate in these dances because of this. There is only one exception where Tuscarora move clock-wise which I wont speak of here publicly.

Some of the food sources are even traditional today which dates back to the Tuscaroras long established control of the salt and spice trade within the region. Although the food and the ways we prepare them are commonly shared among all of the people, it would appear that the Tuscarora for the most part are the ones that still understand their origins.

Much of the Tuscarora crops were still grown up into the early 2000s, and a cultural movement has been started by Tuscarora and Seneca people with the help of a a few seed stewards from Monacan, Saponi, and Lumbee people in hopes to reestablish our traditional crops; save our seeds from extinction, as well as to use this as a tool to educate as agricultural played a vital role in Tuscarora heritage.  The most notable crop is the long white Tuscarora corn which has it’s historical origins in North Carolina among the Tuscarora, and was later adopted by the Haudenosaunee where it is also still grown today.

Our traditional dress is drastically different also, the Lumbee/Coharie dress is that of the style of the Pan-Indian movement, where as the Tuscarora traditional dress is that of conservative Iroquois style with a mix unique styles that originate within the south east.

In almost every manner, the distinctions is found in the physical, and psychological forms among the groups which can make it relatively easy to recognize where a person is from by simply talking to them.

This isn’t to say that the modern culture of the Lumbee/Coharie is negative, it is just distinct and different than that of their ancestors.  This Pan-Indian culture is shared among many eastern nations today, even of those who still hold on to their historical tribal identity.

There are many great Lumbee/Coharie people who do great things for their people by either using their traditional knowledge, or adapting the culture of the Pan-Indian Style.

It is my personal opinion that the Coharie and Lumbee be acknowledged as a distinct, and seperate nations of that with the Tuscarora that share common ancestry. I personally acknowledge the right to self identify so as long as you don’t use it to oppress any other groups. (IE the Lumbee act where it labels all native people in Robeson and surrounding counties as Lumbee despite how distinct they may be). If a person wishes to identify with either groups, I feel their decision should be respected, and I also feel if any of  one groups members wish to disenfranchise and  enroll with a more traditional group, I feel their decision should also be respected.

Through Respected Separation, We Find Unity.

-Fix

Who are our people of Robeson County?

Since the the late 1800s to early 1900s, the origins of the native people located in the area of Robeson County North Carolina has been heatedly debated by individuals with no actual connection to the people of this land. Various identities were placed on these people by the state in an attempt to eliminate the political threats of their true identity, as well as to gain favoritism by creating a large voting block for their own political party.  Over the period of years, various names have been thrown around in an attempt to appease the native people and to win over their support by means of bribing them, the state would offer particular benefits if they were to accept an identity over another and would hire “researchers” to manipulate their histories in an attempt to solidify their false claims.

Among the first of these identities was the Croaton.

The Croaton was given as a cover identity for all the native peoples of Sampson and Robeson Counties by Hamilton McMillan who was a Democratic politician of North Carolina. He was allegedly convinced that the people of these lands were descendants of the lost colony due to the oral stories taken from a few families. He provides no actual evidence that supports this claim, and I suspect he was using this as an attempt to further disenfranchise the people here as indigenous.

Although there may be some truth in the stories of the lost colony, however Croaton was not a tribe, but rather a location/settlement on the island of Hatteras/Katteras. And by February 12th 1885 it would appear that the natives of this land were well aware of that as indicated by this article published in the Fayetteville Observer where McMillan contradicts himself entirely.

“They say that their traditions say that the people we call Croaton Indians, (Though they do not recognize that name as a tribe, but only a village, and that they are Tuscarora)”

(Note that territory between the Tuscarora and Chowanoke in the eastern corner on the east side of the river was continuously exchanged before Chowanoke people were absorbed into Tuscarora. Further note this is a linguists map which although shows territories, it does no show confederacies territory as a whole, much of the eastern Algonquin people joined under the Tuscarora Confederacy, this will be important when we later further discuss the lost colony stories.)

Hamilton McMillan was not exactly the most righteous of individuals, and despite for some reason being held as a white savior in Robeson County, he cared very little of  the native people there. Personal statements from his own daughter Cornelia, state that ‘Indians’ would have to use the backdoor of his house when they came to visit, she further stated that whenever in his presence, the Indians would have to stand, and in this she took great pride in.

Regardless of being slightly misleading, the name Croaton stuck with the state when identifying the native peoples of the region for years until about 1911 when the natives in the region were simply called ‘The Indians of Robeson County.’ This name however didn’t last long either, they were desperate for an identity change as many families were still clinging onto their Tuscarora identities, so by 1915 the state placed the name of the already established Cherokee onto the natives of Robeson county.  Native theorist, Clifton Oxendine suggested that the people of Robeson county descend from the Cherokee warriors that joined Barnwell on his campaign to fight the Tuscarora, and that the warriors settled in the swamps with their Tuscarora captives…. Although he was claiming Cherokee, he was also acknowledging the Tuscarora blood. Note that by our tribal traditions between the Tuscarora and Cherokee, these people would have remained Tuscarora as they were never officially absorbed into the Cherokee nation, in fact these non-existing Cherokee warriors, which would have been comprised of men would be considered Tuscarora as they began to marry their female Tuscarora captives as we are both matrilenal societies.

Unfortunately for Mr. Oxendine, he overlooked the part where the Cherokee did NOT join Barnwell in his campaign against the Tuscarora. This can be seen in the reports made continuously throughout the war by Barnwell himself, which can be found at this address. https://archive.org/details/jstor-27575182

Why were names constantly being throw around among these people? And why by 1911-1915 were they so desperate choose a single identity that had no relation to the people who lived in the region?

The answers can be found in treaty rights. Many are unaware of the treaty lease of the Indian Woods Reservation of Bertie County where most Robeson/Sampson County families descend from… The lease was made by the Tuscarora for 150 years and it was to end by 1917. As stated on the treaty/lease, the land was supposed to revert back to any Tuscarora descendants that remained in the state of North Carolina. So in short, if you change their name, you change their identity, you create a loophole, thus you can deny them their treaty rights. These names were obviously not created in hopes for unity, but rather an attempt to divide our blood lines and to deny us our rights as an indigenous people of these lands.

By the 1920s, the Siouan/Cheraw claims began to emerge due to the research of Swanton. It is misunderstood that his research indicated that all the people or a large majority of the people within Robeson county descend from the Cheraw. In reality Swanton stated, “SOME of their descendants are represneted among the Robeson County Indians, often miscalled the Croatans.” And this may be fact to some extent. So far the only families that can be traced to the Cheraw bloodline is the Grooms, and many researchers for the Lumbee agree.

As shown in this letter from White.

I personally believe there may be a connection with the Kerns family as well, however this is only due to rumor and I have not personally seen any evidence yet to prove this.

One thing people must keep in mind at this time is that these people were exhausted of the various name changes, and in the attempt to appease the government, they were willing to accept just about what ever name, or theory given to them which has created much of the confusion among families today.

There has been very little evidence to support this claim of Cheraw descent, rather only assumptions due to logistics… It should be noted that the Cheraw were absorbed into the Catawba, and that the Catawba officially deny the claims of Cheraw descent of the Lumbee.

Let me explain some of the evidence they do try to use for the argument of Cheraw.

The 1915 McPherson Report said in reference to the Cheraw (quoting the Handbook of American Indians, 1906):

“Their numbers in 1715, according to Rivers, was 510, but this estimate probably included the Keyauwee. Being still subject to attack by the Iroquois, they finally—between 1726 and 1739—became incorporated with the Catawba…. They are mentioned as with the Catawba but speaking their own distinct dialect as late as 1743 (Adair). The last notice of them in 1768, when their remnant, reduced by war and disease to 50 or 60, were still living with the Catawba.”^[45]

I’m not entirely sure how this is used as evidence for the Cheraw claim, however this quote is often mentioned when ever it is debated… On the contrary, this quote indicates that the Cheraw were decimated and absorbed with the Catawba, and were NOT living in the area of Robeson County.

The other major claim of Cheraw descent is the alleged Cheraw Settlement of Drowning Creek.

Their has only been a couple of mentioning of this settlement, none of which indicate it ever being in Robeson County, or it actually being Cheraw.

In 1771 however, the South Carolina Gazette mentioned the Cheraw settlement and known native outlaw, Winsler Driggers.

“a convicted felon by the name of Winsler Driggers was captured “near Drowning Creek, in the Charraw settlement”.  (It should be noted that the Driggers native blood comes from the Edgecombe region around Indian Woods Tuscarora reservation, and the Driggers trace their ancestry to Tuscarora Indians)

So where exactly was this Cheraw settlement?

According to John Herberts map published in 1725, it indicates the Cheraw Settlement was at the time, 50 miles south west of what is now Robeson County. However it shows a Waccamaw settlement south east. (It should be noted that the Waccamaw were betrayed by their white allies after the Tuscarora war and a campaign to remove them from the southern North Carolina frontier pushed them on the side of South Carolina.)

By 1726, the Cheraw settlement and it’s people disappear on record as an individual group however appear as to be absorbed by the Catawba almost another 100 miles away west.

By 1753, North Carolina Governor Matthew Rowan proclaims Drowning Creek (now Lumber River) a “frontier to the Indians”, and states that there are “no Indians in the county.”

That same year

“Tuscarora Chief William “Billy” Pugh is issued land grant on Saddletree swamp in northern part of Robeson County. (Issued May 9, 1753, North Carolina
Land Grant, Bladen County, File #415, Book2.)

By this time, 50 families were noted along Drowning Creek, which is misleadingly used to confirm the Cheraw settlement. These 50 families were stated to be the Blount Indians, which were said to be white Indians as they had now lived in a similar manner to that of the Europeans. These families can be found on tax list alongside Chief Pugh and Chief Blount.

“1754
Governor Arthur Dobbs receives a report from a Bladen County agent of 50 Indian families living along Drowning Creek (present-day Lumber River). The communication also reports the shooting of a surveyor who entered the area “to view vacant lands.” It is the first written account of the tribe from whom the Lumbee descended.”

On 15 March, 1756, James Blunt (sic) was issued a warrant for 150 acres of land in Bladen County, NC at the
mouth of Black Swamp. The land was also described as on Back (sic) Swamp on the east side of Drownding (sic)
Creek including Buksle’s improvement.

“1757
Bertie County Tuscarora chieftain James Blount writes:

“We the Tuskarora Indians Petition Your Excely. and Council to Grant a Pattent, or Some Better Title for Our Land for the White folks tells this is good for nothing and they Come and Settle Without leave Sale our Timber and Drive Stocks of all sorts: We hope Care will be Taken to protect us in Quiet Possession of Our land and from the White People Abusing us

James Blount for the Tuscarora Nation”

    On May 4, 1769, James Blount is issued land grant of 500 acres on Flowers Swamp. (Bladen County deeds Book 20 Page 424, and “The Tuscaroras” vol 2, by
F.Roy Johnson, LRDA Settlement Pattern Study)
http://www.tuscaroranationofindians.org/TuscaroraChronology.html

“On 6 May, 1778, James Blunt (sic) entered 200 acres of land on the north side of Mussel’s Branch, running
towards Saddle Tree Swamp in Bladen County, NC. The warrant was issued 10 August, 1778. The land was
surveyed 29 November, 1778 by Elias Barnes. John Blount and Joseph Williams were chain carriers. Grant #449
was issued 12 November, 1779. This grant was recorded in Bladen County deed book 37, page 276. The deed
describes the land as being on the north side of Drowning Creek and east side of Saddle Tree Swamp beginning
at a red oak near Thomas Robeson’s corner.”

With this, over the years, James Blount would sell land to various families that migrated southward that now associate with the Lumbee.

Now with that out of the way… The final claim is the migration north from the PeeDee river from South Carolina.

Once again the argument is only logistics rather than facts. What is failed to be mentioned is that most of these families that ended up on the PeeDee, can be traced back to the north eastern part of NC in Tuscarora territory, as well as the Indian Woods Tuscarora reservation. Some families were also of Saponi blood but were absorbed in the Tuscarora on Indian Woods and Fort Christanna. It has also been noted repeatedly that they were indeed of Tuscarora blood.

It may have not been spoken of widely among the Tuscarora people while in SC, considering in the 1730s, the governor of SC announce a proclamation that stated if any Tuscarora crossed into South Carolina again, they would be treated as hostiles and killed. This was after repeated attacks from Tuscarora rogues entering SC to rescue native slaves in captivity.

However who they were was not exactly a mystery.

This is one example of many.

1875

Circa 1875 General Jno C. Gorman (who was at one time in charge of capturing the Lowrie gang) writes in his memoirs in reference to his tour of duty in Robeson County:

“A century ago, a few members of the Tuscarora tribe of Indians lived upon the banks of the Roanoke river in Halifax County, N.C. and obtained a livelihood by hunting and fishing, but the encrouchments of the planters finally forced them to leave. They removed to Robeson County, and settled on the sandy patches of land situated amongst the slashes and swamps of the PeeDee and Lumber rivers, near the border line between the States of North and South Carolina…….” (State archives “Gorman Papersâ€, and with the Gorman family, Durham N.C. circa”

I’ve personally worked on most of these family lines as about 75% of them are my own relatives, and the remainder I’ve researched on family trees of others… I have yet to find any connection to Cheraw people, or any origin to PeeDee, I have only traced these lines back into Sampson County on back up into the north eastern part of North Carolina in Tuscarora territory among Tuscarora families, land deeds, court records, etc etc etc.

When ever I enter a debate about this matter… The arguments mentioned above are bound to appear, however once quickly countered, and tore to it’s raw core… There seems to be an inability to produce any records or documents to support this claim. The debate tends to quickly become hostile rather than educational.

I am always up for a debate, so if you do not agree with any of the information provided above, please come with evidence to counter it.

Who We Are, Skarure / Tuscarora of North Carolina

Since this is my first blog, I had wrote something just less than a month of this posting on another website. I put in some thought into this original writing, and felt it would be unnecessary to write a new summery of our history. Instead I’ll simply post what I wrote there, and continue explaining more in detail in my future blogs based entirely on our culture and history of today, and yesterday…. So without further adieu, I bring to you, Who We Are.

I see a lot of new faces posting here lately… And there seems to be some misconception on our basic structure and distinct culture and mindset as Skarure people. So allow me to explain a few things here.

Skarure is NOT a tribe… Although the word “tribe” is used interchangeably with nation or confederacy, this is not the actual case for Skarure people historically or today.

The name Skarure/Tuscarora can mean up to one of three seperate and distinct things.

Historically, Skarure was/is a confederation of communities.

There were three seperate communities in the CORE of the Skarure confederacy.

The Long Shirt Wearers,
The People of The Sunken Pine/Cypress
The Hemp Gatherers.

The Hemp Gatherers were known as Skaruren in our language.

All three communities combined were known as Skarure people.

NOW… There was an even larger confederation with these three communities at the core… This larger confederation fluctuated over time however they could have been referred to as Skarure people despite some of them being of Siouan/Algonkian heritage.

The language of this confederation, despite ethnicity, was Skarure, the core culture and traditions, was Skarure/Iroquois. Many of these Algonkian and Siouan people eventually merged within one of the three communities thus leaving behind much of their Siouan/Algonkian identity.

So… When you hear people say Skarure, please understand the various meanings, and understand the context in which it is being used.

Today isn’t much different….

You have Skarure people within Canada and within NY. Although they are closely related, and both are Skarure, they are often times considered seperate communities with different ways of doing things. This is the same for most of the Haudenosaunee people split between the Euro border.

Within North Carolina, you also various communities that identify as Skarure… Although we may be seperate from each-other, we understand that despite which community they are from, above all else, they are Skarure.

Some communities have clan mothers and chiefs, some don’t, some have laws and regulations, some don’t, some have long houses, some don’t… The goals and minuscule differences is what separates them as communities.

So although we are all Skarure people… In the long run, we are all seperate community/nations… Therefore, if you are seeking a central source of our location or information as Skarure people, a single answer cannot be given…

IN TERMS OF RECOGNITION…..

Let me explain a few things about much of the Skarure mindset… Unlike many modern south eastern nations today… Skarure people tend to seek the purist form of sovereignty and self determination, I can’t speak for everyone of our communities, however this seems to be the overall mindset of our people. Although the Skarure within NY and Canada are recognized, understand that their recognition is an old one which was agreed on while under pressure of Euro governments during a time in which the Skarure were at a civil war… Unfortunately over the last few hundred years, foreign influence has dissolved much of the sovereignty of the Skarure reservation as it like many other nations have been forced to become more and more dependent on Euro governments and their policies.

The lack of “official” recognition via the state or federal government is a moot argument… If anyone here feels as if they need the recognition of a foreign government, or a card, or a blood quantum to feel anymore “indianer than thou”… You have failed not only yourself and your people, but your ancestors who had fought and died for your freedom and sovereignty as well.

Many Skarure take this to heart… We have been forced to assimilate in many ways into the modern Euro/US culture, however we are not lead by the greed of funds, or some imaginary recognition title that marks us like cattle… We fully understand the things that can be received from a formal recognition, however the integrity of our people and our ancestors would have us sooner die than to accept the terms of these governments that will slowly force us to commit paper genocide upon ourselves. We have treaties and rights as a people, we will not abandon those things for the sake of reparation that is deserved regardless… We know who we are, and a card isn’t going to make us feel any more Skarure as we are secure in our identity and heritage.

This way of thinking has made Skarure people among some of the most influential people within our region… Although we do not have formal recognition, you best believe that the state is well aware and has been well aware of our existence, as well as the BIA and various local communities who acknowledge us as who we are. The primary acknowledgement we care about is the acknowledgment of our own people of the various tribal communities within our region. Overall this acknowledgement is still intact, as denying us, would be denying themselves.

The reasoning behind the lack of formal recognition is our refusal to bend at the knee to the terms that would relinquish our treaty rights. It is a long and complicated issue however the state has a lot to lose if we obtain recognition on our terms. Trust us, they have been discussing our recognition for a while now.

Also understand that although the first major migration of Skarure was indeed Lower Town Skarure that remained after for Neoheroka… The numbers that left do not account for the thousands of Lower Town Skarure that remained. A few families remained close to their ancient communities where as a few slowly migrated southward into places such as Harnett, Johnston, Sampson, Bladen, Cumberland, and eventually Robeson Counties. Most of these counties contained much swamp land, and very few places of fertile soil thus making it unattractive for European encroachment.

Although the Upper Town Skarure remained friendly to the Europeans, they were not safe from the abuse of the Euros… Eventually they were pressured to move to over 80,000 acre of mostly marsh land in what would be called Indian Woods… Some for a spell stayed among the reservation along the Mattamuskeet people, I theorize some of these families at Mattamuskeet were Lower Town.

Blounts position as “King” of the Skarure was a title that was given to him by Europeans… I will not pretend to understand why he did the things he did, in his mind, he might have been doing the right thing for his people, and he might have been an otherwise decent leader… However his position given to him by the Europeans is an illegal appointment that goes against our traditional culture/laws… Any other Skarure that followed him that was given such leadership positions were also in a position that was against our traditional laws. However, his friendliness to the Europeans, and willingness to maintain order among the Skarure on the Europeans behalf earned him and his people the favor/recognition of the colonist as many Upper Town Skarure wanted to fight after being placed on the marsh land.

Although overtime, many Lower Town Skarure, and various other nations migrated and merged into the Indian Woods Skarure, the overall power within this reserve was from the Upper Town influence.

Although at this time, our ancestors on and off the reserve were acknowledged as Skarure people, it wasn’t until money and land was to be gained that forced the Indian Woods and later NY Skarure to abandoned their Lower Town cousins… treaties on our remaining land was made, it was leased out, but was to return to the Skarure people, so as long as Skarure people were still here within the state by the end of it’s lease.

The Upper Town Skarure that migrated northward were at 1st turned away, and even harassed by their own cousins… why? Because those Skarure who were already there, were of the Lower Town settlements that the Upper Town had turned against. However eventually they found sanctuary among the Haudenosaunee confederacy…

It was later when word was sent to us Skarure still here, that any Skarure that remained here, would lose their citizenship among the Skarure that have moved up north…

I personally look at this citizenship as flawed… The Skarure were at a civil war, but both were still called Skarure, both were acknowledged as Skarure, and when the Lower Town Skarure were kicking European tail… the Europeans respected them as Skarure people…

So where did anyone get the right to deny the Lower Town and those few Upper Town or Indian Woods Skarure remaining their natural right to be who they have always been? Just because we did not have favor of the Europeans due to us fighting them did not make us any less Skarure… There is more history written about Lower Town people fighting Europeans than Upper Town remaining peaceful… And even up until the mid 20th century, it was acknowledged by Skarure that left north, and the state and feds that we still existed and operated as Skarure people here. It was only later misinterpreted that lack of northern citizenship equates to lack of Skarure blood.

Let’s understand something… if half of the Irish population left and migrated to some uninhabited land or land given to them, could you realistically call the Irish that remained… Not Irish? What would they be? How could you suddenly say Ireland moved? Who would have the right to claim that title as a nation?

People can use the argument that we simply moved back to our homelands along the great lakes… However you have to understand that we weren’t a Skarure people until we moved down here… We were of the Seneca people… And even so… the great lakes isn’t the original homeland of the Haudenosaunee, that’s just where they established themselves…

I hope this will help a few people better understand the mindset and situation down these ways… Make no mistake… we are, and have always been Skarure people.