TUSCARORA CHRONOLOGY
IN NORTH CAROLINA
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                                                                 1585-1712



                                                                       1585-1587

Sir Richard Grenville, Ralph Lane, Thomas Hariot, John White, and others set sail from Plymouth on April 9, 1585, to establish the first of Sir
Walter Raleigh’s colonies, arriving at Roanoke Island on August 17th.
  •        Lane and the other colonists proceed to look for the passage to the orient by exploring the western Albemarle Sound and the rivers
    flowing into the region, such as the Moratoc (Roanoke) and Chowan.
  •        This was the vicinity in which earlier explorers thought would lead to the Pacific Ocean and the fabled city of "El Dorado".
  •       This is the first known contact with Tuscarora, initially known as Mongoaks, Hatteras (Kateras), Roanoaks, Chowanoaks, and others,
    usually being called by the name known by other tribes.
  •       The colony is forced to abandon the colony and is picked up by Francis Drake on June 19th 1586, leaving 15 men behind on Roanoke
    Island.




Accepting the theory of the French, Menendez de Aviles, and Vicente Gonzalez; Grenville and Raleigh establish what is now known as “the Lost
Colony” in 1587 at 36degrees north on Roanoke Island. (Page 54, Spain and the Roanoke Voyages by Paul E. Hoffman, 1987 America’s Four
Hundredth Anniversary Committee)
  •        August 13th Manteo was made “Lord of Roanoke and Dasamonguepeuk” by Sir Walter Raleigh (Raleigh)
  •        The village of Dasamonguepeuk is located in present day Bertie County.

Edward, second in command of the Grenville Fleet, gave a deposition on December 7, pertaining to the whereabouts of the English at Roanoke.
  •        He reported about Simon Fernando, a Portuguese pilot who was looking for a southwest passage to the orient and had visited the
    location in 1577 and 1584 with Amadas and Barlowe.
  •        “Spanish maps place the location at 38.5 degrees north, yet Edward said that it was at 36 degrees north on the English maps. There was
    a bay with a good anchorage that led to certain islands and to a source of fresh water 4 leagues from the sea. This bay was alleged to be the
    best on the Atlantic coast and to have offered a way to the “other sea” (Pacific Ocean)” (Page 32,   Spain and the Roanoke Voyages by Paul
    E. Hoffman, 1987 America’s Four Hundredth Anniversary Committee)
























                     


                                          1590
John White, the governor of the colony, went back to England in 1587, shortly after the colonists were settled. Returning in 1590 he wrote:  
“…According to a secret token agreed upon between them and me at my last departure from them, which was that in any way they should not fail
to write or carve on the trees or posts of the doors, the name of the place where they should be seated; for at my coming away they were prepared
to remove from Roanoke fifty miles into the main…” (Sider’s, “Living Indian Histories” page 88, and McPherson report)

                            Early  1600's

By this time, the English now in Jamestown send individuals into what is now North Carolina, looking for the Lost Colonists. On at least 7
occasions, there are reports of sightings of at least some of the Colonists, all being within Tuscarora territory. (F.Roy Johnson's "Lost Colony in Fact
and Legend", 1983 Johnson publishing Co. ISBN-0-930230-9)
  •       In 1609, there were reports in London of Englishmen from Roanoke living under a chief called Gepanocan, and in the village of
    Pakerikinick. It was said that Gepanocan held four men, two boys, and a "young maid"(Virginia Dare) from Roanoke as copper workers.
  •       As late as 1610, reports are still given that there are colonists in the Tuscarora village of Pakerikinick.
  •        A map of the interior region of N.C. was drawn by Francis Nelson in 1608, who was a Jamestown resident. This map is now known as
    the "Zuniga Map".

The late,Thomas C. Parramore, in the "Lost Colony in Fact and Legend", in the section called "The Lost Colony and the Tuscarora", he states that
the Spanish had outposts within Tuscarora territory for many years, and that it was possible that it was these Spanish, who had incited the
Tuscarora to capture and destroy most of the English colony.
  •      In 1614, a group of deserters from Jamestown head for the Tuscarora village of Ocamahawan, where the inhabitants had built two-story
    stone houses, and that they raised tame turkeys, and used brass utensils.

                                1654
Francis Yeardley sends a group into Tuscarora country, where they reported that they had met a Tuscarora chief. "This chief has invited them to his
village, where he said lived a Spaniard, who had been among these Tuscarora for seven years. The Spaniard was said to be very rich, to have some
thirty people in his party, including Negro slaves, and had been absent from time to time on long trips" (Lost Colony in Fact and Legend)


                                1660
Reverend Morgan Jones, in traveling in the Tuscarora country was captured by the Doegs, a branch of that tribe who spoke Welsh. He describes
them as settled upon Pontigo River near Cape Atross.” (Taken from Senate Doc. 677, page 46)
  •        In the "Lost Colony in Fact and Legend", it states in part; ..."The day after his capture the Indians held a council and condemned Jones
    and his five companions to death. When an interpreter told them that they were to die the next morning, Jones dejectedly remarked in his
    native tongue, "have I escaped so many Dangers (of the wilderness), and must I now be knocked in the head like a Dog? Upon hearing this
    remark a chief man, who seemed to be a war captain belonging to the Sachem of the Doegs, came forward, took Jones by the waist and told
    him in the "British" tongue that he should not die. This man appeared before the emperor and stood for Jone's ransom. The Welsh clergyman
    and his companions remained with the Indians four months, talked with them "familiarly in the British Language" and preached to them three
    times a week in the same language..."


























                                                   


                                                        1669-1670
John Lederer, German explorer visits the town of Kateras(Katearas) on July 14th 1670, “ a place of great Indian trade and commerce and chief
seat of the haughty emperor of the Taskiroras, called Kaskusara, vulgarly called Kaskeous…” ( taken from Senate Doc. 677, page 12)
  •        Sacarusa is known today as a chief title.
  •        Hatteras is a later derivation of Kateras (Katearas), which was located in the vicinity of the city of Raleigh. This was one of the dozens of
    Tuscarora villages scattered throughout eastern North Carolina.
  •        The area known as "Hatteras" today, receives it's name from our people of Kateras. When the first colonists arrived on the shores of
    what's now known as North Carolina, they were met in part, by Kateras (Katearas)people while on one of many fishing, and salt making trips
    our people made yearly.
  •       John Lawson wrote, "A farther Confirmation of this we have from the Hatteras Indians, who either then lived on Ronoak-Island, or much
    frequented it. These tell us, that several of their ancestors were white People, and could talk in a Book, as we do; the Truth of which is
    confirmed by gray Eyes being found frequently amongst these Indians, and no others. They value themselves extremely for their Affinity to
    the English, and are ready to do them all friendly Offices. It is probable, that this Settlement miscarried for want of timely Supplies from
    England; or thro' the Treachery of the Natives, for we may reasonably suppose that the English were forced to cohabit with them, for Relief
    and Conversation; and that in process of Time, they conformed themselves to the Manners of their Indian Relations. And thus we see how
    apt Humane Nature is to degenerate."
  •        Chief Elton Green of New York narrates a story to F. Roy Johnson ( author of "The Tuscaroras") in 1967 stating that:
                    " In the old days, before our people came northward from North Carolina, they would get into their canoes and paddle down the
    creeks and rivers to the sounds to gather food and to fish.
    There was an island in the Neuse River which they called Roquist Island but which is now known by another name. They went to this island
    often, for that is where they found their food. There were alot of turtles on that island, and they caught those turtles and made turtle soup.
    They called that island Roquist, for that is the Tuscarora word for turtle." (F.Roy Johnson's "The Tuscaroras" Volume 2)

                                                                 1672
The French explorer Jacques Marquette met a party of Indians on the upper Mississippi who, by their language and dress, were thought to be
Tuscaroras. Finding they had guns and other European goods, Marquette asked them where such wares were obtained and was told that they came
from white men in the east who "had rosaries and pictures."
  •       This is yet another piece of evidence of Spanish being within Tuscarora territory.

                 

The encroachment and taking of Tuscarora lands, and the enslaving of Tuscarora people continued for years. Appeals and attempts to stop these
practices failed, culminating in what is known as the Tuscarora War.
  •        March 5, 1706, Pennsylvania prohibits further importation of Indian slaves from Carolina because of the talk of the 5 nations possibly
    getting involved in the matter.
  •        July 8, 1710, a Tuscarora delegation from Carolina present 8 wampum belts to Pennsylvania government at Conestoga, thus attempting
    to stop the continued slave trade, and to procure peace.
            By the first belt, the older women and mothers sought friendship of the Christian people, the Indians and the government of Pennsylvania,
that they might fetch wood and water without risk or danger By the second, the children born and those to be born, implored for room to sport and
play without the fear of death or slavery.

By the third, the young men asked for the privilege to leave their towns without the fear of death or slavery to hunt for meat for their mothers, their
children and the aged ones.

By the fourth, the old men, the elders and the people, asked for the consummation of a lasting peace so that the forests (the paths to other tribes)
be “as safe for them as their forts.”

By the fifth, the entire tribe asked for a firm peace that they might have liberty to visit their neighbors.

By the sixth, the chiefs asked for the establishment of a lasting peace with the government, people and Indians of Pennsylvania, whereby they would
be relieved of “those fearful apprehensions they have these several years felt.”

By the seventh, the Tuscaroras begged for a “cessation from murdering and taking them, that by the allowance thereof, they may not be afraid of a
mouse, or any other thing that Ruffles the Leaves.”

By the eighth, the Tuscaroras being strangers, came with blind hopes the government of Pennsylvania would “take them by the hand and lead them,
and then they will lift up their heads in the woods without danger or fear.” (Johnson 67)

In early September of 1711, John Lawson and Christopher DeGraffenried are captured while scouting for new lands. The Assembly of the Great  
determines to free DeGraffenried, but puts Lawson to death.

Four days later, on September 22, 1711, Machapunga, Bear River, Pamplico, Coree, Neusiok, Woccon, and the lower Tuscarora attacked the
town of Bath, starting what is now known as the Tuscarora War.
  •        North Carolina asked for assistance from both Virginia and South Carolina, with South Carolina sending troops under the command of
    Col. John Barnwell.
  • The northern Tuscarora towns remained neutral, yet were continually pressured to fight against the southern towns.


                                1712

Barnwell's first engagements were against apparently only northern Tuscarora towns, who had not taken part in the War as of yet. In these villages,
he killed and or captured only women, children, and elderly. From these "battles", he is given the nickname, "Tuscarora Jack".
  •        On April 7th, Barnwell's forces began their attack on Catechnia, which was King Hancock's town. This battle lasted at least ten days, in
    which the fort was never taken. This culminated in the first treaty with the Tuscarora, which was soon broken by Barnwell after he broke the
    peace by taking slaves back to S.C. for payment of his services that N.C. refused to pay.
  •        This taking of prisoners enraged the Tuscarora and their allies, and they again attacked English villages along the Neuse and Pamplico
    rivers.
  •        Colonel James Moore, also from S.C. was hired by N.C. to lead another expedition against the Tuscarora, and by early December, he,
    along with warriors from several S.C. tribes, arrived in Bath.

Sometime in Mid November, King Hancock is captured by King Blount and subsequently executed by North Carolina Colonial officials. A James
Coheree, who was captured by Virgina Rangers and delivered to the North Carolina government, was executed with Chief Hancock. (N.C. Colonial
Records vol.1 pages 881,896; Paschal,99.)




          1713-2005

                     1713
Moore continues to attack Tuscarora villages, until March 20th, when the final battle of the war at Fort Neoheroka(Snow Hill, Greene County)
began.
  •        This battle lasts for three days, in which over 950 Tuscarora and allies are either killed or taken prisoner. DeGraffenried writes: ..."The
    Savages showed themselves unspeakably brave, so much so that when our soldiers had become masters of the fort and wanted to take out the
    women and children who were under ground, where they were hidden along with their provisions, the wounded savages who were groaning on
    the ground still continued to fight."
  •        This was to become the last "major" battle of the war, with many survivors either beginning the migration to New York, joining the Five
    Nations, or in the case of most people from Robeson, began to disperse in all directions, seeking sanctuary in the swamps south of what is now
    known as Greene County.

                            1713-1730’s
End of Tuscarora War, and beginning of forced migration of many so-called “hostile” Tuscarora from N.C. to N.Y. which lasts approx. 90 years.
Tuscarora who don’t leave state disperse in all directions. 1715, the so-called “friendly” Tuscarora are confined to reservation in Bertie County on
the Roanoke River, under Chief Tom Blount. Dissatisfaction with reservation life led to people continually leaving the reservation, for lands still
unoccupied by Europeans.
                                   1714
150 Tuscarora are given land by Colonel Barnwell at Port Royal S.C., for their fighting against the Yamasee. A few years later, Chief Foster asks to
bring their families from North Carolina.
                                   1719
In 1719 the colonial government hired Tuscarora under King Norris to travel King Gilbert of the Coosaboy as emissaries to the Spanish at Saint
Augustine. These Tuscarora were from the Roanoke River but were then living at Port Royal. The Indian expedition to Spanish Florida traveled in
seven canoes.

Locklear, Lowery( all spellings), Oxendine, Jacobs, Maynor, Brooks, Jones, Freeman, Cumbo, Kearsey(all spellings), Revels, Canady, Pugh, Blount,
Smith and many other current Tuscarora surnames, are listed on numerous tax lists, land grants, and estate wills in northeastern part of North
Carolina. Many of which were located living on, or adjacent to Bertie County reservation. (Partial resource; settlement pattern study, LRDA 1983)
                                1739
Chief Tom Blount dies, and on the third Tuesday in June, James Blount was selected as new Head Chief at the village of "Rehorsesky", or
Rasewtokee. This may or may not have been Tom Blount's son. After 1766, James Blount is no longer signer of Tuscarora documents.
  •        
                         1740’s- 1800
Families with same surnames continue migrations from the Roanoke/Neuse areas to Bladen County area, settling along drowning creek basin and
many points in between, again holding lands in common. (Partial resource; settlement pattern study, LRDA 1983) For example;

  •        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.)
  •        A "rogues" list is circulated in the mid 1750's, naming many ancestors of todays Tuscarora here, as being a curse to the area, and who
    don't hold a patent on the lands in which they live. There was a surveyor shot for attempting to survey lands of Ester Kersey, and others.
  •       In 1756, George Washington addresses the chiefs of the Tuscarora Nation still in North Carolina.   

TO KING BLUNT, CAPT. JACK, AND THE REST OF THE TUSCARORA CHIEFS --

Brothers, & Friends, This will be Deliverd you by our
Brother Tom, a Warrior of the Nottoways, who, with
others of that Nation, have distinguished themselves
in our service this summer, against our Cruel and
perfidious Enemys--The intent of this, is to Assure
you of our real Friendship and Love--and to confirm &
Strengthen that chain of Friendship, which has
subsisted between us for so many ages past,--a Chain
like ours, founded on Sincere Love, and Friendship,
must be strong and lasting, and will I hope endure
while Sun & Stars give Light --

Brothers, You can be no strangers to the many Murders
& Cruelties--committed on our Country Men, & Friends,
by that False & Faithless people the French, who are
constantly endeavouring to corrupt the minds of our
Friendly Indians--and have Stirr'd up the Shawnese &
Delawares, with severall other nations to take up the
hatchet against us--And at the head of many of these
Native Indians have invaded our Country, laid waste
our lands, plunder'd our plantations, Murdered
defenceless Women & Children, & Burnt & destroy'd
wherever they came--which has enraged our Friends the
Six Nations, Cherokees, Nottoways, Catawbas, and all
our Indian Allies, and prompted them to take up the
Hatchet in our deffence, against these disturbers of
the Common peace --

I hope, Brothers, you will likewise take up the
Hatchet, against the French & their Indians, as our
other Friends have done,--and Send us some of your
Young Men, to protect our Frontiers, and go to War
with us, against our restless and Ambitious Foes--And
to encourage Your brave Warriors, I promise to
furnish them wl. Arms, Amunition, Cloths, provision,
and every necessary for War,--And the Sooner you Send
them to our asistance, the greater mark will you give
us of your Friendship--& the better shall we be
enabled to take our just Revenge of their Cruelties -
-
May You Live Long, a happy & prosperous people, and
may we Act with mutual Love & Friendship--While
Rivers run, or Trees grow--is the sincere Wish, of...
Your Friend and Brother --... G In confirmation of
the above & in hopes of your Complyance w'. my
request -- I give you this String of Wampum.



  •       In the spring and summer of 1757 the long expected Indian allies arrived in Virginia, as many as four hundred by May-Cherokees,
    Catawbas, Tuscaroras, and Nottaways. But Dinwiddie was wholly unable to use them effectively; and in order to provide amusement for
    them, he directed that they should go "a scalping" with the whites-"a barbarous method of war,"  (Quoted from The Conquest of the Old
    Southwest, published by the Century Company, New York in 1920. Chapter V by Archibald Henderson (Ph.D.)'s)
  •       In 1760, Thomas Kersey makes a public claim for wounds received during the French and Indian Wars. He was one of 50 Tuscarora
    who were under the command of Captain Hugh Waddell.
  •       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)




                             1802-1803
Un-ratified Treaty initiated between the United States (on behalf of North Carolina) and Tuscaroras, pertaining to lands in Bertie County. These
Leases, and also previous ones initiated,  are now set to expire in the year 1916.
  •                                     ARTICLE 1.

In consideration of the agreement, on the part of the legislature of e State of North Carolina, that they will, by certain acts of the
General Assembly of said State, facilitate the collection of the rents due, or to become due the leases of said lands heretofore made:
And on the condition that an act or acts of the General Assembly of the said State shall be passed, authorizing the said Tuscarora
nation, or the chiefs thereof, in behalf of said nation, to lease, on such terms as they may deem proper, the undemised part of the
lands allotted to them in the county of Bertie, in the said State, as well as other parts thereof, now under lease, or leases, for years, so
that the term or terms of the leases made of the whole or any part thereof, may extend to the 12th day of July, which shall be in the
year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixteen:

                                 1835
Tuscarora, by then, known as “free persons of color” or “mulatto” are again, disenfranchised by North Carolina, with the amending of North
Carolina constitution.
  •        Specific tribal name and culture is not overtly proclaimed due to the Indian Removal Act, which would have surely forced the people
    from their present location in Robeson and surrounding Counties.


                            1840-1875
The “Lowrie Wars” take place within this time frame. Various individuals and publications write about the origin and ancestry of local Tuscarora.

For example;

  •        In her description of the people here, Mrs. Norment wrote: "... They married and intermarried with each other so often the distinctive
    features of one was representative of all. Straight black hair, high cheek bones, straight backs and great muscular power characterized the
    whole race....As a race they are remarkably superstitious. They believe in fairies, elfs, spirits, ghosts and goblins, and in conjuration. They as a
    race are very prolific. It is no uncommon occurrence to find women among them who have born a dozen of children, and some few as many
    as fifteen or sixteen...."



                           1885  
(Beginning of Historical Name “Revisionism Period”)

Hamilton McMillan, a Robeson Co. State Representative, and first of many subsequent “sheppards”, gives name “Croatan” to all Indians in
Robeson and surrounding counties.  Language of bill begins with, “ Whereas the Indians now living in Robeson County claim to be the descendants
of a friendly tribe who once resided in eastern North Carolina on the Roanoke River, known as Croatan Indians…”  , {Ratified and passed on
February 10, 1885}
  •        The only “friendly” tribe living on the Roanoke River was the Tuscarora, some of which were later called “friendly” after the Tuscarora
    War 1711-1713, in which the northern Tuscarora towns stayed neutral in the war against the southern Tuscarora towns. They assisted the
    colonists with information and such, but never actually fought.
  •        Oral tradition indicates that a few Tuscarora now in Robeson, possibly descend from those who  stayed somewhat neutral in the war on
    the side of the colonists.
  •        This name, although incorrect, was the closest correct name for our people, but only because of the geographical location.
  •        February 12, 1885, Fayetteville Observer article quotes McMillan regarding tribal origins. In part it says; “ …They say that their
    traditions say that the people we call the Croatan Indians (though they do not recognize that name as that of a tribe, but only a village, and
    that they were Tuscaroras), were always friendly to the whites; and finding them destitute and despairing of ever receiving aid from England,
    persuaded them to leave the Island, and go to the mainland.…They gradually drifted away from their original seats, and at length settled in
    Robeson, about the center of the county."
  •        This article is published only two days after the Croatan bill is passed, which means that Mr. McMillan knew long before it’s passage,
    that our people were of Tuscarora decent. This article had been previously published in a Asheville N.C. newspaper sometime prior to the
    Feb 12, 1885 date.
  •        North Carolina, years later, names Indians in and around Sampson County, “Croatan Indians of Sampson County”.
          1.)  These people are of the same blood as in Robeson County, with many of the same surnames.
           2.)  Sampson County lies in the path of migrations, from ancestral lands in Northeastern N.C.

                                 1887
Hamilton McMillan is instrumental in starting the “Croatan Normal School”, for the training of future Indian teachers. These first students began to
learn their “now” amended history from the state, and thus after graduation, passed on the lies and deceit to their own people, either knowingly or
not, which was started by the state two years before with the name Croatan.
  •        The first person to graduate from the school was Doctor Fuller Lowry.
  •        The federal government had no knowledge of any tribe named "Croatan" in 1889 when recognition was first sought by the people here.
    (BAE bulletin #30, referenced to also in McPherson report) (Note: This is because there was never a tribe known as Croatan. Mr. McMillan
    fabricated this name to hide the Tuscarora identity.)
  •        When asked if the people here had any treaties with the United States, Mr. McMillan answered no. This was a true statement in
    reference to "Croatan Indians", but it would not have been a true statement if it were in reference to "Tuscarora Indians".
  •        McMillan ends his pamplet with, "...        I do not find that the Hatteras Indians or the so-called Croatan Indians ever had any treaty
    relations with the United States, or that they have any tribal rights with any tribe or band of Indians; neither do I find that they have received
    any lands or that there are any moneys due them." (This gives the U.S. government a reason to deny federal recognition to our people)

                                    1889
Apparently, the Indian Office had no knowledge of the existence of the Croatan Indians until the latter part of 1888. About that time 54 of these
Indians, describing themselves as "a part of the Croatan Indians living in Robeson County," and claiming to be "a remnant of White's lost colony,"
petitioned Congress "for such aid as you may see fit to extend to us." This petition was referred to the Indian Office, and on January 7, 1889, a copy
was sent to the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, with the statement that there was no record in the Indian Office showing any such Indians or
any such colony as that referred to, and requesting to be furnished with such information as said bureau had concerning these people. On January
11, 1889, the Director of the Ethnological Bureau replied:
I beg leave to say that Croatan was in 1585 and thereabouts the name of an island and Indian village just north of Cape Hatteras, N. C. White's
colony of 120 men and women was landed on Roanoke Island just to the north in 1587, and in 1590 when White returned to revisit the colony he
found no trace of it on Roanoke Island, save the name "Croatoan" carved upon a tree, which, according to a previous understanding, was interpreted
to mean that the colonists had left Roanoke Island for Croatan. No actual trace of the missing colonists was ever found, but more than 100 years
afterwards Lawson obtained traditional information from the Hatteras Indians which led him to believe that the colonists had been incorporated
with the Indians. It It was thought that traces of white blood could be discovered among the Indians, some among them having gray eyes. It is
probable that the greater number of the colonists were killed; but it was quite in keeping with Indian usages that a greater or less number, especially
women and children, should have been made captive and subsequently incorporated into the tribe.



                                1909
“The Lowrie History” is republished, this time with an appendix of Col. F.A.Old’s writings.
  •        Page 190 within the appendix section alludes to the origin of “Croatans” as being from Avoca, in Bertie County, which is located exactly
    on the 36 degree latitude, 50 miles due west of Roanoke Island.
  •        Page 182 of the appendix states in part,"...After the white settlers began to come in a part of this tribe went north and settled around the
    Great Lakes, some of their descendants now being in Canada, west of Lake Ontario, while a number of these people, described as whites,
    emigrated into the great North Carolina mountain region..."

Hamilton McMillan, testifies in Superior Court that; “…I gave them the designation of Croatan Indians in the Act. I wanted to give them some
designation. There was a tribe known as Croatan tribe on Croatan Island, it was an honorable name and it was a complete designation…”
After this statement, questions were asked of Mr. McMillan.
Question: Were they never called Croatans until this Act was introduced in here? Answer: No Sir.
Question: Where were they from anyway?
Answer: The traditions all point to their residence west of Pamplico Sound, beyond Cape Hatteras…(northeastern part of North Carolina)
(Sider’s Living Indian Histories, page78)
  •        McMillan tries to validate this name by saying that is was "honorable" and "complete", but we feel that this again helps to prove the
    Conspiracy of a cover-up.
  •        The above quote by Mr. McMillan contradicts the 1885 Fayetteville Observer article

The Indians of Robeson begin to dislike the name Croatan due to the local non-natives who shortened the name disparaging way to “Cro”
connecting the name with “Jim Crow” laws of the state.  

                                 1911
Tribal name is changed, this time to “Indians of Robeson County”. March 8, 1911, “The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: Section 1.
That Chapter Fifty-one of the Public Laws of North Carolina, session of eighteen hundred and eighty-five, be, and the same is hereby, amended by
striking out the words “Croatan Indians” wherever the same occur in said chapter and inserting in lieu thereof the words “Indians of Robeson
County.”
  •        This name was evidently too vague for the state’s concern, due to the fact that the 1916 Bertie lease expiration date is only a few years
    away, and they knew there were Tuscarora still in Robeson County .
  •        April 5, 1911, J. Bryan Grimes, N.C. Secretary of State, responds to Luther W. Jack, Secretary of People’s Rights Society (Tuscarora
    of  N.Y.), in regards to leased land in Bertie County, and the reversionary interest of the Tuscarora Indians.


                                1913
State Senator, and future Governor of North Carolina Angus W. McLean, along with his political protégé Doctor Fuller Lowry, nephew of Henry
Berry Lowrie, successfully led the way in having tribal name changed once again. March 11, 1913, “ The General Assembly of North Carolina do
enact: Section 1. That Chapter Two Hundred and fifteen of the public Laws of North Carolina, session one thousand nine hundred and eleven, be,
and the same is hereby, amended by striking out in the last line of said section one the words “Indians of Robeson County,” and inserting in lieu
thereof the words “Cherokee Indians of Robeson County.”
  •        This was done in part with the help of testimony given by A.W. McLean as to “his” opinion of the ancestry of Robeson County Indians.
  •        McLean also mentions Judge Giles Lietch, who also wrote about “his” opinion regarding origin.
  •        Some writers have written that a "Col. John Lowry", who signed a treaty on behalf of the Cherokee, was an ancestor of the Lowrys in
    Robeson County, but this is not true. There is no connection.


                           1914-1915
Senate Document 677 (McPherson Report), provides information regarding House Committee on Indian Affairs letter from A.W. McLean,
regarding the origins of local Indians. It also questions Mr. McMillan’s theory of origins.
  •        “In the statement referred to Mr. McLean said in part:   …We are of the opinion that they were originally a part of the Cherokee Tribe
    of Indians, which inhabited the western and central portions of Carolina before the advance of the white man. Indeed, Mr. McMillan, in his
    account before referred to, takes the position that they are of Cherokee decent, though we confess that we can not reconcile this contention
    with his main contention that they are descendants of Gov. Whites or Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colony….” (Page 17-18 Senate Doc. 677 63rd
    Congress)
  •        Page 19 of same report says; “… The strongest and most persistent tradition of the Robeson County Indians is that their ancestors were
    a part of the “lost colony”; and it seems most probable that the lost colony, if amalgamated with any Indian tribe (which seems historically
    certain), amalgamated with a coast tribe and not with a “mountain tribe” residing 300 miles to the westward, between whom and the coast
    settlements three or four hostile tribes were interposed. In this connection it should not be overlooked that at the time of the great Tuscarora
    War, the Coree and the Hatteras Indians, who resided on the coast, were firm allies of the Tuscarora; in fact, they could not have maintained
    their position on the coast as against the tribes farther west and southwest except through a firm alliance with the stronger Tuscaroras.” (Senate
    Doc. 677 63rd Congress)
  •        Page 71, of the same report, written by Samuel A’ Court Ashe, it says; “…The Indian account places Pananiock, where White’s colony
    settled, between the Moratoc and Chowan rivers, …...but he was probably correct in locating the settlement north of the Moratoc River. It was
    between the Moratoc and the Chowan that Lane observed the “goodly highlands,” and that location being substantially “fifty miles in the
    interior” from Roanoke Island, it is there we would expect to find the place of permanent settlement.” (Moratoc is actually the Roanoke River)




                                 1916
July 12, 1916, leases on Tuscarora reservation lands in Bertie County expire and land illegally reverts to the state due to the fact that there are
supposedly no “recognized” Tuscarora still in within North Carolina.

Also this year, Preston Locklear, and William Deese pass away, both with gravestones with the Acronym; TOTE, which stands for, "Tuscaroras of
the East".


                                1928
Mohawk delegation arrives from St.Regis, New York, led by Chief Snow. The delegation helps members of the Brooks settlement in building a long
house, and re-teaching the people their ancient culture, which had been lost.
  •        Longhouse activities continue until 1951, and shuts down because of pressure from local churches, one of which buys the land on which
    the longhouse stood. Reverend D.F. Lowry would end up buying it on behalf of the Prospect Methodist Church in the 1940's.
1933
John Reed Swanton writes “his” theory as to the origins of local Indians, this time choosing the name Cheraw as the most probable origin.
  •        This begins the “Siouan” era, with many local Indians accepting this theory it seems, solely because of Mr. Swanton’s “educational
    background”, and not on any empirical evidence.
  •        Siouan is a native “linguistic stock”, not a tribal designation. Tuscarora and Cherokee are part of the “Iroquois” linguistic stock.

                                 1935
April 8, 1935, Felix A. Cohen, author of “Federal Indian Law”, responds to Commissioner of Indian Affairs regarding eligibility of local Indians
receiving recognition and services under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

                                  1936
April 8,1936, Felix Cohen again writes regarding the recognition process of our people. In this letter he states; “…I should think that Mr. McNickle’s
estimate that of the 12,404 listed in the census of 1930 there ought to be at least several hundred entitled to recognition as of one half or more
Indian blood is probably quite conservative….
  •        Carl Seltzer, Harvard Anthropologist, conducts so called “study” of only 209 local Indians, using archaic, unreliable and detrimental
    means. Determines only “22” individuals found to be ½ or more in 1938. No other group of indigenous people has been subjected to the
    same treatment, due to the capricious outcome.
  •        Before determinations are finalized, Federal Government unilaterally changes agreements and direction of what was named “Pembroke
    Farms”, by transferring control from Interior Department to Agricultural Department.
  •        Most applications contain tribal affiliation as "Souian", but this is only because the "Souian Council" was responsible for initiating the
    testing. Most applicants were illiterate, and therefore blindly accepted the "current" Souian theory, propagated by the "educated" Indians of
    Pembroke.
  •        Kermit Lowry, son of D.F. Lowry is tested by seltzer, stating in his application that he is of Tuscarora and Cherokee descent, and his
    wife is of Tuscarora descent. He was a school teacher. His application is the only one known, in which they did not claim Souian.


                                  1938
October 22, 1938, the Federal Government initiates a 99year lease with the “Red Banks Mutual Association”, an offshoot of Pembroke Farms, for
1713 acres of land.
  •        Federal Government begins selling the land purchased for the 22, under the guise of “Mineral Rights”, with the Federal Government
    retaining ¾ of all interest in land, and years later, again giving new deeds, this time giving all rights to buyer for one dollar.
  •        This lease is supposedly filed in Robeson County courthouse in Book 8z Page 466, but when you go to this book and page you only
    find the deed from Jesse Fletcher whom the Federal government bought the land from in 1937. This shows the fact that this lease has been
    covered up by Robeson County officials.

                                  1939

The "22" are finally sent letters from BIA acknowledging their status as 1/2 or more as individuals, but ultimately denies "tribal" recognition. The
reason they deny full recognition is because they say that the people here have no treaties with the U.S. Government.
  •         In these letters sent, the Government says that land will not be able to be bought, yet they had already bought over 9,000 acres for a
    reservation.
  •        The government is able to use this as an excuse due to the fact that North Carolina had named the people here with names that had no
    history of treaties.
  •        Had the correct name been given in 1885, this excuse would not be valid.


                                  1945

October 25, 1945, William Zimmerman Jr. (Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs), writes an internal memorandum to C. Scott Noble,
(Assistant Administrator of Farm Security Administration), in regards to the sale of approximately 3,000 acres of the Reservation Land.
  •        In part,“…I came away nevertheless with the definite conviction that the recent sale of approximately 3,000 acres of alleged surplus lands
    was a mistake. I believe that these lands should have been held for the future use of the present project clients or of new clients to come…”

                                   1951
Robesonian Historical edition in February recaps previous articles from past issues. On page 4G, is a full page spread regarding origins of “Robeson
Indians”, under the caption “Ancient Maps”, Mary Livermore, for whom the UNCP library is named, writes; “Ancient maps locate Indian
settlements  on the Moratoc and lower Neuse rivers, described to Captain John Smith as places of refuge for  men clothed and living in houses who
had escaped Powatan’s slaughter of the English on Roanoke. These very locations are those claimed by Indian traditions as their former homes.
Going up the Neuse river they would reach the Sampson county settlement near the Coharie rivers. Not only the rivers but old Indian trails would
make travel from there to Robeson very easy.  Gov. A.W. McLean said that the principal one of these roads was the old Lowrie road, still to be
found near Pembroke, and that on this road “they had settlements on the Neuse River, on the Cape Fear, Lumbee, and as far as the Santee in
South Carolina. Their principle settlement was along the Lumbee.”


                                  1953
North Carolina once again changes tribal name, this time to, “Lumbee”.
  •     Out of over 20,000 Indians in the area, only 10% voted for the name.


                                 1955
Tuscarora of New York take initial steps to file a suit with newly created “Indian Claims Commission”, for lands and monies in North Carolina.

Also in 1955, Orme Lewis, Assistant Secretary of the Interior opposes the passage of the Lumbee Bill (H.R. 4656) with a letter to the Hon. Clair
Engle. The letter states in part; "...The United States has entered into no treaty or agreement with the Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties,
and it has recognized no obligation to furnish to them services that are furnished to the citizens of this country who are recognized by the Congress
as Indians."
  •    Once again, the government is able to use this as their rationalization for denying our peoples government to government relationship. Of
    course, they would not have been able to use this excuse if we had been called by our truthful name, Tuscarora.


                                 1956
Senator Carlyle, D.F. Lowry, and others, successfully have passed, federal legislation naming “all” Indians in Robeson and surrounding Counties, as
“Lumbee”.

  •        This was also meant as an attempt to once and for all, circumvent, and negate what the “original 22” had been given years before.
  •        This was also designed to wipe away any chance of a Tuscarora tribe being recognized again in North Carolina.
  •        This is the only “tribe” ever created by Congress. (American Indian Dictionary)     

                                 1957
Tuscarora of New York attempt to lay claim to lands and monies, in the Indian Claims Commission, but are denied, saying that only “friendly
recognized Tuscarora” still in North Carolina have claim. (Indian Claims Commission Docket #321)
  •        North Carolina welcomes this ruling, confident that the “Lumbee Act” ensures that no “friendly recognized Tuscarora” group in North
    Carolina will never again become a reality, and as such, will never threaten the state with lands claims.


                                 1959
April 2, 1959, several Iroquois from New York, including renowned Tuscarora, Wallace “Mad Bear” Anderson, visit Robeson County to talk with
leaders of the newly created “Lumbee Tribe”. Secondly, was for Mad Bear to meet Rev. D. F. Lowry, who was known to be a Tuscarora himself.
Lowry was supposedly unable to be contacted. (Robesonian Article and photographs, April 2, 1959)

                                  1964
The “Lumbee Recreation Center” buys 392 acres of “Red Banks” land, still under lease, from Federal Government.
  •        Many Indians, including many of the remaining federally recognized “22” and their families, join, becoming members of the recreation
    center.


                                 1968
Congress amends Public Law 280, pertaining to civil and criminal jurisdiction over tribes and the states in which their lands exist. States would be
required to obtain permission from Indians, or to amend their State’s constitution, to impose, and or continue civil and criminal jurisdiction over
“Federally recognized” Indians. The 1968 amendment also provided authority for states that had previously assumed jurisdiction over any Indian
lands to retro cede that jurisdiction to the tribes. (82 U.S. Stat. 73) (taken from handbook of American Indians, volume 4, page 235)
  •        Red Banks Mutual Association (still under Federal Lease) is suddenly dissolved.
  •        Regional Development Association is created, subsequently changing its name to Lumbee Regional Development Association.
  •        LRDA from its conception is under North Carolina law and jurisdiction.
  •        LRDA begins to act as titular head of Lumbee government, years later issuing Tribal enrollment cards.
  •        LRDA begins to be used by North Carolina as “Propaganda Machine”, by this time, certain Indians themselves rewriting their own
    history to appease the state.


                                 1970
Eastern Carolina Indian Organization is formed in Prospect, creating the first overtly organized Tuscarora Group in many years in Robeson County.
  •        Name is subsequently renamed to Eastern Carolina Tuscarora Indian Organization.
  •        This group consisted of the 8 surviving “22” individuals, who begin attempting to reassert their rights given to them over thirty years
    before.

                                 1971
North Carolina names Croatans in Sampson County, Coharie. The law reads; The Indians now living in Harnett and Sampson and adjoining
counties of North Carolina, originally found by the first white settlers on the Coharie River in Sampson County, and claiming descent from certain
tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina, shall, from and after July 20, 1971, be designated and officially
recognized as the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina and shall continue to enjoy all their rights, privileges and immunities as citizens of the State as
now or hereafter provided by law, and shall continue to be subject to all the obligations and duties of citizens under the law. (1977, 2nd Sess., c.
1193, s. 1.)
  •        These people are of the same blood as in Robeson County, with the same surnames.
  •        It has been written that the word Coharie is a Tuscarora word, meaning driftwood.

ECTIO officially petitions the secretary of Interior for a reservation to be established for the Tuscarora of N.C.in the early months of 1971, which
consisted of the 8 surviving "22" individuals.


                                  1972
In November of 1972, several dozen Tuscarora from Robeson County take part in the BIA takeover of Washington D.C., during what was called
the "Trail of Broken Treaties". President Nixon arranges for the takeover to end just before the election, and allowed two trucks loaded with
documents from the BIA, to leave, and come all the way to Robeson county.
  •      Two weeks later, which was after the election, the FBI raids the Home of Pap Locklear, in which a gun battle ensues. Eventually, they
    arrest Pap Locklear, Elias Rogers, and  Keever Locklear, and report that they recovered over two thousand pounds of documents, taken from
    the BIA.
  •        In this same time frame, Wounded Knee was taking place, in South Dakota.                        
         
                                 1973
Vestie Locklear and Lawrence Maynor sue in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for a declaratory judgment against the BIA for
denying their rights under the IRA.
  •        This case is soon dismissed in favor of the Government, which is subsequently appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond V.A.
  •         The attorney is Tom Toureen, working through the Native American Rights Fund(NARF)

                                 1975
April 4, 1975 Court of Appeals finds in favor of Maynor appeal, reversing and remanding to the District Court to carry out declaratory ruling in
favor of Plaintiffs.

October 10th, 1975, the Fayetteville Observer prints an article about Chief Arnold Hewitt of the Tuscarora Nation of New York, which again
mentions the 1971 Doe SkinTreaty made with North Carolina. Also in this article, Mr. Hewitt denies any connection to the "Lumbee".

                             1977
The surviving eight "22" write another petition, asking for land in Prospect to be taken into "trust" by the Secretary of Interior, and asking for the
BIA to follow through with the Maynor Decision.

                           1978-1982
Congress creates recognition procedures for determining “recognition”, giving the Federal government another delaying tactic in dealing with local
Tuscarora.

                             1980
Assistant Solicitor Scott Keep writes another opinion letter regarding the rights of the "22" to determine "who" would be allowed as a member.

                              1982
On or about July 14th , Lawrence Maynor and other Tuscarora citizens are arrested for breaking and entering, and criminal trespass for occupying
the Red Banks property under the 1938 lease. At their trial, District attorney Joe Freeman Britt does not allow lease to be shown as their defense.
Mr. Maynor and the others respond by beginning to prepare a Federal Lawsuit on this matter.

                             1983
As early as March of 1983, the State of North Carolina begins to buy back all of the 1713 acres of the 1938 lease land, and subsequently designate
the land as the “North Carolina Indian Cultural Center.” (Robeson County register of deeds)
  •        Many feel that this occurred due to the fact that Lawrence Maynor and others were preparing a lawsuit about this land, and creating this
    so-called “cultural center” was an attempt to minimize the backlash about the land.

                             1985
By this time, the Lumbee leadership, which is still LRDA, have begun to undermine, and minimize the relevance of Tuscarora groups within
Robeson County. For example:

                             1986
July 22, Bill Ott, Eastern Area Director of the BIA, writes Senator Carl Levin in regards to Tuscarora still living in North Carolina. In part, “…the
Bureau determined that there was twenty-two (22) descendants Tuscarora Indians of one-half ½ degree or more blood quantum living in North
Carolina. This determination was apparently based upon an anthropological study performed in the mid-thirties…”  


                              1987
Tuscarora Tribe of N.C; along with citizen Lawrence Maynor, writes Ross Swimmer, asking once again for Maynor vs. Morton to be carried out, by
acknowledging the Tuscarora Tribe.
  •        Once again, the tribe is told they must petition through the BIA petitioning process.

                             1988
Timothy Jacobs, Bear Clan, takes over Robesonian Newspaper in Lumberton N.C. on February 1st,  “to call attention to corruption in Robeson
County Government and the Sheriffs department in the treatment of Native Americans, and to call attention to unsolved murders in area.”
(Quoted by Timothy Jacobs)

                             1989

August 30, Scott Keep writes to Roy Maynor stating; "...The decision in Maynor v. Morton does not affect any group of Indians seeking recognition,
including those to whom you refer to as the "Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina."

October 23rd of this year, yet another Solicitor’s opinion determines that the Lumbee Act of 1956 prohibits the BIA Branch of Acknowledgement,
from making determinations on petitions from LRDA, Hatteras Tuscaroras, Tuscarora Nation of N.C., Cherokee of Hoke County, and
Waccamaw Siouan.
  •        This letter is received only a few months before the Tuscarora Tribe of N.C. petition is finished and submitted on December 5.
  •        This "new opinion” effectively stops both Tuscarora petitions from being considered.
  •        This is also in contradiction of the Maynor decision of 1975.

                             1994
The Tuscarora Tribe of N.C. Inc., Tuscarora Nation of N.C. Inc., and Tuscarora Cherokee of Hoke County, form what is to be known as the
Tuscarora Nation of the Kautanoh confederacy.
  •         These groups inform the BIA that they are now to be considered as one petitioning group in 1995.

                             1997
Tuscarora Nation of the Kautanoh, a confederation of several Tuscarora groups in the area, have the first Tuscarora recognition Bill (105th
Congress, H.R. 4693) introduced.
  •        While preparing the bill, it is learned that the BIA has denied the existence of Tuscarora Tribe of N.C. petition, which is subsequently
    found in the now non-active file of the “Hatteras Tuscarora” file.

  •        This bill eventually dies, due to the time taken for the impeachment hearings of President Clinton.



                             2000
The movie, “Through Native eyes”, is filmed in Robeson County, about Henry Berry Lowrie. The cast included direct descendants of Henry, as
well as other Tuscarora descendants.  
  •        Library of Congress accepts it into its collection as being historically accurate.
  •        Congressman McIntyre chooses the film to represent the 7th district in the Library of Congress “Local Legacy Program”.


                             2002
After centuries of lies and deceit, individuals put their destiny in their own hands.

  •        United Nations of Turtle Island is established, in part by Tuscarora people for the purpose of correcting the wrongs committed against
    them for so long.
  •        Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation is established for the purpose of reunification of The Tuscarora Nation.
  •        Several families reissue their lands into the United Nations of Turtle Island, and or Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation, thus beginning to
    reassert their inherent sovereignty.


                             2003
Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation files suit in Washington D.C. against the United States of America, and the State of North Carolina, attempting to
have Maynor decision upheld and recognition finally reaffirmed after almost 125 years of waiting.
  •       This case is filed Pro Se, because an attorney is not able to be obtained for almost two years.
  •       The Maynor family lands that have been transferred into the Nation, are hijacked by certain individuals outside of Pembroke, with the
    assistance of all levels of the Robeson County, and State of North Carolina Governments.  This includes collusion between the local sheriff's
    department, Robeson County justice system, the State EPA office, and attorney Ed Bullard acting in a conflict of interest while a justice of the
    Lumbee Supreme Court.
  •         This has occurred, to prohibit the Nation from creating economic development on this property, and this problem has caused the delay
    of an environmental cleanup of underground gas tanks on this property, which is only a few hundred yards from the Lumber River.
  •         As of 2006, this problem still exists, with the state of N.C. not helping at all.

                             2005

April 4, 2005 is the 30 year anniversary of Maynor decision, with the descendants of the "22" still being denied their rights.
  •        Several months prior to the dismissal, an attorney is finally obtained, yet court refuses to allow him to represent Plaintiffs. We attempted
    to submit a amended complaint with the help of attorney Barry Nakell, yet were continually denied. This is when we decided to file the
    amended complaint with new evidence ProSe, and hope that the attorney would be able to join the suit eventually.
  •        On Friday July 8th, the judge dismisses lawsuit, re iterating the "Justice" Department's contentions that Roy Maynor lacked standing to
    bring case.
  •        On the following Monday morning, the state highway department cross Cabinet Shop Road, which is the edge of the lands being asked
    for in lawsuit.
  •        The dismissal "paves"  the way for Interstate 74's continued construction.
  •        Plaintiffs file a motion for reconsideration by Court, but is denied again.
  •        Plaintiffs file Appeal of the District Court's decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which is the same court
    that decided the Maynor decision in 1975.

                             2006

January 21, 2006, a Fayetteville Observer article named "Post officials consult with tribes", in which it tells how Fort Bragg is dealing with
"recognized" Tribes, and was quoting Chief Stuart Patterson of the Tuscarora Nation of New York.
  •      None of the Tuscarora groups centered around Robeson County are contacted for this meeting, yet we are only 25 miles south of Ft.
    Bragg.
  •      Nevertheless, this article finally acknowledges that Ft. Bragg is Tuscarora ancestral lands, after years of claiming it was Siouan territory.

February 9th, 2006, the Maynor V. Norton lawsuit filed in 2005 with the Court of Appeals is summarily dismissed, in favor of the United States of
America, and the State of North Carolina.

March 31, 2006, another suit is filed in U.S. District Court, The District of Columbia, similar to the one filed in 2003, but this time with two of
Lawrence Maynor's "full" sisters as lead plaintiffs, along with Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation.    
On October 30, 2006, several dozen Tuscarora people, from several groups, occupy the site of Fort Neoheroka in an attempt to stop the farming
of the property, and ultimately protect the land from further exploitation.



This chronology is by no means, complete, and continually evolving. There are many gaps in this history, which have yet to be filled. Some of which
will come to light in the future, yet most of what has been suppressed and or lost, may never be known. This, as written, will give the reader a
“different view” of our people’s history, compared to the acceptable, revised history that has long been propagandized for well over a century. Some
may say that most of this is only conjecture, and trivialize what is said. So be it. This “theory” still carries more weight and credibility than the
current, “ accepted” history the Lumbee leadership, State of North Carolina and United States Governments profess.  Please take a look at the
Lumbee Tribe's "Official Timeline"(as of May 10, 2006), and compare it, with this one. Which one sounds more plausible in regards to the history
of our people prior to 1956?  

All information contained within, is verifiable by written evidence for those who care.


SKAROREH KATENUAKA NATION
COPYRIGHT 1492-2009 All Rights Reserved.