Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
Encyclopedia
The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation are descendants of the historic Saponi
and other Siouan-speaking Indians
who occupied the Piedmont
of North Carolina
and Virginia
. The community is located primarily in Pleasant Grove Township, Alamance County, North Carolina
. The tribe maintains an office in Mebane
, where it carries out programs to benefit the roughly 701 enrolled tribal members.
Limited documentation exists linking members of the tribe to the historical Occaneechi and Saponi tribes. After warfare in the Southeast in the 18th century, most of the remaining Saponi tribe members went north in 1740 for protection with the Iroquois
. After the American Revolution
, they relocated with the Iroquois in Canada, as they had been allies of the British.
After the war and migration, the Saponi disappeared from the historical record in the Southeast, in part because of racial discrimination that often included them in records only as free blacks or free people of color
, when the states and federal government had no category in censuses for American Indian
. In addition, because slavery became essentially a racial caste, southern society tended to classify people with any African ancestry as black, rather than recognizing mixed ancestry. This was especially true in the late 19th and early 20th century, after white Democrats regained control of state legislatures across the South and imposed a binary system of racial segregation
.
Remnant Saponi who stayed in North Carolina were mostly acculturated. The community was traditionally located at the old "Little Texas" community of Pleasant Grove Township, where the tribe owns 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) of land. In the twentieth century, the tribe worked to revive its cultural traditions. It is developing a tribal center facility. This will include a reconstructed 1700 Occaneechi village, museum, log farm from the 1880s, community meeting space, and classroom areas.
Although the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs (NCCIA) originally opposed granting recognition, an administrative law judge found that the Occaneechi-Saponi met the established guidelines and recommended that the commission grant tribal recognition to the petitioners. This recommendation became the final decision of the case when the NCCIA failed to issue a final decision within the time limits set forth in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 150B-44 (1991).
The NCCIA appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court of North Carolina denied review and dissolved a temporary stay in 2001. (see 354 N.C. 365, 556 S.E.2d 575 (2001). This meant that the recommendation of the administrative judge held.
Saponi
Saponi is one of the eastern Siouan-language tribes, related to the Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan, Manahoac and other eastern Siouan peoples. Its ancestral homeland was in North Carolina and Virginia. The tribe was long believed extinct, as its members migrated north to merge with other tribes...
and other Siouan-speaking Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
who occupied the Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The community is located primarily in Pleasant Grove Township, Alamance County, North Carolina
Alamance County, North Carolina
Alamance County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It coincides with the Burlington, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. The tribe maintains an office in Mebane
Mebane, North Carolina
Mebane is a city located mostly in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States, with a part of it in Orange County, North Carolina. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 10,624. According to the , the town was named for...
, where it carries out programs to benefit the roughly 701 enrolled tribal members.
Limited documentation exists linking members of the tribe to the historical Occaneechi and Saponi tribes. After warfare in the Southeast in the 18th century, most of the remaining Saponi tribe members went north in 1740 for protection with the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
. After the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, they relocated with the Iroquois in Canada, as they had been allies of the British.
After the war and migration, the Saponi disappeared from the historical record in the Southeast, in part because of racial discrimination that often included them in records only as free blacks or free people of color
Free people of color
A free person of color in the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, is a person of full or partial African descent who was not enslaved...
, when the states and federal government had no category in censuses for American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. In addition, because slavery became essentially a racial caste, southern society tended to classify people with any African ancestry as black, rather than recognizing mixed ancestry. This was especially true in the late 19th and early 20th century, after white Democrats regained control of state legislatures across the South and imposed a binary system of racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
.
Remnant Saponi who stayed in North Carolina were mostly acculturated. The community was traditionally located at the old "Little Texas" community of Pleasant Grove Township, where the tribe owns 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) of land. In the twentieth century, the tribe worked to revive its cultural traditions. It is developing a tribal center facility. This will include a reconstructed 1700 Occaneechi village, museum, log farm from the 1880s, community meeting space, and classroom areas.
Recognition
The Occaneechi-Saponi Band is recognized by the state of North Carolina.Although the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs (NCCIA) originally opposed granting recognition, an administrative law judge found that the Occaneechi-Saponi met the established guidelines and recommended that the commission grant tribal recognition to the petitioners. This recommendation became the final decision of the case when the NCCIA failed to issue a final decision within the time limits set forth in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 150B-44 (1991).
The NCCIA appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court of North Carolina denied review and dissolved a temporary stay in 2001. (see 354 N.C. 365, 556 S.E.2d 575 (2001). This meant that the recommendation of the administrative judge held.