The Meherrin Tribe is one of eight state-recognized tribes of Native Americans in North Carolina and received formal state recognition in 1986. The Meherrin currently have an enrollment of 557 people. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ...

The Meherrin are Iroquoian-descent Native Americans who reside in rural northeastern North Carolina, and are proximate to the river of the same name on the Virginia-North Carolina border. The Meherrin tribal seat is Winton, North Carolina and the tribe is principally located in and around the "Little California/Pleasant Plains" of Hertford County, North Carolina. Languages Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora, English, French Religions Christianity, Longhouse religion The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the League of Peace and Power; the Five Nations; the Six Nations; or the People of the Long house) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans that originally consisted of... Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,774 sq mi (110,785 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 7. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... Winton is a town located in Hertford County, North Carolina. ... Hertford County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

History

"Meherrin" means, "people of the muddy water." In the Meherrin language, the Tribe is known as "Ah-kah-weh-cha-kah" derived from the Meherrin words of water and muddy. The Meherrin are an amalgam of the Meherrin, Conestoga, or Susquehannock of upper Maryland, and were closely related to the Nottoway and Tuscarora. In 1650, Edward Bland led an expedition into the interior of Virginia colony. Accompanied by an Appamatuck guide, Bland wandered into a Meherrin village located west of present-day Emporia, Virginia, within thirty miles of where the Meherrin presently reside. Susquehannock The Susquehannock people were natives of areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N  - Longitude 75° 03′ W to 79° 29... Emporia is an independent city located within the confines of Greensville County in Virginia. ...

In the 1669 Virginia census, the Meherrin are listed as the "Menheyricks." It is possible that the influx of refugee Susquehannock who had been dispersed by the Haudenosaunee a few years earlier may have so overwhelmed the Meherrin as to give rise to the impression that subsequently they were for the most part comprised of Susquehannock. However, one should well consider that in 1720, the Meherrin concluded a treaty of peace with a number of tribal peoples in present-day Pennsylvania. The Conestoga, or Susquehannock were among those mentioned in the negotiations. // Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ... Susquehannock The Susquehannock people were natives of areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay. ... The Haudenosaunee is the traditional leadership of the Iroquois Confederacy, comprised of the six Native American nations of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora. ... Susquehannock The Susquehannock people were natives of areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Susquehannock The Susquehannock people were natives of areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay. ...

By the late seventeenth century, the Meherrin had fallen under the jurisdiction of Virginia, although Carolina colony also lay claim to their territory. The Meherrin and Virginia colony had signed a treaty in 1677. However, incursions by Virginia colony into what remained of Meherrin territory effectively nullified the treaty and the Meherrin were forced to flee southward into North Carolina. Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,774 sq mi (110,785 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 7. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ...

By 1729, the Meherrin were consigned to a reservation tract by the North Carolina General Assembly in Bertie County, now a part of Hertford County. At the time, the six-mile tract was called, "Meherrin Neck." Later, the name was changed to "Maney's Neck," and today it is called "Parker's Ferry." There was also a six mile square tract of reservation land in the Union/Beechwood Country Club area, many records of this were destroyed.North Carolina colonials began to trespass on Meherrin land as had Virginia's colonials in the previous century. Already depleted in number due to warfare and disease, the Meherrin receded into the neighboring swamps and less desirable areas of Hertford County. In order to protect what lands they had managed to salvage, the Meherrin parcelled out their tribal holdings into individually-owned lots. In so doing, and throughout the nineteenth century, the Meherrin managed to stave off as best they could, continuous incursions into their ancestral homeland. The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. ... Bertie County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Hertford County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... Hertford County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ...

External link:

• The website of the Meherrin tribe.
• Many stories about Meherrin and Chowanoke descendants are found at Marvin T. Jones' local web journal roanoke-chowan.com