Saponi
Total population
Unknown
Regions with significant populations
Originally from Virginia and North Carolina, many later relocated to Ontario
United States (Virginia)  United States (North Carolina)  Canada (Ontario)
Language(s)
Tutelo-Saponi (extinct), English
Religion(s)
Indigenous Religion, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan, Manahoac, possibly Saura, other eastern Siouan tribes

Saponi, also spelled Sappony is the name of one of the eastern Siouan tribes, related to the Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan, Manahoac and other eastern Siouan peoples, whose ancestral homeland is in North Carolina and Virginia. Two Saponi bands currently have state recognition in North Carolina: the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and the Haliwa-Saponi. Several other groups and organizations currently claim Saponi ancestry, including the Mahenips Band of the Saponi Nation in the remote Ozark hills with its headquarters in West Plains, Missouri, the Saponi Descendents Association based in Texas, and the Saponi Nation of Ohio. A number of Native American communities also claim to be descendants of the Saponi through Melungeon lines, such as the Carmel Indians of Carmel, Ohio, and a group in Magoffin County, Kentucky.^{[citation needed]} This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... This article is about the Canadian province. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This article is about the Canadian province. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... TUTELO is a name classification referring to Indians who historically resided from the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia down to the valleys of the Mayo and Dan Rivers in North Carolina. ... The Occaneechi are Native Americans related to the Saponi, Tutelo, Monacan, and other eastern Siouan peoples living in the Piedmont region of present-day North Carolina and Virginia. ... The Monacan are an Indian tribe in Virginia, located in Amherst County, Virginia near Lynchburg, Virginia. ... The Manahoac were a small group of native Americans. ... The Saura Indians lived in a village near what is now called Sauratown Mountain in the piedmont area of North Carolina just east of Pilot Mountain and North of the Yadkin River. ... Siouan is a family of related Native American languages in North America. ... Siouan is a family of related Native American languages in North America. ... TUTELO is a name classification referring to Indians who historically resided from the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia down to the valleys of the Mayo and Dan Rivers in North Carolina. ... The Occaneechi are Native Americans related to the Saponi, Tutelo, Monacan, and other eastern Siouan peoples living in the Piedmont region of present-day North Carolina and Virginia. ... The Monacan are an Indian tribe in Virginia, located in Amherst County, Virginia near Lynchburg, Virginia. ... Siouan is a family of related Native American languages in North America. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation are the descendants of the Saponi and other Siouan-speaking Indians who occupied the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. ... See Haliwa-saponi ... Ozark redirects here. ... West Plains is a city in Howell County, Missouri, United States. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Melungeon (mÉ›lÊŒndÊ’ÊŒn) is a term traditionally applied to one of a number of tri-racial isolate groups of the Southeastern United States, mainly in the Cumberland Gap area of central Appalachia: east Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and east Kentucky. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Magoffin County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. ...

History

The first known contact between European settlers and the Saponi was recorded in 1670 when John Lederer visited a Saponi village near Charlotte Court House, Virginia. In 1671 Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam led an expedition that passed through the same village as well as a second in Long Island in Campbell County, Virginia. The Saponi, as well as the closely related Occaneechi, were brutally and unjustifiably attacked by settlers during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 after raids from the unrelated Doeg tribe. The Saponis were nearly decimated at this point and they moved to settle three islands with their allies the Occaneechis and Tutelos at the confluence of the Dan River and the Staunton River in Clarksville.^[1] John Lederer, was a doctor and an explorer of the Appalachian Mountains. ... Charlotte Court House is the county seat of Charlotte County, Virginia, United States. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Campbell County is a county located in the state of Virginia. ... Bacons Rebellion or the Virginia Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony, led by Nathaniel Bacon. ... TUTELO is a name classification referring to Indians who historically resided from the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia down to the valleys of the Mayo and Dan Rivers in North Carolina. ... The Dan River flows in both North Carolina and Virginia, USA. It arises in the state of Virginia in Patrick County and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. ... The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, approximately 410 mi (660 km) long. ... Clarksville is a town located in Virginia. ...

At the start of the 18th century, the Saponi and their two related tribes began moving between North Carolina and Virginia in an attempt to gain security with both the colonial governments and with several other tribes. They fought unceasingly with the northern Iroquois and also fought a war against the Tuscaroras. One record from 1728 indicated that Colonel William Byrd II made a survey of the border between Virginia and North Carolina with a Saponi hunter named Ned Bearskin as his guide. Byrd made note of several abandoned fields of corn, indicating serious disturbance among the local tribes. In 1740 a group of Saponis and Tutelos in Pennsylvania surrendered to the Iroqouis and joined them. After most of the Iroqouis sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War, the Saponis and Tutelos who had joined them were exiled to Canada along with their new allies after defeat by the Americans. After this point, recorded history is silent on the behalf of the tribe.^[1] For other uses, see Iroquois (disambiguation). ... The Tuscarora are an American Indian tribe originally in North Carolina, which moved north to New York, and then partially into Canada. ... William Byrd IIII (1674-1744) was born at Westover Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, and educated in England for the law. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about military actions only. ...

Genealogical researchers with ancestors called "Blackfoot" from the eastern United States frequently find the term meant Saponi. Apparently Saponis who joined white, black, Cherokee, Melungeon and Goinstown Indian communities were frequently called "Blackfoot", supposedly because of wearing black moccasins. Their descendants are now forming groups using names such as "Eastern Blackfoot", "Southern Blackfoot" or just the "Other Blackfoot" to distinguish them from the Blackfoot of Montana,Idaho and Canada.^[2] For other uses, see Blackfoot (disambiguation). ...

Language

There is very little extant information on the now extinct Saponi language. According to William Byrd II, the Saponi spoke the same language as the Occaneechi and the Stenkenock, and it was probably the same as that spoken by the Meipontsky. By the time linguistic data was recorded, these related eastern Siouan tribes had settled together at Fort Christianna in Brunswick County, Virginia. While the language of the Tutelos was fairly well recorded by Horatio Hale, that of the Saponi is known from only two sources. It is unclear how the language spoken by the Saponi differed from that of the Tutelo, if at all. One source is a word list of 46 terms and phrases recorded by John Fontaine at Fort Christianna in 1716. The other is a few translated creek names given by William Byrd in his History of the Dividing Line betwixt Virginia and North Carolina in 1728. Fontaine's list is problematic with only 16 to 20 entries actually being Siouan, while the others are Iroquoian and Algonquian. Bryd's scant list also proved to include several unrelated Indian names. ^[3] William Byrd IIII (1674-1744) was born at Westover Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, and educated in England for the law. ... The Occaneechi are Native Americans related to the Saponi, Tutelo, Monacan, and other eastern Siouan peoples living in the Piedmont region of present-day North Carolina and Virginia. ... Brunswick County is a county located in the state of Virginia. ... Horatio Hale (May 3, 1817 - December 28, 1896), American ethnologist, was born in Newport, New Hampshire. ... TUTELO is a name classification referring to Indians who historically resided from the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia down to the valleys of the Mayo and Dan Rivers in North Carolina. ... Siouan is a family of related Native American languages in North America. ... The Iroquoian languages are a Native American language family. ... The Algonquian (also Algonkian) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (others are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California). ...

References

See also

• Siouan-Catawban languages

Siouan-Catawban is a language family of North America. ...

External links

• Saponi Indian Tribe History
• Searching for Saponi Town - an online community of Saponi descendants
• Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
• Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe
• Saponi Nation of Missouri, Mahenips Band
• Saponi Descendents Association [1]