Tutelo
The Tutelo are a northern Siouan Indigenous group originally from the upper Ohio Valley, who migrated into present-day Virginia and North Carolina. Their name's meaning is unclear but is thought to have been derived from a southern Indigenous language, possibly by the Iroquois. The Tutelo were first documented by English explorers in 1671, at a village called Shamokin in Virginia. Over time, they relocated to various areas, including an island in the Roanoke River and later the Yadkin River headwaters, where they engaged in hunting elk and bison. By the early 18th century, their population had declined significantly, and they sought refuge with neighboring tribes, eventually integrating into the Iroquois Confederacy by 1753.
The social structure of the Tutelo involved clan gatherings and decision-making by an Indigenous leader and council, rather than hereditary authority. Despite a decline in their distinct cultural practices and language—culminating in the last full-blooded Tutelo's death in 1871—their descendants continue to exist today, particularly within the Haliwa-Saponi community in North Carolina and the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada. The Tutelo's historical journey reflects broader themes of displacement and cultural adaptation faced by Indigenous peoples in North America.
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Tutelo
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast, Southeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Siouan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Virginia, North Carolina
The Tutelo were a northern Siouan people who came into the present-day Virginia Piedmont from the upper Ohio Valley. The meaning of the name is unknown; it was probably taken from a southern Indigenous language by the Iroquois. They were also known as Katteras or Shateras. In 1671, English explorers visited a Tutelo village, Shamokin, near present-day Salem, Virginia. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Indigenous group had moved itself to an island in the Roanoke River, near the junction of the Stanton and Dan, and shortly thereafter to the headwaters of the Yadkin River in western North Carolina, where they were able to hunt elk and bison.
By 1709, the Tutelo and five other Indigenous groups (Saponi, Occaneechi, Keyauwee, Shakiori, and Stuckanox) were estimated to total only 750 in population. For their own survival, this group of peoples gradually moved eastward, settling at Fort Christanna on the Meherrin River. Following the peace of 1722 between the Iroquois and Virginia Indigenous groups, the Tutelo, along with the Saponi, moved north, and, by 1744, had settled in Pennsylvania under the protection of the Iroquois. By then the Manahoac, Monacan, and Saponi had been mostly absorbed by the Tutelo. In 1753, they were admitted into full membership of the League of the Iroquois. In 1771, they settled on the east side of Cayuga Inlet and established a town, Coreorgonel, which was destroyed by General John Sullivan in 1779. Following this defeat, some of the Tutelo continued to live with the Cayuga and retained their own language. A remnant of the Tutelo Indigenous group relocated to near Buffalo, New York. Others settled and intermarried with the Iroquois.
Little is known about the social organization of the Tutelo except that they gathered in clans. An Indigenous leader and council made political and social decisions. It is believed that leadership was not by lineage. During the nineteenth century, cultural and linguistic material was gathered on the Tutelo by the Smithsonian Institution. The last full-blooded Tutelo died in 1871, and the last person to speak the Tutelo language died in 1898. Descendants of the Tutelo may be found in what is now the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada, reflecting the choice of some Tutelo to migrate northward with the Cayuga. Others may be found in the Haliwa-Saponi Indigenous group of North Carolina and in urban Indigenous communities in North Carolina.
Bibliography
“About NC Native Communities.” UNC American Indian Center, americanindiancenter.unc.edu/resources/about-nc-native-communities. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Estes, Roberta. “The Tutelo of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada.” Native Heritage Project, 14 Apr. 2012, nativeheritageproject.com/2012/04/14/the-tutelo-of-virginia-pennsylvania-new-york-and-canada. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
“Tutelo Tribe.” Access Genealogy, accessgenealogy.com/north-carolina/tutelo-tribe.htm. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Wolfe, Brendan. "Virginia Indians." Encyclopedia Virginia, 7 Dec. 2020, encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/indians-in-virginia/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.