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Allied Native Americans Of Virginia |
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The purpose of this site was to awaken
the spirit of our American Indian ancestors that live on in so many of the
people of Patrick County and surrounding counties. When the white man first ventured into this
region, there were very few white women who accompanied these first
explorers. Man being what he is, they
took unto themselves maidens from the local tribes. Due to man’s inhumanity against man,
circumstances later dictated that the offspring of these unions were
cautioned to keep quiet about their ancestry.
As a result, the only clue many of us had about our Indian heritage
was family legends; “One of my g-grandmothers was Indian.” The only records, and these are very
scarce, many have been able to find is
that back in the past an ancestor was designated as “col.” We are now learning that many DNA tests are
revealing percentages of Native American genes, not African American as so
many have believed. If you have been told from childhood
that you have American Indian ancestors, I would urge you to research your
ancestors. Listen to what your
parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts have to say. The laws varied in
different states, here in Virginia
authorities told us that “all of the Indians are either dead or they have
left the state.” Go to Google and type
in the name Dr. Plecker. The results
will tell you what happened to any
person who claimed to be Indian. As a child, I was told of my Cherokee
heritage, but we were cautioned that we should never speak of it. Finding your Indian ancestors will not be
easy, it will take much patience and perseverance. Once you can chart a clear lineage to an
Indian ancestor, research the tribes in your area, join and become active in
the growth of that tribe. The journey
will be rewarding! To all of you, May the warm winds of
Heaven blow softly on your home, and the Great Spirit bless all who enter
there. Eunice “Yellow Bird” Kirkman |
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Blue Panther |
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Yellow Bird |
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Doug Belcher |
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Before The White Man This begins
a series describing brief histories of tribes that either
lived, or hunted in the south western part of Virginia. At one point in
our history Virginia included what is now West Virginia Ohio,
Tennessee, Kentucky, and some of the other eastern states that gradually
formed and broke away from Virginia.
It leaves researchers today
sometimes confused about tribal locations. THE SHAWNEE Before
white men came to the area now known as Tennessee the Cherokee˙ and Chickasaw
tribes lived in the east and west. The Shawnee tribes resided in the middle
region. The Shawnee tribes used the lands in the East Tennessee area for
their hunting grounds. In the time that the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Shawnee
tribes were established in the Tennessee area the Natchez Indians lived in
the lower Mississippi Valley, and the Yuchi Indians settled the areas that
are now South Carolina and Georgia. The Creek
tribes lived in the areas that are now Georgia, Alabama, and northern
Florida. A few Creek settlements reached as far north as the Tennessee area.
In the early 1700?s the powerful Cherokee Indians pushed the Creek tribes out
of the Tennessee region. The Natchez
Indians were driven from their lower Mississippi home by the French in the
early eighteenth century. They retreated into the Tennessee area at this
time. Being scattered they were absorbed into various other tribes. In the
eighteenth century the British forced the Yuchi Indians out of South Carolina
and Georgia. The Yuchi went to live with the Creek Indians. Some Yuchi moved
into the Tennessee area at this time. Some experts think the Yuchi lived in
Tennessee before this, but the records are confused. The
Cherokee Indians were the most powerful of all these groups. Historians
record some fifty to eighty Cherokee towns in the southern Appalachian
Mountains with a population of perhaps as much as 22,000. This powerful group
forced all the other tribes out of the East Tennessee area in the eighteenth
century and lived in this area until they themselves were forced out in the
nineteenth century by the United States Army, i. e. ?The Trail of Tears?. Although
any of the tribes mentioned earlier may have lived in the area that is now
Johnson County the tribes that were most likely to have settled before being
forced out by the Cherokee were the Creek, Yuchi, and Shawnee. As the
Cherokee Nation became powerful in the eighteenth century they forced
the other tribes to leave the area. The Cherokee were the Indian tribe that
white men encountered when they explored this region. The Cherokee signed
treaties establishing land boundaries between the white men and Indians. The
Cherokee used the region that is now Johnson County mainly for hunting
grounds although evidence exists that the area was also used as burial
grounds. In 1954 a cave was discovered while workmen
were blasting at the Maymead Quarry. Fifty skeletons as well as beads and
ornaments were found. Artifacts found here dated back approximately 1000
years. Another
burial site was found in 1990 in the Cherokee National Forest near Watauga
Lake. The skeleton remains dated as far back as 800 to 900 AD and were from a
pre Cherokee people. This burial site was named the Lake Hole Mortuary Cave.
The cave also contained 6,029 bead and pottery fragments. Arrowheads,
pottery, ax heads, and skeleton remains have been discovered throughout the
county, but mostly in Shady Valley and near the Roan Creek areas. East of the River Shawnee |
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Native
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Graphics and
Designs Courtesy of:
Blackhawk Designs and Backgrounds
Carla’s Graphic and Web Design Music by Elan
Michaels |
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This site is a work in progress. Please be patient and visit often for
changes. |
