OCCANEECHI-SAPONI

The Occaneechi and Saponi Indians were a tribe of Native Americans that once reigned in the Southeast. Today, many descendants of these fine people are still here. After spending some time around these folks, I learned a great deal about the history of the Saponi. This led me into a study of one of my own family lines, the Hathcock Family. I have a basic family tree below to illustrate my relations to the line for your reference. It is a known fact that the family name of Haithcock/Hathcock shows up as one of the founding families of the Little Texas community which is the current home of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. See the links below for further, particularly the History of the Occaneechi Band.

The Hathcock involvement with the tribe has created a division amoung researchers concerning this idea. Many have heard of indian blood in their families and many have not. Therefore, it creates a problem as to whether or not you can prove their Indianess. As stated on my book page, when dealing with tribes which were not considered part of the Five Civilized tribes by the Dawes Commission, few, if any official tribal records exist. This creates another problem. To those seeking proof on paper that one belonged to or descended from one of these tribes, the evidence may never show up. However, there are court cases as far away as Michigan that show Hathcocks as being Indian. It appears that my line of Hathcocks and these came from a common source, but many still argue with that.

There is a good bit of circumstantial evidence that there is truth to the family traditions. My book goes over these and gives the reader an opportunity to make their own decision. When you couiple these attributes with family stories, you being to put a picture of the past together without documentation that would be found for any of the other tribes. However, in the site of the general population, this is never good enough. My advice? If you make your own decision and do your own research, then. after compiling all of these things together...make up your own mind and be proud of who you are. Just remember, realistically, not all things are documented and not all mixed bloods lived as Indian or claimed any such heritage. A study of the discrimination back then will give you a good reason why.



On with the Saponi information..................

Originally, the Saponi  came from what is known as the Ohio river valley anc crossed the Appalacians and settled in the Piedmont regions of North Carolina and Virginia.  They called themselves Yesah, which means "The People".

They occupied territory near Clarksville, VA. and controlled much of the trade on the Great Trading Path to other tribes.  They were very intimidating and quite adept at warfare.  It was said that a small band of Occaneechi-Saponi could hold off a much larger group with amazing success.

In the late 1600's, the tribe was scattered as a result of Bacon's Rebellion.  This forced the tribe to move to what is now known as Hillsborough, North Carolina.  After this move, there were still other tribal movements and of course, loss of land due to the government giving their original reservation land out to colonists. It is amazing how that has happened so many times!!

In 1984, the tribe was reorganized.  Today, it is known as the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation in Mebane, NC.  The tribe is presently working on many projects to preserve the proud history of our ancestors.  Please visit the following pages to learn more about the Saponi: Today, the Tribe is an officially State recognized Indian tribe of North Carolina.

 

Visit the Tribes Website here

 


Saponi Town Indian Forum



 
References
Indians Communities on the North Carolina Piedmont By H. Trawick Ward and R.P. Davis, Jr.

Voncannon/Furr/Lambert/Hathcock  Family research, Brian Voncannon

Hathcock Family Web Site, by Ron Hathcock

Web page, A Brief History of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation By Lawrence A. Dunmore, III, Esq.

North Carolina: The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton

Southeastern Indian Refugees from Virginia,the Carolinas,and Tennessee In Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan by Richard Haithcock and Vickie Hathcock

Copyright 2000 Brian Voncannon