The Meherrin Indians

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In the mid-seventeenth century the Meherrin Indians were living in North Carolina on the north side of the Meherrin River. The Meherrin Indians were affiliated with the Iroquois Indian Tribe. They spoke Iroquoian and were related to the Tuscarora and Nottoway. They also shared a government, language, and culture with the Tuscarora. During the 1650s, Virginia had land that had became available for colonial settlement because of the removal of an Indian Tribe. The Meherrin took this opportunity and distributed among the land. However, controversies arose over the colonial boundary lines between Virginia and North Carolina. As a result of the disputes over the land, the Meherrin were attacked during Bacon's Rebellion. To settle their …show more content…

It is unknown exactly how many clans they have however, we do know that they do share some with the Tuscarora and Nottoway. Some of these clans include: the, Rakwis (Turtle) Clan, Dawis Dawis (snipe, or plover) Clan, Thkwari:ne (Wolf) Clan, Tsunakę (Beaver) Clan, and the Utsihreh (Bear) Clan. The clan system is very important to the Meherrin people and their culture. The clan system determines much about their lives, the decisions they make, their ceremonies, and who they can marry. The leader of the clan has to be an elderly woman who is chosen based on her birthdate and on her character. The Meherrins often married people from within the Iroquois nations, but from another clan. Their clan is their extended family, even though they are from another …show more content…

These tribes include: the Bear River Indians, Catawba Indians, Meherrin Indians, Cherokee Indians, Saponi Indians, Tutelo Indians, and etc. The list goes on and on. Here I just list a couple of the more known tribes. The Bear River Indians are located in Craven County between the Pamlico and Neuse Rivers. They have been in North Carolina since the 1700s. They live in one town, Raudauquaquank, which contains 50 warriors. The Catawba Indians live among the boarders of North Carolina and South Carolina. Most Catawba people still live among the boarders today while others were forced to move with the Cherokees to Oklahoma in the 1800s. The Catawba Indians have been in North Carolina since the 1600s. Today, nearly 2,200 of the Catawba Indians are living near Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Meherrin Indians are an Iroquoian tribe that are residing along the border of North Carolina and Virginia. They have been in North Carolina since the late 1600s. In the 1600 they had about 700 people but in 1761 they were reported to only have