Occaneechi Indians
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 36° 32.698 W 078° 32.381
17S E 720226 N 4047212
Marker regarding indigenous people who preceded the white settlers in this area. They were driven out and relocated in North Carolina. This marker is on U.S. Highway 58 east of Clarksville. The marker was placed in 2000 when the state was replacing most markers about Native Americans due to non-politically correct language.
Waymark Code: WMJNP
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/30/2006
Views: 25
The Occaneechi were a small tribe of the eastern Siouan group formerly residing in south Virginia and northern North Carolina. They originally lived on the middle and largest island in the Roanoke River, just below the confluence of the Staunton and the Dan, near the site of Clarksville. Their fields were on the north bank of the river, where they raised large crops of corn, having always on hand as a reserve a year's supply. After being harassed by the Virginians and Iroquois, they left their island and fled south into Carolina. By 1701, they were living in a village on the Eno River, near present day Hillsborough, North Carolina. They were cultivators of the soil and traders. They divided the year into the five seasons of budding or blossoming, ripening, mid-summer, harvest, and winter. They were governed by two chiefs, one presiding in war, the other having charge of their hunting and agriculture. Ceremonial feasting was an important feature of their social life. Their tribal totem was a serpent.
The text of the marker:
The Occaneechi Indians once lived nearby on an island in the Roanoke River. Well known for trading goods with other Indian nations and colonists, the Occaneechi resided close to several Indian Paths. They also hunted, fished, and raised crops that included corn, beans, and tobacco. In May 1676, Nathaniel Bacon enlisted the Occaneechi to help defeat Susquehannocks and then turned on the Occaneechi and attacked them. The Occaneechi left Virginia with their neighbors the Saponis and Toteros soon afterward. By 1701, the Occaneechi were living on the Eno River in North Carolina.