Gov Alexander Spotswood and Saponi of Virginia

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Spotswood

Ft Christanna

I wouldn’t say he was pro-native. He had pragmatic cause to leave a buffer of tributary Indians around the fringes of colonial settlements. His predescessor, Berkeley, had been unable to stop the massacre of the Saponi/Occoneechee in 1676 by Berkeley’s cousin, Bacon. By the time Spotswood hit the scene, the Saponi were a pretty pitiable remnant. He did treat with the Iroquois up north to call for a ceasefire in a centuries old feud between the Seneca and the Saponi. Basically, the Saponi surrendered and many wandered up north to be taken in by the Cayuga (Seneca allies). It was, of course, in the VA colonial interests for there to be an end to the forays of war parties so close to their own settlements.

He seems to be one, if not the first, to come up with the “Save the man, kill the Indian” doctrine that fueled the notorious Indian Schools of the 19th century. The school at Fort Christanna did help to Anglicize many Saponi, which probably aided in the survival of many. It perhaps accounts for why so many descendants did survive as assimilated mixed bloods. But at the same time it was the death knell of the culture.

I have a lot of the original source documents concerning this period, in the form of entries in the “Executive Journals of the Colonial Council.” There’s also most of the sources concerning Bacon’s Rebellion at my site, http://www.greattradingpath.com. Look for the history link and you should find it.

It seems we may be related. I just got off the phone with my gmother. My gggrandmother on my paternal side was named Wilbert Ross Myers and was married to Mary Rebecca Hunter Myers, they had 7 children named Erma, Edna, Amos, Wilbert, William, Louis(e), and Emery. Erma married Norman Walker of Shenango Township in Beaver Co, PA. His sister, Malinda, was a missionary to the tribes in the northwest plains, they requested her to come to teach them Enlgish, I suppose due to her bloodline. His brothers David, and Charles, and sisters, Mabel and Helen were from that same town. Or as my gmother put it, ‘along the river between there and New Castle.’

Their father and mother were Charles Rice (an indian northwestplains name) Walker, and Lily Bell Schaffer Walker. I was reading the land allottments lists for the Kickapoo and other reservations including cherokee, chippewa, shawnee, and others. Almost all contain more than one Wallker. My guess is that the reason might be that the Blackfoot section of many of the tribes were the warriors and traders. They would regularly walk great distances. If you remember the ‘bad guy’ imo who walked the NC/VA line was called a ‘Walker’. If you rad the names in the rest of the list you will see that often the name written down on the deed was a description of the person, often from a hateful and racist persepctive. Since the governor you mentioned was in a way helping but in another systematically destroying our native culture, I find it hard to agree with your sentiments about him. He sent the people ot to fill out and survey and handpicked many of them, and their racist hatred and contempt for the natives was clear just in the way he named many of them. In the Kickapoo list he name done BitchA and the next BitchE, another can’t talk’, another ‘no’, another 4 yr old boy ‘Big ****’, other no name is given, others ‘pretty white woman’, ‘yellow haired indian’, redskinned indian’ which speaks of their cultural and appeearance diversity, and so on. He was obviously mocking and insulting them without their knowledge. Hard to imagine the allottments were handled properly by someone like that. Even english historians noted his obvious hatred for the natives.

Another interesting note is that most tend to think of all algonquian people as dark hair, eyes, and skin. Looking up north to canada, who has algonquian blood and their ancestors in almost all their blood should dispel that myth. Mexican brown from thousands of years in the hot sun does not = indian as we see on TV.

My gmother told me Wilbert many times told her his ggrandmother was a full blooded indian squaw. His wife didn’t like it much and tried to deny it, but was not very believsable my grandmother said, as they would all end up laughing about their indian blood. He would laugh and say ‘you can’t hide the indian in us forever.’ That is my grandmother’s story just tonight to me.

All of those families lived along the Monongola River, which meets the Yagagheni River in Pittsburgh to become the Ohio river. From that area it is less than a day’s canoe trip to be across the lake and in Ottowa, where some are confused as to why they have Blackfoot ancestors. I find it simple. Our ancestors traveled in small packs on foot and by canoe. Most of the paths were near or along either rivers and streams or mountain ridges, leading to farming, fishing, and cave villages all up and down the east coast. When the settlers removed them or drove them out from the esst coast region they went in all directions, some west, some north to their relatives and ancestors there, some went to the Kickapoo reservation where some interesting things happened. In 1840, the same yr Blackfoot town was formed in Md, the tribes of the lagonquian who were at war madde peace. I have heard of six different tribes that were on the Kickapoo reservation in Brown Co, Kansas. Some left to go west to Washington and California(the gold rush), some went north to Red Indian territory, which is why there is much confusion about which tribe was the original Red Indian tribe, and a large group went to Arkansas, then on to Texas, and wound up with a reservation in Mexico. They troubled the government so much there that the US gov actually formed another reservation in texas and enticed them to come back with various offers.

Once that occurred most just returned to Kickapoo. MOST of the Kickapoo reservation was taken back by settlers, but some was retained. A famous Cheif who was a prophet gave a prophecy that really affected migratory paths. He had converted to christianity which is why so many from there converted to it, something like 80%. The prophecy was basically that the indians who fled from the white man would meet with death anyway, and that those who stayed, and followed the white man’s rules, and abstained from liqour, would one day have a large abundant land set aside for them, free from all their enemies and at peace with the white man. Many natives are still believing and waiting for those prophecies to come true. however it further complitcated the geneaology issue. Because at that moment many decided to simply invent an english name and stay, try to live amongst the whites and wait. Some took the names given to them by traders of folks in the Basque region. The region was they would seem like settlers, but since the BAsque region had no census records, could not be proven liars. That meant they could work if they spoke good enough english. Which is why so many tribes called and requested the US gov and churches for teachers to come teach them under the guise of needing it due to poverty. So they could learn it well enough to fake french or basque descent and find work. Many made it their mission to infiltrate back to the virginia, md, wv, and pa areas to wait for the prophecy to come to pass. I personally believe that one day it will.

The references I have heard and read of many native american using to refer to one another is similar to christian language, where they call each other ‘brother’ or ‘a people’ often understood my engish settlers with bad language skills and attitudes to mean nations or tribes.

Most likely they all had fmaily and friends in other groups all up and down that regional system of rivers, trails, and into canada where they likely migrated to here from. For them to hop into a canoe and head to ottowa would be akin to going back home to visit grandma and bring her some things she needs in our times. From W Va the flow of that river is north to pittsburgh, then south again by other rivers, to make for some quick and fairly effortless travel and make good time. Remember back in their times they did not think in terms of always sitting in the same spots as a very interesting or meaningful thing to do as we all do, sitting in the the same house night after night. Nor did they see themselves as seperate peoples, but interconnected brothers with fueds that sometimes blew up into full scale battles.

Due to those realities, and few records on what english names the natives assumed, many may never be able to find out which tribe or which part of the region their ancestors came from. Add to that the intermixing that took place both naturally and by plan by both the english and the indians wanting to whiten their kids up or maybe live a bit better financially, and even the dna route becomes perilous to rely on.

with all that was going on, noone knows how good any of these records are. My info my gma told me tonite is in the family bible. That was her response when I asked for a way to prove I had some indian blood ‘cuz now it’ll help me get education loans’ was my line. She basically told me how to prove it, without ever directly admitting to the blood herself as she was taught to do so forcefully for survival. So I need to take a trip to Va from the Carribeean to make copies of the Bible my father now has.

So if you have some documents man, post them. Maybe some other thing another has will tie in and either prove them right or wrong so we can have clarity. Even if they r wrong, it does not mean you don’t have Algonquian blood of some kind. Also, that Queen you mentioned, is the one who originally owned the tract of land Blackfoot Town in MD sits on. I have found out about more than four tribes in the last few days who have a ‘Blackfeet’ section in them for farmers or warriors.

Arapaho, Cheyenne, Dakota, and Saponi so far as I understand it, which isn’t very far.

http://www.kansasgenealogy.com/indians/arapaho_indians_cheyenne_indians.htm

There is also a group called ‘Woksíhitänio, `(kit) fox men”, one of the six warrior divisions of the Cheyenne who were also apparently mixed with Arapaho.

I wonder about their ties or possible family relations with the infamous Fox and Sacs tribes, that were, oddly enough, known for being such fierce warriors.