History – Meherrin Indian Nation

Historical Timeline

Trading Paths

Weecacana Trading Path (Tuscarora Trading Path)

Historic Meherrin By Name

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Meherrin given shelter beneath the branches of the The Great Tree of Peace

Meherrin Veterans Memorial

Honoring the Military Service of our Warriors

Reservations

1680 Meherrin Reservations

1705 Meherrin Reservation

1726 Meherrin Reservation

1729 Meherrin Reservation

Indian Woods Reservation

Indian Schools

Fort Christanna Indian School

William and Mary Indian School

Brafferton Indian School

Sarum Creek Indian School

Pleasant Plains Indian School

Meherrin Interpreters

Thomas Busby, serving as interpreter from 1677-1691.

Tomas (Tom) Blunt, serving as interpreter from 1691 to 1703.

Thomas Wynne and his brother Joshua Wynne, serving as interpreters from 1703-1705.

James Adams, serving as interpreter in 1704.

Henry Briggs, serving as interpreter from 1705-1726.

Doctrine of Discovery

The Doctrine of Discovery, May 4th, 1493

British Treaty-Making to U.S. Treaty-Making

The Doctrine of Discovery and its Enduring Impact on Indigenous Peoples.

The Vatican formally repudiates the Doctrine of Discovery. March 30th, 2023

Statement from Meherrin Chief and Council Re: Pope Francis’ Joint Statement on the Doctrine of Discovery

Treaties

1677 Treaty Between Virginia and the Indians (Treaty of Middle Plantation).

1680 Addendum to the 1677 Treaty Between Virginia and the Indians (Treaty of Middle Plantation).

1720 Treaty. Meherrin Indians make peace with the Connestogo, Ganowass and Showanoe Indians.

1722 Treaty of Albany

1794 Jay Treaty

Proclamations

1708 A Proclamation prohibiting trade with the Meherrin, Tuscarora and Nottoway.

2013 American Indian Heritage Month (November) in North Carolina

2018 Indigenous Peoples’ Day in North Carolina

2020 A Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

2022 Indigenous People Day in North Carolina

2022 American Indian Heritage Month (November) in North Carolina

Acts

1661 Act To regulate the entrance of Indians into the settlements.

1669 An Act for destroying Wolves

1715 Act prohibiting Strangers Trading with the Indians

1715 An Act for refraining the Indians from molesting or injuring the Inhabitants of this Government, and for securing the Indians the Right and Property of their own Lands.

1729 Act for the More Quiet Settling the Bounds of the Meherrin Indian Lands.

1741 An Act Concerning Marriages.

1768 An Act for dividing this Province into Six several Districts, and for establishing a Superior Court of Justice in each of the said Districts, and regulating the Proceedings therein; and for providing adequate Salaries for the Chief Justice, and the Associate Justices of the said Superior Courts.

1773 A Complete Revisal of all the Acts of Assembly of the Province of North Carolina now inforce and use.

1777 An Act to enforce such parts of the Statute of Common Laws.

1790 An Act to regulate Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes.

1830 An Act for the relief of such person as may suffer from destruction of the records of Hertford County, occasioned by the burning of the court house and clerk’s offices of said county.

1830 Indian Removal Act

1924 Racial Integrity Act (Virginia)

1924 The Indian Citizenship Act

1934 The Indian Reorganization Act

1964 Civil Rights Act

1971 An Act To Create And Establish A Commission Of Indian Affairs For North Carolina

1972 Indian Education Act

1977 An Act To Transfer The Commission Of Indian Affairs To The Department Of Administration

1978 The American Indian Religious Freedom Act

1988 An Act To Establish The State Advisory Council On Indian Education

1990 The Indian Arts and Crafts Act

1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

1990 Native American Languages Act (NALA)

1991 An Act To Add An Indian Member From The Meherrin Tribe To The Commission On Indian Affairs

1996 Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act

1996 National Museum of the American Indian Act Amendments of 1996

2016 National Bison Legacy Act

2019 Not Invisible Act

2020 Savana’s Act

2023 proposed Amendments to Respect Traditional Indigenous Skill and Talent (ARTIST) Act

2023 An Act To Allow American Indian Students To Wear Cultural Objects At Public School Graduation Ceremonies

Resolutions

1758 North Carolina Council passed a resolution to help enforce the rights of the Meherrin.

Declarations

1776 Declaration of Independence

2007 The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Statutes

1986 North Carolina General Statutes § 71A-7.1
Meherrin Tribe of North Carolina receives State Recognition as a Tribe of Native Americans in North Carolina.

Bills

1778 House Bill for quieting and securing the Tuscarora Indians and others (Meherrin Indians) claiming under the Tuscaroras, in the possession of their lands.

April 6, 2017 House Bill 586
North Carolina Indian Hunting/Fishing Rights.