Weyanoke people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| extinct | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Virginia, United States | |
| Languages | |
| unattested Eastern Algonquian language | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Powhatan Confederacy, Nottoway |
The Weyanoke people (/ˈwaɪənɒk/ WYE-ə-nok[1]) were an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands.
Name
[edit | edit source]Their name is also spelled Weyanock,[2] as British colonist John Smith recorded on his map.[3] Alternative spellings include Weanoc,[4] Weanock, Winauh, Winauk, Wynauh, and Wynauk.[3] Their name may mean "at the bend" of a river,[2] coming from either the Eastern Niantic or Nipmuck language.[3]
Territory
[edit | edit source]
Their lands were located along the James River[5] and west of the mouth of Appomattox River, near present-day Weyanoke, Virginia.[4] Their main capital settlement was at Weyanoke Point in Charles City County, Virginia.[2] Their second primary settlement was at the head of Powell's Creek in Prince George County, Virginia.[2]
History
[edit | edit source]At the beginning of the 17th century, when the tribe had early contact with English colonists, the Weynock traded with Wahunsenacawh (Powhatan, c. 1547–c. 1618).[6] Some historians considered them to be a part of the Powhatan Confederacy.[5]
Their population was 500 in 1608.[5] After attacks by the Iroquois Confederacy at the end of the 17th century, they migrated out. They signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation with the Virginia Colony in 1677.
Remnants of the Weyanock and the Nansemond joined the Nottoway in the early 18th century.[7]
By 1727, they lived along the Nottoway River.[5]At the end of the 18th century, the Weyanock merged completely into the Nottoway, with the surnames Wynoake and Wineoak occasionally appearing on public documents.[8]
Notes
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- ^ a b c d Rountree, The Powhatan Indians of Virginia, 9.
- ^ a b c Rountree, The Powhatan Indians of Virginia, 154.
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Hodge, Handbook of North American Indians, 926.
- ^ Rountree, The Powhatan Indians of Virginia, 111.
- ^ Rountree, "The Termination and Dispersal of the Nottoway Indians of Virginia," 194.
- ^ Rountree, "The Termination and Dispersal of the Nottoway Indians of Virginia," 199.
References
[edit | edit source]- Hodge, Frederick W. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, DC.: Government Printing Press, 1912.
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