Chowanoke
The Chowanoke, also spelled Chowanoc, are an Algonquian-language American Indian tribe. At the time of the first English contacts in 1585/6, they were the largest and most powerful Algonquian tribe in present-day North Carolina, occupying most or all of the coastal banks of the Chowan River in the northeastern part of the state. Their peoples had occupied their main town for 800 years, and earlier indigenous cultures in the area have been dated to 4500 BC.
The tribe was largely extinct by the late 17th century; with many deaths likely due to infectious disease, including a smallpox epidemic in 1696. However, there are descendants with Chowanoke ancestry, particularly in Gates County and Chowan County. These descendants have recently reconstituted the group as the Chowanoke Indian Nation, and in 2014 acquired a 146-acre tract of their original reservation land for tribal and cultural activities.
History
The Algonquian peoples in North Carolina likely migrated from northern areas, and developed a culture modified by local conditions. The numerous tribes occupied an approximately 6,000-square-mile (16,000 km2) area of Carolina Algonqkian territory in northeastern North Carolina, from the Neuse River to the Chesapeake Bay. Tribes included the Chowanoke, Weapemeoc, Poteskeet, Moratoc, Roanoke, Secotan (Secoughtan), Pomuik, Neusiok, Croatan and possibly the Chesepiooc.
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