Haliwa-Saponi

The Haliwa-Saponi is a Native American people recognized as a tribe by the state of North Carolina. They are located in the Northeastern Piedmont area. The Haliwa-Saponi hold membership on the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs.

The name Haliwa is derived from the two counties: Halifax and Warren, which are the ancestral homelands of the Haliwa people dating from the 1730s. They re-organized and adopted their current form of government in 1953 and were recognized in 1965 by the state of North Carolina. In 1979 the tribe added Saponi to their name to reflect their descent from the historical Saponi peoples, part of the large Siouan languages family, who were formerly located in the Piedmont of present-day Virginia and the Carolinas.

Since the late nineteenth century, the tribe has created schools and other institutions to preserve its culture and identity. Their common worship in Protestant churches, mostly Baptist and Methodist, has long acted to support community traditions. For years the people were also united through their subsistence activities and oral traditions. Today the young people readily use technology among their skills, while creating to new arts and crafts related to traditions.