EMU welcomed Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown to campus on Monday, in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Chief Brown, a leader of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia, spoke to faculty, staff, and students at Lehman Auditorium about the history of the tribe.
According to Chief Brown, the tribe can trace its history back to the year 900. A series of excavations on tribal land in southeastern Virginia between 1965-69 uncovered the skeletal remains of 132 ancestors dating back to 1580. The remains were taken to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and placed in shoeboxes, he said.
“How would you like for somebody to come into your cemetery and dig up your ancestors dating back two, three centuries ago and take the bones away and put them someplace else?” he asked.
Chief Brown said the tribe is working with the Smithsonian to recover the remains so they can be properly buried on its 263 acres of tribal land in Southampton County. That land is part of the 41,000 acres of reservation land originally granted to the tribe by the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1705, he said.
The convocation also offered students an opportunity to learn about the tribe’s language and cultural traditions. Chief Brown taught students how to speak several words in the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian language, which belongs to the Iroquoian family of languages.
Some examples include:
- Fox: “skee-you”
- Turkey: “kuh-noom”
- Snake: “ann-tah-tum”
The name Cheroenhaka means “People at the Fork of the Stream,” a reference to where the Nottoway and Blackwater rivers converge to form the Chowan River.
Today, the tribe’s land includes Cattashowrock Town, a replica Iroquoian palisade village and cultural site constructed based on descriptions by William Byrd II, who visited the tribe in 1728. The site is open to visitors from May through November.
Chief Brown also described how the tribe continues to honor centuries-old traditions, including an annual treaty tribute to Virginia’s governor.
Beginning with the Spotswood Treaty of 1713, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian tribe has offered a treaty tribute to the governor of Virginia each year on April 23. The tradition of gifting three peace arrows wrapped in a beaver pelt continues today, with former governors Ralph Northam and Glenn Youngkin receiving tributes during their terms and Gov. Abigail Spanberger receiving one this spring.
“We’re the only tribe in the state of Virginia that actually currently does a treaty tribute to the governor of Virginia,” Chief Brown said.
In addition to Chief Brown, Vice Chief Ellis “Soaring Eagle” Wright, adopted tribal member Teresa “Moon Star” Preston, and Joyce “Falling Rain” Miley represented the tribe at the convocation.
Monday’s convocation was sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and EMU Engage. Dawn Neil, coordinator for the Office of DEI, said the purpose of the event was to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and “bring some education and awareness about our history in Virginia.”
For more information about the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) tribe, visit cheroenhaka-nottoway.org.
Watch a recording of the convocation below!
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