Society and culture
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Tuscarora were one of the most powerful tribes in what is now the southern United States. They were successful farmers who grew corn (maize), gourds, beans, and apples. They were especially noted for their use of hemp for fiber and medicine. Their tribal name means “hemp gatherers.” Able to grow more food than they needed, they traded corn and other crops to neighboring Indian groups. Tuscarora men were skilled hunters, and women gathered edible plants that grew wild in their lands.
The Tuscarora lived in round lodges of poles covered with bark. In later years they also lived in Iroquois-style longhouses.
History
By the beginning of the 18th century Tuscarora territory had been overrun by British settlers of the colony of North Carolina. At first the Tuscarora had friendly relations with the settlers. But they soon grew angry over their mistreatment by the newcomers. The Tuscarora were cheated, forced off their land, and sometimes sold into slavery.
The Tuscarora struck back in 1711 by attacking several British settlements. The British, aided by their Yamasee Indian allies, responded by launching a war against the Tuscarora. At least 1,000 Tuscarora were killed in the fighting, and many more were taken as slaves. Defeated, many of the Tuscarora fled north to what is now New York State, home of the five tribes that had formed the Iroquois Confederacy in about 1500. The Tuscarora, who spoke a closely related language, were soon invited into the confederacy. The Five Nations became the Six Nations.
Together with their closest allies, the Oneida, most of the Tuscarora supported the Americans in the American Revolution (1775–83). The rest of the Iroquois, however, took the British side. In the fighting, several Tuscarora villages were destroyed by British soldiers and their Iroquois allies. After the American victory the Tuscarora moved to new lands near Lewiston, New York. The area later became the Tuscarora Reservation. The few Tuscarora who favored the British crossed the border to lands along the Grand River in what is now Ontario. The region is now known as the Six Nations Reserve.
The Tuscarora have since struggled to hold onto their land and culture. Their greatest challenge came in the 1950s when the New York State Power Authority wanted to build a reservoir on their reservation. The Tuscarora refused to sell tribal land to the power company until the United States Supreme Court ruled against them
At the end of the 20th century more than 3,000 Tuscarora lived in the United States. Many live in New York State and work in industrial jobs. Another 1,200 Tuscarora make their home in Canada.