Saponi
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Virginia and North Carolina (historically) | |
| Languages | |
| Tutelo-Saponi, English | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan, Manahoac, other eastern Siouan tribes |
The Sappony or Saponi areNative American tribe historically based in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. They spoke the Siouan Tutelo-Saponi language, related to the languages of the Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan, Manahoac and other eastern Siouan peoples. Reduced by disease and warfare, surviving members of the tribe migrated north to merge with other tribes. They disappeared from the historic record as a tribe by the end of the 18th century and were considered extinct as a tribe.
Since the late 20th century, certain groups in the Southeast have organized to assert their American Indian cultural identity; some claim descent from the historic Sappony. Among these are the Haliwa-Saponi, and the Occaneechi Band of the Sappony Nation of North Carolina, who took names referring to the historic tribe; and the Indians of Person County. Other Sappony bands are located in Ohio, Georgia and Texas.
None of these tribes has gained federal recognition. Federal tribal recognition grants to tribes the right to certain benefits, and requires documentation as regulated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) (with consultation by federally recognized tribes).
Early 20th-century anthropologist John R. Swanton agreed with James Mooney, Hale, Bushnell and other scholars that the Sappony were probably the same as the Monasuccapanough, a Virginia people mentioned in 1608 by John Smith as tributary to the Monacan. Their main village as described then is believed to have been in the vicinity of present-day Charlottesville, Virginia.
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