Tutelo people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct as an independent tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| West Virginia, Virginia (c. 1270-1701, 1714-1740), North Carolina (1701-1714), Pennsylvania (1740-1753), New York (1753-1779), Ontario (1779-ca. 1900) (descendants assimilated into Cayuga nation) | |
| Languages | |
| Siouan Tutelo language | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Occaneechi, Manahoac, Monacan |
The Tutelo (also Totero, Totteroy, Tutera; Yesan in Tutelo) were Native American people living above the Fall Line in present-day Virginia and West Virginia. They spoke a Siouan dialect of the Tutelo language thought to be similar to that of their neighbors, the Monacan and Manahoac nations. Under pressure from English settlers and Seneca Iroquois, they joined with other Virginia Siouan tribes in the late 17th century and became collectively known as the Tutelo-Saponi. By 1740, they had largely left Virginia and migrated north to seek protection from their former Iroquois opponents. They were adopted by the Cayuga tribe of New York in 1753.
The English name Tutelo comes from the Algonquian variant of the name that the Iroquois used for all the Virginia Siouan tribes: Toderochrone (many variant spellings). The Tutelo autonym (name for themselves) was Yesan, Yesah or Yesang. This is also connected with the name Nahyssan, as well as earlier colonial era spellings, such as Monahassanough (John Smith) and Oniasont (the tribe was shown by this name on early maps in what is now West Virginia).
The Tutelo historic homeland was said to include the area of the Big Sandy River on the West Virginia-Kentucky border, which they called the "Totteroy River." The Iroquois drove them from this region during the later Beaver Wars (c. 1670), after which the Iroquois established the Ohio Valley as their hunting ground by right of conquest.
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