LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In pre-Contact times, the villages of the Skaru’re were woven together by shared ancestry, lifeways, and unity.
The Original Skaru’re Confederacy was composed of an alliance of Tuscarora villages, who worked to protect the shared interests of all Tuscarora People. Understanding this allegiance to one another, British colonists sought to break that union to open the interior of Carolina for settlement. Ultimately, the need for Tuscarora land and the human trafficking of Tuscarora relatives caused widespread retaliation by the southern villages to attack colonial settlements.
For centuries following the Tuscarora Wars, the State of North Carolina corralled, shrouded, and cloaked the Tuscarora in shadows and whisper. Upon that darkness, the embers of the former Tuscarora Confederacy remained lit in the hearts of warriors, men, women, children, and elders who continued to recall the blood memories of their Tuscarora ancestors.
What is best known about NC Tuscarora is the defeat placed on them by the Carolina colonists and their removal from the State. However, the Tuscarora People continue to be resilient and challenge the preconceived notions and stereotypes cast upon them by the Settler Society.
This past weekend marked the re-convening of the Annual Tuscarora Nation Powwow. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tuscarora Nation had been unable to host the typical cultural and community event. Leaders from the Tuscarora Confederacy, Prospect Longhouse, Maxton Longhouse, and Saddletree community made their way to the arena, showcasing the self-determination of the Tuscarora Nation and exemplifying an undefeated People, who remain united.
Donnie Rahnàwakęw McDowell
Maxton