Native American Short Stories

Machapunga Tribe

In the year of 1714, a man by the name of John Lawson found himself in an experience which, at the time, he probably did not have the foresight of realizing would become an experience for others to share in and learn from even today in the year 2015.

While Mr. Lawson participated in an exploration of North Carolina's Roanoke Island and a few other small islands close by, he met some Machapunga Indians;it was determined these people may have most likely been of Virginia's Powhatan tribe, judging from the Algonkian language they spoke, along with a few other reasons for his determination.

The Machapungan tribe was not, of course, the only one living in the area at the time, however.

Mr. Lawson noted that he'd come into contact with members of the Hatteras and Secotan tribes as well as the Machapunga, and unfortunately, these tribes faded out as early as by the year 1720-ish, since these tribes had very low numbers in the first place.

The Machapunga Indians were very dark-skinned people who had come into so much contact with the English from the 1500s onward, by the early 1700s not only did many of the tribal members have English names – but tribal members were very far and few between who even knew their own language or could explain their own tribal customs to others who asked for that information out of curiosity. Mr. Lawson also made the mention in his notes of coming into contact with two Machapungan families who actually participated in the Jewish custom of circumcision, although he was unable to confirm whether any other families followed along,or even why those two families chose to participate in this activity in the first place. (In my writer's mind, I see explorers and their families becoming close to a Machapunga family, sharing ideas and viewpoints, and eventually adopting a few of the other guy's concepts into their own lives. Isn't this really how it works even today?)

The Machapungan Indians were able, however, to preserve their expert methods of net-making and fishing, and were known for these creations. This tribe was also able to keep the art of basket-making alive well into the last part of their existence.

When taking into consideration the fact that Roanoake Island was settled in 1585 by the English explorers commissioned by Sir Walter Raleigh, it should come as no surprise that the Native Americans had become so immersed in the English culture by the 1700s that they had all but lost their own culture. But it does set the precedent of how so many Native tribes did eventually lose themselves due to prolonged English exposure.

Machapunchan homes, built from palmetto leaves supported on poles, were typically circular in shape and the insides featured exposed poles to which the leaves were attached in neat rows. Their diets consisted of the local fish and game along with locally grown produce, so they had plenty to eat and keep themselves fed with or to even use as barter or trade for other items.

As a side note, some have asked me what the difference is between a tribe and a band when speaking about Native Americans, so I'd like to try and clear up the confusion real quick.

Generally speaking,sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably today, although in the beginning, the two terms referred to different things. Back in the day, a band (also called a clan) referred to the family unit of up to about 50 related people, whereas a tribe consisted of several bands (family units). Basically speaking, a Native American Nation is the collective people under one tribal government, such as the Cherokee Nation, located in Tahlequah, OK. Hope that clears it up a bit. :)

Until next week -

Robyn