The Saura: Movements of a Lost Tribe
The state of North Carolina has long been a home to very diverse group of cultures and societies. In modern times, this diversity and the ensuing diffusion led to cultural milestones like rock and roll through the blending of African and Irish folk music. But if one takes a moment to look farther back, the social movements that caused that same modern diffusion were happening long before either of those groups arrived in the Carolinas. The Saura Indians were tribe that had a wide range past the southern border of North Carolina all the way to their name sake, the Sauratown Mountains. For a tribe that once held to much area, what happened to them and why do we know so little about them?
It is a generally held belief that European migration and colonization were the primary displacing features for Native American groups.…show more content… The primary speakers of the Algonquin languages were the eastern tribes near the coast including Croatan. The Iroquoian language branch in North Carolina was primarily spoken by the Cherokee and Tuscarora. Lastly, the largest and most prominent tribe speaking a Siouan language were the Catawba tribe. Each of these language groups presented almost a larger social umbrella unto which the smaller tribes fell, including the Saura.
As stated earlier, the Saura were not a warlike tribe, though this did not exclude them from their neighbors and their political and regional fighting. The Cherokee to the west of the Saura often raided without remorse and were renowned for their warlike culture. The Catawba to the south, even though sharing a language group, often had open conflict with the Saura. The Iroquois people to the north of the Saura constantly raided them for resources and slaves (South, 1980, p. 49). The locations of these specific tribes is very important when trying to figure out the migration of the peoples of the