Prior to the Rev War, there was the Tuscarora War. There were 2 groups: the Northern group led by Chief Tom Blunt (also spelled Blount) and a Southern group led by Chief Hancock. Both groups were heavily impacted by the introduction of European diseases, and both were rapidly having their lands infringed upon by the encroaching settlers. Ultimately, Chief Hancock felt there was no alternative but to attack the settlers. Tom Blunt did not become involved in the war at this point.

Tensions between European settlers and the Native population developed into warfare which eventually embroiled the colonies of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, as well as numerous Native groups allied with Tuscarora and Europeans alike. In 1713 Colonel James Moore of South Carolina mounted his final assault against the Tuscarora fortress at Neoheroka and ultimately breached the defenses, killing and capturing many of the defenders within.

In 1717, after the conclusion of the Tuscarora War, the colony created a reservation for King Blount’s “friendly Tuscarora” in what is now Bertie County. The reservation became to be known as “Indian Woods”. The “friendly” Tuscarora who resided there did not take up arms against the colony, so they were rewarded for their neutrality. The reservation land was about 53,000 acres or approximately 84 square miles. In less than four years after the establishment of the lands for the Tuscarora, tensions concerning land ownership and rights arose between the English inhabitants and the Indians. The Tuscarora had been living on the Bertie County reservation for more than four decades. During that residence their numbers steadily declined, and their white neighbors’ land abuses continued unabated.

About three hundred Indians reportedly resided on the reservation in 1754, a reduction of more than sixty percent in less than forty years. According to Governor Dobbs. By the early 1760s a considerable number of the Indians who remained on the Bertie County reservation desired to leave and join their kinsmen in the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederation in New York. Being extremely poor, the Indians did not have the funds needed for the extended trip. Wagons, carts, haul animals, provisions, cooking utensils, and sundry other items needed to be acquired. To raise the necessary money, the tribe’ chieftains decided to lease a substantial part of their lands. Apparently, the vast majority of the money generated by the lease of the reservation lands was used for the benefit of those persons who departed to join the Six Nations. The individuals left behind were old men and children, incapable of providing for themselves, if cold weather should come on.

It is probably impossible to “track” the total number of acres of leased Tuscarora Indian lands to all the individuals who purchased or were given subleases. Pursuant to the act passed during the 1828-1829 session of the General Assembly, forty-two parcels of reservation lands were conveyed by public sales at the Bertie County courthouse. Deeds documenting the sales were issued by the Secretary of State and recorded in the Bertie County Register of Deeds Office. Eleven persons who acquired land at the sales had already possessed leases. Afterward, many Tuscarora began a migration to New York. There they joined the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy and were accepted as the sixth tribe. Some Tuscarora bands remained in North Carolina with Blount for decades, then finally left for New York in 1802 deeding the remaining land to N.C.

In 1803, the US government granted the Tuscarora a reservation in Niagara County. However, after a lengthy court case and appeals, in 2003, the Power Authority agreed to compensate the tribe financially and return some unused land. They siezed 500 acres to create a reservoir. From that time on, the Reservation experienced and continues to experience a water shortage with the reservation now sitting on top of the highest point in Niagara. In 2012, 14 out of 15 wells tested positive for lead; 139 wells were tested for harmful bacteria and 69% tested positive for Total Coliforms, while 22% came back positive for E. coli.

At present, the Tuscarora Nation is continuing efforts to gain recognition in North Carolina. They want a voice in state Indian affairs and to participate in cultural affairs with the 11 state-recognized Indian tribes.