1682

Facing immense pressure and violence, the Occaneechi people abandoned their long-held village on an island in the Roanoke River and journeyed south into the area near present-day Hillsborough. 

This migration marked the end of an era of fur trade dominance and the beginning of a new chapter for a resilient people. For decades before their departure, the Occaneechi thrived on a small island near what is now Clarksville, Virginia.

The strategic location at the intersection of major trading paths allowed the Occaneechi to become central players in the exchange of goods between European colonists and various Indigenous tribes. 

"We controlled access to trade to European trade goods for about a 500-mile radius. And because of that, our language became the lingua franca of the trade and the language of multiple tribes in that region," said Lawrence Dunmore, a historian of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. 

This control brought prosperity and influence but also made the Occaneechi a target for colonialist forces.

While many factors prompted the tribe to relocate, Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 strongly contributed to the move. Nathaniel Bacon's revolt against the colonial government of Virginia unleashed a wave of attacks on Indigenous communities. 

While initially inviting them to attack Susquehannock, Bacon betrayed and massacred most of them. This devastating event, coupled with increasing pressure from other tribes and the lure of the Carolina trade, made the Occaneechi island home untenable.

Violence and enslavement marked the period leading up to the move. English and French traders were involved in pitting Indigenous people against each other through warfare raids. Indigenous people were captured and sold to the English, the French, or other Europeans for European trade goods.

The journey south in 1682 was not an end but a transformation – a testament to their ability to adapt and survive in the face of adversity, laying the foundation for their continued presence in North Carolina to this day.