A Brief History of the Secotan Alliance and Chief Wingina/Pemisapan

Historical documentation of the Secotan Alliance by the English was first noted during initial contact in 1584.  Geographically the alliance territory covered most of the Albemarle Peninsula which today includes the N.C.counties of Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Washington and Tyrrell. It's indigenous inhabitants were all of Algonquin culture and spoke what has been called a "Carolina Algonquin" dialect.  Unfortunately that specific culture, language, songs etc was decimated and lost very early as a result of disease, conflict and to some extent intermarriage with English colonists.

The architect and leader of the Secotan Alliance was Chief Wingina/Pemisapan.  He was chief of the Roanoke-Secotan tribe whose members primarily inhabited what today is Roanoke Island and the inner banks area across the Albemarle and Croatan Sounds.  But as creator and leader of the Secotan Alliance he also had significant influence with village leaders throughout the entire alliance territory.  Sadly it was Wingina's attempts to expand the alliance inland in order to stop the English intruders that got him beheaded by the English military in June 1586.  

The order came from Captain Ralph Lane who led the English military expedition.  Lane's soldier, Edward Nugent carried out the grotesque act after Wingina had been shot and wounded in Lane's surprise attack.  Lane was regarded in London by some as an aggressive psychopath.  And his impetuous decisions may have doomed "The Lost Colony" before it ever even started.  Shortly after Wingina’s death Lane and his military fled the area and returned to England.  It's probable that he realized how Wingina's brutal murder would change the relationship between any English visitors and the indigenous people of the Secotan Alliance territory forever.  But would Wingina's ultimate sacrifice have even greater consequences...and even beyond the Secotan Alliance territory?

Yes!  We of The Secotan Alliance...and beyond believe that Wingina's death was the result of his heroic selfless actions aimed at protecting his people and his beloved Mother Earth from the inevitable destruction brought on by English colonization.  By the time of his death he had already experienced Lane’s attempts to: enslave his people; force their conversion to Christianity; pledge loyalty to the royal monarchy; and steal and waste Secotan food resources while refusing to fish or grow food themselves. The English colonizer’s lack of respect for the natural world was in direct conflict with the sacred relationship that Wingina’s people held with Creation for thousands of years. Given this powerful threat to the Secotan Alliance culture Wingina acted in the only way he could to eliminate it. He knew the news of his death at the hands of the English military would travel beyond the Secotan Alliance territory and rapidly so.  And more importantly it alone would accomplish what he himself could not while alive.  It would alarm the Tuscarora and Chowanoke to the west and Powhatan to the north of the real level of threat to themselves.  And this degree of concern would prepare them to galvanize their own resistance to English intrusion.  Unlike Wingina’s unfortunate experience the other surrounding indigenous nations would not need their own learning curve with the English…thanks to Wingina/Pemisapan.

There exists a belief among some that the Croatoan villagers on Hatteras Island remained friendly with the English civilians who arrived in 1587 to form the Roanoke colony.  And that is certainly a possibility since it was the home of Manteo’s mother. (Manteo had fully acculturated to English ways and accompanied White’s civilian colonists.)  However, just as plausible is the possibility that the Croatoans would have been acting out of fear when John White, Manteo and the other 117 colonists arrived.  The possession of guns, gun powder and greater numbers in contrast to the absence of all three among the Croatoans has to be considered here.  Add to this mix a fear factor from the brazen and brutal murder of the leader of the entire Secotan Alliance territory just one year earlier.  The salient point is that we believe Wingina’s death almost assuredly adversely affected the potential for the Roanoke Colony to survive. 

And at the very least Wingina’s sacrifice awakened other indigenous peoples in eastern N.C. to prepare for the English threat.  We believe the best example of this is the length of time that the colonists were largely confined to the coast and sound areas.  Even though European colonists were pouring in by the thousands the Tuscarora Nation of N.C. thwarted their migration westward for another century and a quarter.  The Tuscarora (and those who helped them) deserve most of the credit as they fought with great courage, sacrifice and endurance.  But after winning several initial battles decisively over the English (and some indigenous traitors) the Tuscarora were finally defeated at the Fort Neyheurooka massacre late march 1713.  Without the definitive serious warning of threat carried by Wingina’s murder this period of thwarted English incursion may have been much shorter.  So yes we see Wingina as a martyr and indigenous hero and his living spirit remains…as do we.

It is our moral obligation to bring Wingina’s life story and his selfless sacrifice out of the shadow of historical marginalization and into the light.  That is our initial mission here at The Secotan Alliance…and beyond.   And our second but equally important mission is to teach the principles that he and his people (and many of us today) lived by with respect to sustainability and balance with Mother Earth.  In that regard we hope to form alliance partnerships with earth friendly groups who may be open to a Traditionally Adherent Indigenous approach in protecting our Mother Earth. Please join us in this effort.