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Moneton

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Moneton
Total population
>500
Regions with significant populations
West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina
Languages
Moneton language
Religion
Indigenous religion
Related ethnic groups
likely Manahoac and Monacan[1]

The Moneton were a historical Native American tribe from West Virginia. In the late 17th century, they lived in the Kanawha Valley near the Kanawha and New Rivers.[2]

Name

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Their name translates to "Big Water" people.[1]

Territory

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Image
New River, a tributary of the
Kanawha River, in West Virginia

The Moneton lived in southern West Virginia, along the Kanawha River.[1] Their settlements were near the Manahoac and Tutelo nations.[3]

History

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Image
Locations of Shatteras, Monetons, Mohetans, and Conestoga (Susquehannocks) archeological sites in West Virginia. (Brashler 1987; Kent 2001)[full citation needed][better source needed]

The Moneton may have been a Fort Ancient culture,[4] an Indigenous culture that thrived from 1000 to 1750 CE in the Ohio River Valley. They might have been related to the Shawnee, an Algonquian-speaking people.[4]

The first written mention of the Moneton was made by English settler Thomas Batts in 1671.[1]

In 1674, English colonist Abraham Wood sent his servant Gabriel Arthur from Fort Henry near Appomattox, Virginia to visit local tribes to expand the fur trade. Wood visited them and described their capital as "a great town,"[1] That is the last contemporary mention of them.[1]

They were likely forced to merged into other nations in the Piedmont region of Virginia due to colonialism.[1]

Language

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Moneton
Moheton
Native toUnited States
RegionWest Virginia
EthnicityMoneton
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
GlottologNone

The Moneton language is argued to be Siouan language thus likely related to the Manahoac, Monacan, and Ofo languages.[1]

Associated Tribe

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The Whitetop Nation

See also

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Notes

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Swanton, John Reed (1952). The Indian Tribes of North America. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-87474-092-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. Demallie, p. 287
  3. John R. Swanton, Indian Tribes of North America, p. 61.
  4. 1 2 Rice and Brown, West Virginia, p. 9.

References

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