Ani-Stohini/Unami

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Ani-Stohini/Unami a small Native American tribe located in seven counties of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and one county of North Carolina. One of the oldest petitioners for federal recognition through the Bureau of Acknowledgement and Research in the Interior Department, the tribe is one of nine tribes in Virginia and one of the tribes of North Carolina. The tribe first petitioned the federal government in 1968 and then petitioned again in the 90's after being told that their original petition had been destroyed during the 1971 takeover of the Bureau Of Indian Affairs by Native American activists members of the American Indian Movement. The tribe was represented at all six of the White House Conferences for non-federally recognized tribes, helped to save the Indian Child Welfare Act, successfully lobbied for federal protection of the Appalachian Mountain Bog Turtle, and most recently participated in the making of the motion picture MORNING SONG WAY starring Jennifer Redbird(ANI-STOHINI/UNAMI), Glenda Bean(CATAWBA/LUMBEE), Jeff Anderson(CREEK/SEMINOLE), and Elvus Kishketon, Jr.(KICKAPOO).

Called over forty different names in history including Tutera, Tutelo, Moheton, Mohigan, the Salt Indians, the White Top Cherokee, Saura, and the guardians of the sacred hunting grounds, the people have been known for their height. George Washington referred to some of the Indians from Twin Rivers Village who were visiting the Susquehannock in Pennsylvania as "GIANTS". The Ani-Stohini/Unami live in mountainous rural communities primarily employed in factories, agriculture, and food services. The presence of diabetes is higher among the Ani-Stohini/Unami than in populations of the dominant culture and other ethnic groups surrounding them.

Historically and linguistically, the Ani-Stohini/Unami belong in the classification of Algonquin speaking peoples related to Delaware. Their language of Tla Wilano is thought to be one of the oldest dialects of the grandfather language although recent blood ties to the Cherokee to the south have added to historical confusion in writer's references regarding identification of the tribe. The ancient North South/East West trade trails met at what is today Max Meadows, Virginia. In addition to their own language of Tla Wilano, the individuals of the tribe were said to have spoken many different languages including Monican, Shawnee, Cherokee, Powatan, and even the languages of the Six Nations to the north who also came south to trade and to hunt at the sacred hunting grounds, a strip of land with vast meadows stretching from Draper Valley westward to the Cumberland Gap. What school child hasn't heard that if you die and you were good that you would go to the Sacred Hunting Grounds? This is where that expression came from.

Partial List of Sources: The Federal Register, BIA List of Petitioning Tribes, Researching Native American Genealogy in Southwestern Virginia-Charles Howard Thomas Copyright 1995