On August 10th, 2013, the location of the Algonquian Indian village, Dasemunkepeuc will be honored with a highway sign near Mann’s Harbour, NC, directly across the bridge from Roanoke Island. This is part of Roanoke Island Cultural Festival and Powwow taking place the same weekend.
The Algonquian village of Dasemunkepeuc, near present-day Mann’s Harbor, is central to the story of the Roanoke colonists. On the mainland shore of the Roanoke Sound, it was the scene of conflict between European explorers and the native people in 1586. A N.C. Highway Historical marker will be dedicated in memory of the attack and its consequences Aug. 10, at noon, at the Roanoke Airport on Airport Road. The sign then will be installed at US 264 and US 64, south of Mann’s Harbor.
The village was the principal home of Pemisapan, a regional leader well-known to Thomas Harriot, John White and Ralph Lane, settlers of the North Carolina colony. Indian guides Manteo and Wanchese also knew the Indian leader. Ralph Lane and his party attacked Dasemunkepeuc in June 1586, and Pemisapan was injured. Though he escaped into the woods he was pursued by colonist Edward Nugent, who emerged from the woods with Pemisapan’s head in his hand. Shortly afterward, Lane’s colonists returned to England with Sir Francis Drake.
It was into this environment that Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonists settled on Roanoke Island in 1587. Shortly thereafter, colonist George Howe was killed, precipitating in turn an attack by the English on the Native people. Unfortunately, the story that we know ended at that point, because John White returned to England to obtain supplies, and was detained by the English war with Spain. When he returned in 1590, the colonists were “lost,” had moved, left the words “Cro” and “Croatoan” as signs to White, signifying the Croatoan Indians who lived on Hatteras Island. White was literally blown back to England in a storm, unable to visit Hatteras Island to search for the colonists, who we continue to search for today.
If you would like to attend the dedication ceremony, please contact Marvin Jones at marvin@marvintjones.com. For information on the N.C. Highway Historical Marker Program, please call (919) 807-7290. The Highway Marker program is within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources and a joint program with the N.C. Department of Transportation.
For information about the powwow and events, visit www.chowandiscovery.org or call 202-726-4066 or 757-477-3589.
Native Heritage Project 