Native American language Native American culture What's new on our site today!

Tutelo/Saponi Indian Language

Tutelo was a Siouan language of Virginia. The last fluent speaker died in the 1990's, and few Tutelos remember anything of the old language today. However, some Tutelo people are trying to revive their ancestral language for cultural purposes. The Saponi language has been extinct much longer, but it is thought to have been a dialect of Tutelo, both from the similarity in vocabulary and from historical accounts indicating that people from the two tribes could understand each other without an interpreter. The main difference is that the Saponi dialect appears to have borrowed a number of vocabulary words from southern Algonquian languages like Powhatan and a few from African languages (the Saponi Indians were known for sheltering African slaves).

˜Tutelo-Saponi Language Resources –

Tutelo Vocabulary
Our list of vocabulary words in the Tutelo language, with comparison to words in other Siouan languages.

Language Museum: Tutelo-Saponi
Text of a prayer in the Saponi Indian language, with English translation.

Minor Vocabularies of Tutelo and Saponi
Tutelo/Saponi dictionary for sale.

The Tutelo Language
Tutelo language book for sale.

˜Tutelo-Saponi Culture and History Links –

Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe
Official homepage of the state-recognized Haliwa Saponi tribe of North Carolina.

Tutelo Indian History

Saponi Indian History
Excerpt from James Mooney's "Siouan Tribes of the East" covering the history of the Tutelo and Saponi Indians.

Virginia Indian Map

Maryland Indian Map

West Virginia Indian Map

North Carolina Indian Map:
Tribal maps showing the original lands of the Tutelo and Saponi Indians and their neighbors.

Searching for Saponi Town
Site about Saponi and other Eastern Siouan genealogy, also with historical articles.

Haliwa Saponi Dancers
Photographs from a Saponi pow-wow in North Carolina.

Haliwa-Saponi Authors:
Saponi writers, their lives and work.

Virginia Indian History
Collection of interesting materials on the Monacan, Saponi, and Tutelo Indians.

Saponi Tribe
Tutelo and Saponi links.

˜Books For Sale On The Tutelos and Saponis –

Tutelo Spirit Adoption Ceremony
Book for sale on the traditional spirituality of the Tutelo Indians.

Back to the list of American Indian tribes
Back to our Native American websites for kids

American Indian Genealogy American Indian Names Tribal Tattoos

Would you like to sponsor our work on the Saponi/Tutelo language?