Tuscarora Ancestor

My ancestor, a seventeen-summers-old Tuscarora woman, Runehu’hu, is unflinching until a handsome, yet mysterious, Core Tom arrives, recruiting allies to fight against English encroachment. She hopes for a wedding proposal, but he recruits her to spy against her own family instead.

Runehu’hu reluctantly accepts her English name, Jane, “…just one syllable, plain.” She is expected to marry, attend to a husband, and obey the elders, but she cannot ignore the growing threat the English pose to her way of life.

Matrilineal Society

Jane lives with her aunt. The Tuscarora society is matrilineal, giving her aunt, as clan mother, considerable power. Feeling the pressure of family expectations, Jane accepts an arranged marriage to Nourouhquotkan (John). While they dance the feather dance at their wedding, she secretly plans a “provocation” to lure the English into a fight.

Jane lives a life of privilege, until she betrays her aunt. Jane and John are banished, and she is thrust into the role of female warrior. Facing extermination, Jane’s fight is not just against the English, but against treachery of the worst kind. 

Soon after telling John she is pregnant, Jane becomes the only survivor of a surprise attack by the English. She survives a siege, and comes face-to-face with the enemy, a mixed-race Weyanoke scout, whom the English call Kearsey. He, eventually, becomes her champion.

A Storm Coming unmasks the simplistic fairy tale notion that most Americans have about the Native American battle against white supremacy.

My Ancestor

A Storm Coming will immerse you in 1710, a little-explored time period, as you experience the emotions of Jane and my Tuscarora Ancestors. This is one of history’s untold stories. You will cheer… and cry, as Jane battles enormous obstacles, and emerges as a survivor.

Also see The King of Saddletree.

To learn more about the Tuscarora people, check out the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina.

To read more on Core Tom, check out La Vere, D. (2016). The tuscarora war: Indians, settlers, and the fight for the Carolina colonies. The University of North Carolina Press.