About Us

We are descendants of the greater Yesa Nation. We are the Elder brother to the Lakota, often called the “Old Cheraw” or Saraw and Saura. We are known by many names but we all belong to the Yesa. We are a Siouan-speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, in the Piedmont area of Virginia and North Carolina near the Sauratown Mountains, east of Pilot Mountain and north of the Yadkin River. We lived in villages of huts along the rivers.
    

     Through war and disease, our numbers dwindled until we migrated north to the Danville area of Virginia. We are recorded as a tribe in 1768. We were recorded in history during the Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783) with the Catawba tribe living in areas around Danville.  We were recorded living in WV and living peacefully alongside the Iroquois reservation in NY and the reservations in Canada.  
    

      Through genealogy, archaeological evidence, DNA, Linguistic studies, ethnology, and anthropological studies, we have traced the roots of our ancestors who lived in the same areas around Danville, Virginia, during the Revolutionary War. Many of our ancestors have migrated to WV from Fort Christiana, and from Iroquois where they have always lived and hunted. We are proud of our heritage and want to be recognized as a tribe in the great state of West Virginia. We were here and we are still here!
      

       Our mission is to unite our people and pay homage to our courageous ancestors as we carry their sacred spirits. We are dedicated to serving our future generations by passing invaluable teachings and traditions that were brought forth to us. We pledge to always preserve Unni Ama (Mother Earth) and hold her in our highest regard, just as she has provided for us.