Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
Committee Chair
Mary Lou Lustig
Abstract
During the seventeenth century a vibrant group of Native Americans, the Monytons, controlled southern West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky. The effects of contact with Europeans destabilized their societies as far inland as the Ohio Valley. This began the process which eventually pushed most Monytons from the region. The Five Nations Iroquois, pressured by social changes farther north, attacked the Monytons further drawing people out of the Ohio Valley. A growing southern Indian slave trade also contributed to the decay of Monyton dominance in the region. A central point in this thesis is that Monytons formed and reformed traditions to deal with social changes. They can be traced throughout their “diaspora” as they became incorporated into larger Indian groups. The Monyton Diaspora led to the creation of the Shawnee during the late seventeenth century. This thesis provides a redefinition of the history of southern West Virginia’s Native American past.
Recommended Citation
Emrick, Isaac J., "The Monyton diaspora: A history of the middle Ohio River Valley, 1640-1700." (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 10880.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10880