Chowanoc Indians (Algonquian: shawŭni ‘south’; shawŭnogi‘they of the south,’ ‘southerners.’ W. J. ). A tribe formerly living on Chowan river, north east North Carolina, about the junction of Meherrin and Nottoway rivers. In 1584-85, when first known, they were the leading tribe in that region. Two of their villages at that time were Ohanoak and Maraton, and they probably occupied also Catoking and Metocaum. Ohanoak alone was said to have 700 warriors. They gradually dwindled away before the whites, and in 1701 were reduced to a single village on Bennetts Creek. They joined in the Tuscarora War against the whites in 1711-12, and at its close the remnant, estimated at about 240, were assigned a small reservation on Bennetts and Catherine creeks. In 1820 they were supposed to be extinct. In addition to the settlements named, the Chowanoc also occupied Ramushonok.
