OSVT Tribal Members

MEMBERS

Ralph Travis

Ihza Carter

Celest

Desiree Macklin

Celest

Cheryl Carter

Travis Carter

Gloria Travis

Jennifer

Barry Carter

Metztli Carter

Ihza Carter

Mahpiya Carter

Geronimo Carter

Saponi Carter

Travis Carter

Miriam Carter

Travis Carter Jr

Itzel Carter

Back: Barry, Mahpiya, Jeremy, Metztli, Quetzali, Citlali
Front: Ihza, Saponi, Geronimo

Jeremy Carter

Citlali Carter

Metztli Carter

Oscar Palmer

Nannie Powell

Chuck Carter

Rodney Travis

Sierra Travis

David Byrd Travis Jr

Katrina Carter

Ralph Travis and his nieces and nephew at Ralph's house in Greentown on the Saponi Reservation August 2025

Media Recognition

For decades Natives from the Greentown community, whose family has been living on the Saponi Reservation land in Brunswick County Virginia, since 1712 have been mistaken for the faces of other tribes seeking recognition.

Because our people from the Saponi Reservation have strong Native American features and frequently participate in public Native events, we often become the subject of articles that make assumptions about our tribal identity—sometimes directly or indirectly supporting other tribes in their recognition efforts. Celest Swann—pictured above, front and center—comes from a family born and raised in the Greentown Community located on the Saponi Reservation in Brunswick County, Virginia. Her mother, also named Celest, and her grandfather, Hezekiah Green, along with their ancestors Fred Green and Polly Jackson (Saponi Natives), were all born and raised in the Greentown Community.

Jeremy Carter, became famous on the pow wow circuit for making the front page of newspapers. Below Jeremy is featured on the front page of the News Progress in 2002, at the annual Occoneechee State Park pow wow MCed by John Blackfeather (OBSN). Most people assumed that this was an OBSN (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation) pow wow and assumed that Jeremy was a member of that tribe. Jeremy's family danced and drummed and pow wow's and events all over Virginia and North Carolina MCed by John Blackfeather where the same assumption was made. Jeremy is a proud member of the Occoneechee-Saponi Totaro Tribe of the Saponi Reservation. Jeremy's family through his grand mother Eleanor Travis Carter, great great grand mothers Buelah Travis, Ann Walker, Polly Jackson Green all were born and raised in Greentown on the Saponi Reservation going all of the way back to 1712.