Obscured by the invasive expansion of an aggressive Iroquois confederacy, there exists a remnant population of eastern Siouan peoples known as Tutelos amid the Six Nations Reserve at Grand River, Ontario. While there is a general dearth of source materials for the Tutelo Indians of Virginia, there is an interesting correspondence between a Native elder at Grand River and Dr. Frank G. Speck that took place during the years 1934 and 1935. These letters, composed for Chief Samuel Johns, reveal insight concerning the enduring complexity of American Indian identity. In noting this ethnohistorical puzzle, it is the purpose of this article to explore and examine the Tutelo initiative and voice in asserting a unique ethnic identity amid the Hodenosaunee, or Great League of the Iroquois. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure and 75 notes.)