TheirPowhatan language is an EasternAlgonquian language, also known as Virginia Algonquian. In 1607, an estimated 14,000 to 21,000 Powhatan people lived in eastern Virginia whenEnglish colonists establishedJamestown.[3]
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, amamanatowick (paramount chief) namedWahunsenacawh forged a paramount chiefdom consisting of 30 tributary tribes through inheritance, marriage, and war. The chiefdom's territory included much of easternVirginia, which they called Tsenacommacah ("densely inhabited Land"). English colonists calledWahunsenacawh (c. 1545–c. 1618)The Powhatan.[4][5] Each tribe within the confederacy was led by aweroance (leader, commander), all of whom paid tribute to the Powhatan.[6]
After Wahunsenacawh died in 1618, hostilities with colonists escalated under the chiefdom of his brother,Opchanacanough, who unsuccessfully tried to repel encroaching English colonists.[7] His 1622 and 1644 attacks against the invaders failed, and the English almost eliminated the confederacy. By 1646, the Powhatan paramount chiefdom had been decimated, not just by warfare but frominfectious diseases, such asmeasles andsmallpox, newly introduced to North America by Europeans. The Native Americans did not have anyimmunity to these, which had beenendemic to Europe and Asia for centuries. At least 75 percent of the Powhatan people died from these diseases in the 17th century alone.[8]
By the mid-17th century, English colonists were desperate for labor to develop the land. Almost half of the European immigrants to Virginia arrived asindentured servants. As settlement continued, thecolonists imported growing numbers of enslaved Africans for labor. By 1700, the colonies had about 6,000 enslaved Africans, one-twelfth of the population. Enslaved people would at times escape and join the surrounding Powhatan. Some white indentured servants were also known to have fled and joined the Indigenous peoples. African slaves and indentured European servants often worked and lived together, and while marriage was not always legal, some Native people lived, worked, and had children with them. AfterBacon's Rebellion in 1676, the colony enslaved Indians for control. In 1691, theHouse of Burgesses abolished the enslavement of Native peoples; however, many Powhatans were held in servitude well into the 18th century.[9]
Virginiastate-recognized eight Native tribes with ancestral ties to the Powhatan Confederation.[11] ThePamunkey andMattaponi are the only two peoples who have retained reservation lands from the 17th century.[6]
Today many descendants of the Powhatan Confederacy are enrolled in sixfederally recognized tribes in Virginia.[12] They are:
The name "Powhatan", also spelledPowatan, is the name of the Native American village or town of Wahunsenacawh. The titleChief orKing Powhatan, used by English colonists, is believed to have been derived from the name of this site. Although the specific site of his home village is unknown, in modern times the Powhatan Hill neighborhood in the East End portion of the modern-day city ofRichmond, Virginia, is believed to be near the original village. Tree Hill Farm inHenrico County is also a possible site.[citation needed]
The termPowhatan is also a title among the Powhatan people. Englishcolonial historians often used it as a title.[6]
Powhata was also the name used by the Native people to refer to the river where the town sat at thehead of navigation. The English colonists chose to rename it theJames River afterKing James I.[13] The only water body in Virginia to retain a name related to the Powhatan people is Powhatan Creek, located inJames City County nearWilliamsburg.
Various tribes each held some individual powers locally, and each had a chief known as aweroance (male) or, more rarely, aweroansqua (female), meaning "commander".[14]
As early as the era ofJohn Smith, the individual tribes of this grouping were recognized by English colonists as falling under the greater authority of the centralized power led by the chiefdom of Powhatan (c. 1545 – c. 1618), whose name wasWahunsenacawh.[2]
In 1607, when the first permanent English colonial settlement in North America was founded atJamestown, he ruled primarily fromWerowocomoco, which was located on the northern shore of theYork River. This site of Werowocomoco was rediscovered in the early 21st century; it was central to the tribes of the Confederacy. The improvements discovered at the site duringarchaeological research have confirmed that Powhatan had a paramount chiefdom over the other tribes in the power hierarchy. AnthropologistRobert L. Carneiro in hisThe Chiefdom: Precursor of the State. The Transition to Statehood in the New World (1981), deeply explores the political structure of the chiefdom and confederacy.[citation needed]
Powhatan (and his several successors) ruled what is called acomplex chiefdom, referred to by scholars as thePowhatan Paramount Chiefdom. Research work continues at Werowocomoco and elsewhere that deepens understanding of the Powhatan world.[citation needed]
Wahunsenacawh had inherited control over six tribes but dominated more than 30 by 1607 when the English settlers established theirVirginia Colony atJamestown. The original six tribes under Wahunsenacawh were: the Powhatan (proper), theArrohateck, theAppamattuck, thePamunkey, theMattaponi, and theChiskiack.
He added theKecoughtan to his fold by 1598. Some other affiliated groups included theRappahannock, Moraughtacund,Weyanoak,Paspahegh, Quiyoughcohannock,Warraskoyack, andNansemond. Another closely related tribe of the same language group was theChickahominy, but they managed to preserve their autonomy from the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom. The Accawmacke, located on the Eastern Shore across the Chesapeake Bay, were nominally tributary to the Powhatan Chiefdom but enjoyed autonomy under their own Paramount Chief or "Emperor",Debedeavon (aka "The Laughing King"). Half a million Native Americans were living in the Allegheny Mountains around the year 1600. 30,000 of those 500,000 lived in the Chesapeake region under Powhatan’s rule, by 1677 only five percent of his population remained. The huge jump in deaths was caused by exposure and contact with Europeans.[15]
In hisNotes on the State of Virginia (1781–82),Thomas Jefferson estimated that the Powhatan Confederacy occupied about 8,000 square miles (20,000 km2) of territory, with a population of about 8,000 people, of whom 2400 were warriors.[16] Later scholars estimated the total population of theparamountcy as 15,000.
'John Smith taking the King of Pamunkey prisoner', a fanciful image of Opechancanough from Smith'sGeneral History of Virginia (1624). The image of Opechancanough is based on a 1585 painting of another Native warrior byJohn White[1]
The Powhatan Confederacy was where English colonists established their first permanent settlement in North America. Conflicts began immediately between the Powhatan people and English colonists; the colonists fired shots as soon as they arrived (due to a bad experience they had with the Spanish before their arrival). Within two weeks of the arrival of English colonists at Jamestown, deaths had occurred.[17]
The settlers had hoped for friendly relations and had planned to trade with the Virginia Indians for food. CaptainChristopher Newport led the first colonial exploration party up the James River in 1607 when he met Parahunt,weroance of the Powhatan proper. English colonists initially mistook him for the paramount Powhatan (mamanatowick), his father Wahunsenacawh, who ruled the confederacy. Settlers coming into the region needed to befriend as many Native Americans as possible due to the unfamiliarity with the land. Not too long after settling down, they realized the huge potential for tobacco. To grow more and more tobacco, they had to impede on Native territory. There were immediate issues that resulted in 14 years of warfare.[18]
On a hunting and trade mission on theChickahominy River in December 1607, CaptainJohn Smith wrote that he fought a small battle with theOpechancanough, and during this battle he tied his Indigenous guide to his body as a human shield. Although Smith was wounded in the leg and also had many arrows in his clothing, he was not deathly injured, but soon after he was captured by the Opechancanough. After Smith was captured the Natives prepared him for execution until he gave them a compass, which they saw as a sign of friendliness so they did not kill him, instead took him to a more popular chief, followed by a ceremony. Smith first was introduced to Powhatan's brother, who was a chief under Powhatan. Later, Smith was introduced to Powhatan himself.[19] Smith was captured byOpechancanough, the younger brother of Wahunsenacawh. Smith became the first English colonist to meet the paramount chief Powhatan. According to Smith's account, Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan's daughter, prevented her father from executing Smith.
Some researchers have asserted that a mock execution of Smith was a ritual intended to adopt Smith into the tribe, but other modern writers dispute this interpretation, noting that many of Smith's stories do not line up with the known facts. They point out that nothing is known of 17th-century Powhatan adoption ceremonies and that an execution ritual is different from known rites of passage. Other historians, such as Helen Rountree, have questioned whether there was any risk of execution. Smith failed to mention this in his 1608 and 1612 accounts and only added it to his 1624 memoir after Pocahontas had become famous.
In 1608, Captain Newport realized that Powhatan's friendship was crucial to the survival of the small Jamestown colony. In the summer of that year, he tried to "crown" the paramount Chief, with a ceremonial crown, to transform him into a "vassal".[20] They also gave Powhatan many European gifts, such as a pitcher, feather mattress, bed frame, and clothes. The coronation went badly because they asked Powhatan to kneel to receive the crown, which he refused to do. As a powerful leader, Powhatan followed two rules: "he who keeps his head higher than others ranks higher," and "he who puts other people in a vulnerable position, without altering his own stance, ranks higher." To finish the "coronation", several English colonists had to lean on Powhatan's shoulders to get him low enough to place the crown on his head, as he was a tall man. Afterward, the English colonists might have thought that Powhatan had submitted to King James, whereas Powhatan likely thought nothing of the sort.[21]
After John Smith became president of the colony, he sent a force under Captain Martin to occupy an island inNansemond territory and drive the inhabitants away. At the same time, he sent another force withFrancis West to build a fort at the James River Falls. He purchased the nearby fortified Powhatan village (present site of Richmond, Virginia) from Parahunt for some copper and an English colonist namedHenry Spelman, who wrote a rare firsthand account of the Powhatan ways of life. Smith then renamed the village Nonsuch, and tried to get West's men to live in it. Both these attempts at settling beyond Jamestown soon failed, due to Powhatan resistance. Smith left Virginia for England in October 1609, never to return, because of an injury sustained in a gunpowder accident. Soon afterward, English colonists established a second fort,Fort Algernon, in Kecoughtan territory.
Red line shows the boundary between the Virginia Colony and Tributary Indian tribes, as established by the Treaty of 1646. The red dot on the river shows Jamestown, capital of Virginia Colony.
In November 1609, CaptainJohn Ratcliffe was invited toOrapax, Powhatan's new capital. After he had sailed up the Pamunkey River to trade there, a fight broke out between the colonists and the Powhatan. All of the English colonists ashore were killed, including Ratcliffe, who was tortured by the women of the tribe. Those aboard thepinnace escaped and told the tale atJamestown.
During that next year, the tribe attacked and killed many Jamestown residents. The residents fought back, but only killed twenty. However, the arrival at Jamestown of a new Governor,Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, (Lord Delaware) in June 1610 signaled the beginning of theFirst Anglo-Powhatan War. A brief period of peace came only after the capture of Pocahontas, her baptism, and her marriage to a tobacco planter,John Rolfe, in 1614. Within a few years, both Powhatan and Pocahontas were dead. Powhatan died in Virginia, but Pocahontas died in England. Meanwhile, the English settlers continued to encroach on Powhatan territory.
After Wahunsenacawh's death, his younger brother, Opitchapam, briefly became chief, followed by their younger brotherOpechancanough. The Powhatans were frightened by the influx of immigrants, the expansion of new villages on traditional farming lands, the subsequent need to purchase food from the settlers, and the enforced placement of Indian youth in "colleges." In March 1622, they attacked the Jamestown plantations killing hundreds. The settlers quickly sought retaliation, killing hundreds of tribesmen and their families, burning fields, and spreading smallpox.[22] In 1644 the Powhatans again attacked English colonial settlements to force them from Powhatan territories, which was again met with strong reprisals from the colonists, ultimately resulting in the near destruction of the tribe. TheSecond Anglo–Powhatan War that followed the 1644 incident ended in 1646 after Royal Governor of VirginiaWilliam Berkeley's forces captured Opechancanough, thought to be between 90 and 100 years old. While a prisoner, Opechancanough was killed, shot in the back by a soldier assigned to guard him. He was succeeded asWeroance byNecotowance, and later byTotopotomoi and by his daughterCockacoeske.
The Treaty of 1646 marked the effective dissolution of the United Confederacy, as white colonists were granted an exclusive enclave between the York and Blackwater Rivers. This physically separated the Nansemonds, Weyanokes, and Appomattox, who retreated southward, from the other Powhatan tribes then occupying the Middle Peninsula andNorthern Neck. While the southern frontier demarcated in 1646 was respected for the remainder of the 17th century, theHouse of Burgesses lifted the northern one on September 1, 1649. Waves of new immigrants quickly flooded the peninsular region, then known asChickacoan, and restricted the dwindling tribes to lesser tracts of land that became some of the earliest Indian reservations.
In 1665, the House of Burgesses passed stringent laws requiring the Powhatan to accept chiefs appointed by the governor. After theTreaty of Albany in 1684, the Powhatan Confederacy all but vanished.[citation needed]
Educational programs established through the creation of the Indian School at the College of William and Mary in 1691 were a driving force behind cultural change. The College provided Powhatan boys with skills considered to be of little use by their people, however, literacy was generally viewed as a benefit of this Western education, and Powhatan boys who had received education at William and Mary sent their sons to the school. The increasing marriage of Powhatans to non-Indigenous people in the 17th century is also believed to have contributed to cultural change.
The Powhatans had begun gambling, smoking tobacco, and consuming alcohol recreationally by the end of the 17th century.[23]
Reconstructed Powhatan village at theJamestown Settlement living-history museum.
The Powhatan lived east of theFall Line inTidewater Virginia. They built their houses, calledyehakins, by bending saplings and placing woven mats or bark over top of the saplings. They supported themselves primarily by growing crops, especiallymaize, but they also fished and hunted in the great forest in their area. Villages consisted of many related families organized in tribes led by a chief (weroance/werowance orweroansqua if female). They paid tribute to the paramount chief (mamanatowick), Powhatan.[4]
The region occupied by the Powhatan was bounded approximately by the Potomac River to the north, the Fall Line to the west, the Virginia-North Carolina border to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Generally peaceful interactions with the Pamlicos and Chowanocs occurred along the southern boundary, while the western and northern boundaries were more contested. Conflicts occurred with Monacans and Mannahoacs along the western boundary and Massawomecks along the northern boundary.[23]
The Powhatans primarily used fires to heat their sleeping rooms. As a result, less bedding was needed, and bedding materials could be easily stored during daytime hours. Couples typically slept head to foot.[24]
According to research by the National Park Service, Powhatan "men were warriors and hunters, while women were gardeners and gatherers. English colonial accounts described the men, who ran and walked extensively through the woods in pursuit of enemies or game, as tall and lean and possessed of handsome physiques. The women were shorter, and strong because of the hours they spent tending crops, pounding corn into meals, gathering nuts, and performing other domestic chores. When the men undertook extended hunts, the women went ahead of them to construct hunting camps. The Powhatan domestic economy depended on the labor of both sexes."[25] Powhatan women would form work parties to accomplish tasks more efficiently. Women were also believed to serve as barbers, decorate homes, and produce decorative clothing. Overall, Powhatan women maintained a significant measure of autonomy in both their work lives and sexual lives.[24] After a long day, the Powhatan people would celebrate and burn off any last energy they had by dancing and singing. This also allowed them to release any tensions they had from working with others.[26]
All of Virginia's Native peoples practicedagriculture[citation needed]. They periodically moved their villages from site to site. Villagers cleared the fields by felling,girdling, or firing trees at the base and then using fire to reduce theslash and stumps. A village became unusable as soil productivity gradually declined and local fish and game were depleted. The inhabitants then moved on to allow the depleted area to revitalize, the soil to replenish, the foliage to grow, and the number of fish and game to increase. With every location change, the people used fire to clear new land. They left more cleared land behind. Native people also used fire to maintain extensive areas of open game habitat throughout the East, later called "barrens" by European colonists. The Powhatan also had rich fishing grounds.Bison had migrated to this area by the early 15th century.[27]
Powhatans made offerings and prayed at sunrise.[24] Although, they also prayed and made offerings to specific gods, who were believed to be in control of the harvest.[28] They used the land differently, and their religion was a Native one. Significantly, one of the major duties of Powhatan priests was controlling the weather.[29]
Tribes of the paramount chiefdom and their territories
The number of tribes listed and the number of warriors are based on estimates or reports which mostly go back toCaptain John Smith (1580 - 1631) andWilliam Strachey (1572 - 1621). Usually, only the number of the warriors of the individual tribes is known, the stem number will therefore be determined with a ratio of 1: 3, 1: 3,3, or the last 1: 4, and the studies ofChristian Feest are decisive.[30] The last-mentioned figures refer to the first mention as well as the last mention of the respective tribes - e.g. 1585/1627 for the Chesapeake (Source:Handbook of North American Indians).
Tribal name meaning is disputed: it may mean "at a big river", "great water", or it might have just referred to a village located at the bay's mouth. The Chesapeake lived in the region of theHampton Roads along the RiversPowhatan River (later: James River),Nansemond River, andElizabeth River to the Chesapeake Bay, their territory encompassed the citiesNorfolk,Portsmouth,Chesapeake, andVirginia Beach. Their capitalSkicoke may have been near the junction of theEastern andSouthern Branches of the Elizabeth River in downtown Norfolk. Other evidence suggests it was located in the Pine Beach area ofSewell's Point. The Chesapeake also had two other villages, Apasus and Chesepioc, near the Chesapeake Bay in the present-day city of Virginia Beach. Chesepioc was located inGreat Neck Point. Archaeological evidence suggests that the original Chesapeake people belonged to another Algonquian group - theCarolina Algonquian orPamlico. According to William Strachey, they were destroyed as a nation before 1607 based on a vision by the Powhatan; their villages were resettled by members of other Powhatan tribes; their then-installed chief was Keyghanghton, about 100 warriors (335 tribal members). (1585 / 1627) - now extinct as a tribe.[citation needed]
They called their land along both sides of theNansemond RiverChuckatuck[32] and encompassed the areas of the cities ofSuffolk andChesapeake, four villages are known by name (the main village or capital Nansemond, then Mattanock, Teracosick, and Mentoughquemec), onDumpling Island were their temples and the seat of the Weroance, English colonists burned the sanctuary and the settlement in 1609; their leading chief was Weyhohomo; about 200 warriors (665 tribal members - according to Smith; Strachey) - according to their descendants, they numbered about 300 warriors (or 1,200 tribal members). (1585 - today one of the state-recognized tribes of Virginia).[33]
Lived along theLower Appomattox River in the area ofTri-Cities of Virginia withPetersburg as its head of navigation in adjoining counties ofChesterfield,Dinwiddie, andPrince George in south-central Virginia; their leading chief (Werowance) was Coquonasum with his seat in the tribal town Wighwhippoc on the northside of Wighwhippoc Creek (now: Swift Creek), his sisterOpossunoquonuske (Opussoquionuske) (referred to by English colonists as ″Queen of Appamattuck/Hattica″) was female chief (Weroansqua) of the main townMattica/Hattica near the mouth of the Appomattox River; 60 warriors (or 200 tribal members - according to Smith) or 20 warriors / 100 warriors (or 65 / 335 tribal members according to Strachey). (1607 / 1705) - now extinct as a tribe.
Lived in six villages east of the Powhatan tribe on both sides of the James River inHenrico County, Virginia, their main village was at the James River in today'sHenrico, Virginia; their chief wasAshuaquid;[34] about 100 warriors (or 200 tribal members - according to Smith and Strachey) - Feest estimated at least 300 tribal members. (1607 / 1611) - now extinct as a tribe.
Lived in theHampton Roads, they had only one settlement, its location is disputed - it is assumed at present-dayKecoughtan, Virginia (later called:Elizabeth City) or downtownHampton, Virginia orNewport News, Virginia, according to William Strachey, Chief Powhatan had slain the weroance at Kecoughtan in 1597, appointing his own young sonPochins as successor there, while resettling some of the tribe at the Piankatank River. Powhatan annihilated the inhabitants at Piankatank in 1608. (1607 / 1610) - now extinct as a tribe.
Lived opposite theQuiyoughcohanock along the north bank of the James River to the junction of the James and Chickahominy Rivers in today'sCharles City andJames City Counties, they maintained a number of settlements on both sides upriver the Chickahominy River -Namqosick andCinquaoteck on the east bank of the Chickahominy as three villages not known by name - including their main village or capital - on the west bank, their villages were the closest toJamestown, Virginia; their chief wasWowinchopunck (he could hold to his position even after submission of the tribe to Powhatan); 40 warriors (or 135 tribal members - according to Smith and Strachey) - but Feest believes that these numbers are too low, quoting George Percy (1607: 139-140), who informed that the Paspahegh chieftain visited the British with "one hundred Sauages armed" and the next day "fortie of his men with a Deere." sent. (1607 / 1610) - now extinct as tribe.
Potchiack / Potchayick
Lived along the James River in the area ofSurry County, were formed and emerged as a new tribal polity at the beginning of the 17th century from scattered groups ofNansemond,Warraskoyack, andQuiyoughcohannock; in 1669 about 30 warriors (or 100 tribal members - according to Hening). (1661 /1669) - now extinct as a tribe.
Powhatan / Powatan
Lived east of theAtlantic Seaboard fall line on both sides of the Powhatan (James) River and north of the Kingsland Creek, their capitalPowhatan orPaqwachowng (literally "village at the rapids") was close to the waterfalls (calledPaqwachowng) in the vicinity of Richmond, the capital of Virginia, besides, they inhabited at least three smaller, not known, villages (according to Smith), Archer (1607a: 86) adds another village on Mayo Island in James River opposite of their capital, which he calledPawatahs Towre (Powhatan Town); their chief wasParahunt, another son of Powhatan; about 40 warriors (or 135 tribal members - according to Smith) or 50 warriors (and 165 tribal members - according to Strachey), according Feest up to 300 tribal members is likely due to the number of settlements. (1607 / 1670) - now extinct as a tribe - Not the same as the Powhatan Renape Nation of New Jersey, a state-recognized tribe of New Jersey.
Lived east of theWeanock on both sides of the James River in several villages, their capitalQuiyoughcohannock was the spiritual center of the Powhatan Chiefdom, three villages are known by name:Quiyoughcohannock,Nantapoyac (perhaps Zuñiga'sManattapoyek), andChawopo, which was led by the former Quiyoughcohannock tribal chiefChopoke /Choapock, there were also two other not known villages along Chippoak Creek (in the area of todayChippokes Plantation State Park), they were often mistakenly referred to as the "Tappahannock" after the capital of the northernRappahanock; their chiefPepiscumah (Pipisco) was appointed by Powhatan - further known leaders were the Weroansqua (female chief)Oholasc and the WeroanceTatahcoope; estimates range from 25 warriors (or 85 tribal members - according to Smith), 60 warriors (or 200 tribal members - according to Strachey) up to about 300 and even more tribal members (according to Feest), some banded together with splinter groups ofWarraskoyack andNansemond to form a new tribe - the short-livedPotchiack. (1607 / 1627) - now extinct as a tribe.
Warraskoyack / Warrosquyoake / Warrascocke
Lived northwest of theNansemond along thePagan (Warraskoyak) River down to its mouth into the James River inWarrosquyoake Shire (today:Isle of Wight,Southampton,Greensville, andBrunswick Counties), the main Warraskoyak village was located in present-daySmithfield, Virginia, while a satellite village calledMokete was at Pagan Point, and another calledMathomank was on Burwell's Bay under a sub-weroance namedSasenticum. To the southwest and west the north bank of theBlackwater River was the boundary to the enemySouthernIroquoian-speakingNottoway (Cheroenhaka) people,[35] to the south along theChowan River lived the rivalChowanoc people with 19 villages the most numerous and powerful of theCarolina Algonquian-speaking tribes in North Carolina, the shore of the James River was the northern boundary of Warraskoyack territory; their chief (weroance) wasTackonekintaco; about 40 warriors (or 135 tribal members according to Smith) or 60 warriors (and 200 tribal members according to Strachey), some banded together with splinter groups of Quiyoughcohannock and Nansemond to form a new tribe, the short-lived Potchiack (1585/1627) who are now extinct as a tribe.
Lived on both sides of James River on Weyanoke Peninsula or Weanoc Neck inCharles City County, Virginia upriver of the Quiyoughcohannock and Paspahegh and south of the Arrohateck and Appamatuck, to the north of their territory lived theChickahominy people, while independent, the Chickahominy were at times allied to the Powhatan tribes; according to Smith their capital (Tindall'sPomonke) as well two not named villages on the north bank of the James River - Archer (1607a: 82) adds another village on the north bank -, south of the James River he tells of three more villages (the second of them is Tindall's "Wynough", perhaps identical with Zuñiga's "Weanock"), Strachey (1953: 64) mentions an additional Weanock "province" called Cecocomake nearPowell's Creek inPrince George County. After 1623 the settlements Tanx (Little) Weanock north and Great Weanock south of the James River are mentioned and at least until 1627 there were still two Weanock villages; their chief was Kaquothocun; about 100 warriors (or 335 tribal members according to Smith) or 150 warriors (or 500 tribal members according to Strachey, which adds 50 warriors forCecocomake, the Weanock-province). By the 18th century, they had fully integrated with the Nottoways and were speaking their language, their former presence visible only in the surname "Wineoak" (1607/1707), now extinct as a tribe.
Lived in several villages along the south bank of the York River in today'sYork County (formerly Charles River County) in the northern part of theVirginia Peninsula between thePaspehegh in the west and theKecoughtan to the east, their capital also known asKiskiack was about 15 miles (24 km) from Jamestown; their chief wasOttahotin; about 40-50 warriors (or 135-170 tribal members - according to Smith & Strachey). (1607 / 1677) - now extinct as a tribe, the remaining Kiskiack appear to have merged and intermarried with other groups, probably the Pamunkey, Chickahominy, or Rappahannock.
Cantauncack / Candaungack
Lived along the north bank of the York River, between Carter and Cedarbush Creeks; their chief wasOhonnamo; about 100 warriors (or 335 tribal members - according to Strachey). (1608 / 1629) - now extinct as a tribe.
Werowocomoco / Werowacomoco
Were living along the York River upriver to the confluence of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers - since the first capital of the Powhatan Confederation lay in their territory, this tribe was known by the same name as the capital - it was calledWerowocomoco/Werowacomoco - the name "Werowocomoco" comes from the Powhatanwerowans (weroance), meaning "leader" in English; andkomakah (-comoco), "settlement" - literally: "settlement of the leader or chief", the capital of the Powhatan ChiefdomWerowocomoco itself lay on the north bank of the York River inGloucester County near the city ofYorktown - here resided Powhatan until 1609 when he moved his capital to a new location namedOrapaks/Orapax/Orapakes; about 40 warriors (or 135 tribal members - according to Smith & Strachey). (1607 / 1611) - now extinct as a tribe.
Caposepock(e) / Kaposecocke / Kupkipcock
Lived along the north bank of the Pamunkey River; their chief wasWeyamat - presumably Kaposecockewas, however, only one of the largest villages within the mighty Pamunkey tribe and therefore tributary to the leading chief (Werowance) of the Pamunkey; However, Strachey gives them to him about 400 warriors and 1,300 tribal members. (1608 / 1611) - now extinct as a tribe.
Lived between the upper reaches of the Chickahominy River and the Pamunkey River in the north, on their western border lived the hostile Eastern Sioux tribes, south of them lived the real Powhatan tribe, and north of them the Youghtanund, and directly downstream they had the powerful autonomous Chickahominy as neighbors, since 1609 the second capital of the Powhatan Confederation called "Orapaks/ Orapax/Orapakes" - Werowocomoco had been abandoned due to the colonists' pressure to settle - was located in their area, this was built for better defense in a swamp area in western New Kent County on the north bank of the Upper Chickahominy River, chief Powhatan resided here (about 1609 - 1611/1614); approx. 50 warriors or 165 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1607 / 1611)
Pamareke / Pamuncoroy / Pamakeroy
Lived along the south bank of the Pamunkey River - sometimes attributed to Pamunkey; their chief wasAttasquintan; about 400 warriors or 1,300 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Lived on both sides of the Pamunkey River above its mouth into the York River in today'sKing William andNew Kent Counties had several main villages, with about 300 warriors and 1000 tribal members the largest and most powerful tribe within the Confederacy (according to Smith & Strachey), Powhatan and his daughter Matoaka (Pocahontas) belonged to this tribe. (1607 – today one of the state-recognized tribes of Virginia and since 2015 also a federally recognized tribe[38]).
Paraconosko / Paraconos
Along the Pamunkey River; their chief wasAttossomunck (originally a leading chief (Werowance) of theTauxenent/Doeg); about 10 warriors or 35 tribal members. (1608 / 1611).
Potaunk / Pataunck / Potawuncack
Lived along the southern banks of the Pamunkey River; their chief wasEssenataught; about 100 warriors or 335 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Shamapent / Shamapa
Lived south of the Pamunkey River; their chief wasNansuapunck; about 100 warriors or 335 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Lived either on both sides of the Mattaponi River or along the north bank of the Pamunkey River; their chief wasVropaack; about 40 warriors or 135 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Youghtanund / Youghtamund
Lived northwest of the Pamunkey, along the Pamunkey River to the confluence of theNorth Anna andSouth Anna Rivers, which form the Pamunkey River; their chief wasPomiscatuck; about 60 warriors or 200 tribal members (according to Smith) or 70 warriors or 235 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1607 / 1611).
The main villageCattachiptico was located on the site of today'sPampatike on the Pamunkey River[39] in what is now King William County, other smaller villages were along Totopotmoy Creek (Manskin Creek) and possibly along the Mattaponi River, presumably these villages all belonged to a subtribe of the Pamunkey – theManaskint / Manskin, which also maintained close ties to the Youghtanand – during theSecond Anglo-Powhatan War their main villageCattachiptico figured as the headquarters ofOpechancanough then paramount chief; their chief wasOpopohcumunck (possibly meaning Opechancanough); about 300 warriors or 1,000 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Menapacunt / Mummapacune / Mummapacun
Lived between the north bank of the Pamunkey River to the Mattaponi River, their territory was most likely upstream (and thus northwest) of the mighty Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes; their chief wasOttondeacommoc; about 100 warriors or 335 tribal members (according to Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Lived along the central reaches of the Pamunkey and the Mattaponi Rivers until their confluence with the York River in today King William and King and Queen Counties, their main village was namedMattapanient according to Smith, another village wasCinquoteck in the area ofWest Point (formerly Delaware) (at the confluence of Pamunkey and Mattaponi);[40] their chief wasWerowough; approximately 30 warriors or 100 tribal members (according to Smith) or 140 warriors or 465 tribal members (according to Strachey)[41] (1607 – now asMattaponi andUpper Mattaponi two of thestate-recognized tribes of Virginia).[42][43]
Payankatank / Piankatank
Lived in several villages - Smith names three - along thePiankatank River in what is nowMiddlesex County, to the west their territory bordered theOpiscopank/Opiscatumek, to the south theWerowocomoco / Werowacomoco, and to the north lived directly on the other side of the Rappahannock River theLower Cuttatawomen, according to Strachey these were defeated by the Powhatan tribes in 1608, 24 warriors were killed and all women and children were taken captive, the area and the villages were then repopulated with former inhabitants of Kecoughtan; Smith gives two numbers: in 1608 about 40 warriors or 135 tribal members, and in 1624 about 50-60 warriors or 165-200 tribal members, according to Strachey about 40-50 warriors or 135-200 tribal members – according to Feest possibly up to 300 tribal members. (1608 / 1611).
The dominant tribe in theRappahannock River Valley settled in 13 villages on both sides of the river named after them, their main village wasTopahanocke / Tappahannock and their main hunting grounds were south of the river. Due to their military strength and geographical distance from the center of the Powhatan Confederation, they were able to obtain partial autonomy; their chief wasTaweeren;[45] ca. 100 warriors or 335 tribal members (according to Smith & Strachey). (1608 – now one of the state-recognized tribes of Virginia).[46]
Opiscopank / Opiscatumek
(1608 / 1611).
Lower Cuttatawomen / Corrotoman
Lived inLancaster County as a direct neighbor of the Moraughtachand/Moratico to the northwest and the Wicocomoco/Wighcocomoco to the north – their territory bordered the Rappahannock River to the south and the Chesapeake Bay to the east; 30 warriors or 100 tribal members (according to Smith & Strachey). (1608 / 1656).
Matchotic / Mattehatique
Sometimes referred to asLower Matchotic, lived between the Rappahannock River and the Patawomeck (Potomac) River, north of them lived thePissaseck and south of them lived theChicacoan (Seccawoni) – further upstream another group calledUpper Matchotic is identified; sometimes the tribal nameMatchotic is used asCollective noun for theTauxenent (Doeg),Patawomeck (Potomac),Cuttatawomen,Pissasec, andOnawmanient inNorthumberland,King George andWestmoreland Counties. (1608 / 1659 or 1669).
Moraughtachund / Moratico
Lived on the north bank of the Rappahannock River south of the mightyRappahannock tribe and north of theLower Cuttatawomen in what is nowLancaster andRichmond Counties; their chief wasOttondeacommoc; 80 warriors or 270 tribal members (according to Smith & Strachey). (1608 / 1669).
Pissaseck / Pissasec
Lived from the north bank of the Rappahannock River to the south bank of the Potomac River, between theMatchotic (Mattehatique) in the south and thePotomac (Patawomeck) in the north. (1608 / 1611).
Nantaughtacund /Nausatico / Nanzatico
Lived on both sides of the Rappahannock River in theCaroline,King George, andEssex Counties above the mightyRappahannock tribe and south of thePotomac (Patawomeck); since the middle of the 17th century scattered Nantaughtacund, Patawomeck, Matchotic/Mattehatique, Rappahannock, thePortobago/Portobacco from Maryland, and smaller groups such as the citiesNanzemond,Warisquock, andAusaticon are known under the anglicized nameNanzatico for this period, in 1705 after a murder committed by tribal members the entire tribe (including some refugees of neighboring tribes – except the Portobago/Portobacco and Rappahannock) were deported to Antigua of the Lesser Antilles and thus ceased to exist as an ethnic group; their chief wasVropaack, about 150 warriors or 500 tribal members (according to Smith and Strachey). (1608 / 1705).
Upper Cuttatawomen
Lived along the north bank of the Upper Rappahannock River in what is nowKing George County, to the north their territory bordered the Patawomeck/Potomac, and directly on the south side of the river lived theNantaughtacund; about 20 warriors or 70 tribal members (according to Smith & Strachey). (1608 / 1611).
Wicocomoco / Wicocomico / Wighcocomoco / Wicomico
Lived at the southern tip of theNorthern Neck along the south bank of thePotomac River and its estuary into the Chesapeake Bay; According to Stephen Potter, their main village was on the upper reaches and slightly north of theLittle Wicomico River and another village calledCinquck near the mouth and south of the Little Wicomico inNorthumberland County; their chief was Mosco; in1655 the colonial rulers ordered theChicacoan to join forces with the Wicocomoco (between 1656/1659 theLower Cuttatawomen had also joined them) and as a common new tribe under the leadership of the English-appointed chiefMachywap to settle in a reservation (approximately 18 km2) near Dividing Creek south of theGreat Wicomico River; about 130 warriors or 435 tribal members (according to Smith and Strachey). (1608 / 1719).
Lived along theCoan River, a tributary of the Potomac River, in what is nowNorthumberland County, with about 30 warriors or 100 tribal members (according to Smith), other sources about 435 tribal members (according to Smith and Strachey). (1608 / 1660).
Onawmanient
Lived south ofUpper Cuttatawomen in Nominy Bay inWestmoreland County; about 100 warriors or 335 tribal members (according to Smith).
Lived in at least ten villages along the south bank of the Patawomeck (Potomac) River; approx. 160 warriors or 540 tribal members (1612) or about 200 warriors or 670 tribal members (1624 – both according to Smith), according to Strachey about 160 warriors or 540 tribal members. (1608 / 1668). In 1666, the Governor's Council of Virginia called for the "utter destruction" of the Patawomeck. After a devastating attack by the English, the surviving Patawomeck converted to Christianity and remained in the area ofWhite Oak. Their descendants were recognized as a tribe by the state of Virginia in 2010.[47]
Were organized into a confederation of about 2,000 tribal members under the leadership ofDebedeavon ("The Laughing King", died 1657) when they first came into contact with English colonists in 1608, lived on theSouthern Delmarva Peninsula on theEastern Shore of Virginia; but only about 80 warriors or 270 tribal members (according to Smith) – more recent archaeological/historical studies and comparisons with other sources make a much larger population more likely; in the late 17th century were mostly referred to by the colonists asGingaskins.
Lived along Accohannock Creek in the counties ofAccomack andNorthampton north of Accomac Confederation in Virginia; were under the leadership ofKiptoteke, the brother of Debedeavon, and therefore probably politically subject to the Accomac Confederation; about 40 warriors or 135 tribal members.
After Virginia passed stringentracial segregation laws in the early 20th century, and ultimately theRacial Integrity Act of 1924 which mandated every person who had any African heritage be deemed "black",Walter Plecker, the head of the vital Statistics office, directed all state and local registration offices to use only the terms "white" or "colored" to denote race on official documents. This eliminated all traceable records of Virginia Indians. All state documents, including birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, tax forms, and land deeds, thus bear no record of Virginia Indians. Plecker oversaw the Vital Statistics office in the state for more than 30 years, beginning in the early 20th century, and took a personal interest in eliminating traces of Virginia Indians. Plecker surmised that no true Virginia Indians were remaining as years of intermarriage had "diluted the race". Over his years of service, he conducted a campaign to reclassify all biracial and multiracial individuals as Black, believing such persons were fraudulently attempting to claim their race to be Indian or white. The effect of his reclassification has been described by tribal members as "paper genocide".[49]
After the United States entered WWII many Powhatans volunteered to serve in the military. Powhatan men fought to be regarded separately from the Black community by the Selective Service. In 1954, Powhatans were given partial legal recognition by the General Assembly through a law stating that people with one-fourth or more Indian ancestry and one-sixteenth or less African ancestry were to be recognized as tribal Indians.[23]
The Commonwealth of Virginiastate-recognized 11 tribes, beginning with the Mattaponi and Pamunkey since its establishment.[50] In the 1980s, Virginia recognized six more tribes,[50] also descended from the Powhatan Confederacy. In 2010, Virginia recognized three more tribes;[50] one being thePatawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia,[51] who identify as being descendants of thePatawomeck people who were loosely connected to the Powhatan Confederacy.
Of these state-recognized tribes that identify as being Powhatan descendants, all but theMattaponi Indian Nation and the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia have since gained federal recognition.[12][52]
The Powhatan Renape Nation are a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey that identifies as descendants of the Powhatan Confederacy.[53]
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe was the first to gain federal recognition in 2016.[12] Then the other six were recognized by Congress through theThomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017.[12]
Two of these tribes, theMattaponi andPamunkey, still retain their reservations from the 17th century and are located inKing William County, Virginia.[6] As part of a treaty in 1646, and then another in 1677, the tribes agreed to bring wild game to the governor of Virginia each year.[54]
The tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy spoke mutually intelligibleAlgonquian languages. The most common was likely Powhatan. Its use became dormant due to the widespread deaths and social disruption suffered by the people. Much of the vocabulary bank is forgotten. Attempts have been made to reconstruct the vocabulary of the language using sources such as word lists provided by Smith and by the 17th-century writerWilliam Strachey.
^abcdSandra F. Waugaman and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz.We're Still Here: Contemporary Virginia Indians Tell Their Stories. Richmond: Palari Publishing, 2006 (revised edition).
^Rountree, Helen C. and E. Randolph Turner III.Before and After Jamestown: Virginia's Powhatans and Their Predecessors. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002.
^Rountree, Helen C.Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005
^Grizzard, Frank E. (2007).Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABL-CLIO, Inc. pp. Introduction: l-li.ISBN978-1-85109-637-4.
^abcRountree, Helen C. (1996).Pocahontas's people: the Powhatan Indians of Virginia through four centuries. University of Oklahoma Press.ISBN0-585-15425-2.OCLC44957641.
^Rountree, Helen C. (1998). "Powhatan Indian Women: The People Captain John Smith Barely Saw".Ethnohistory.45 (1):1–29.doi:10.2307/483170.JSTOR483170.
^Brown, Hutch (Summer 2000). "Wildland Burning by American Indians in Virginia".Fire Management Today.60 (3). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service:30–33.
^The termNottoway may derive from ″Nadawa″ or ″Nadowessioux″ (widely translated as "poisonous snake"), an Algonquian-language term which speakers used to refer to members of competing language families, specifically the Iroquoian- or Siouan-speaking tribes. Because the Algonquian occupied the coastal areas, they were the first tribes met by the English colonists, who often adopted the use of such Algonquian ethnonyms, names for other tribes, not realizing at first that these differed from the tribes' autonyms or names for themselves. The Nottoway called themselves in their tongue Nottaway (Dar-sun-ke)Cheroenhaka - "People at the Fork of the Stream" (because they lived in the region of the Nottaway, Blackwater River, and Chowan River - allBlackwater rivers), but the meaning of the name Cheroenhaka is uncertain and still disputed.
^The information on the number of warriors (and hereby the population) for theadditional tribes listed by Strachey – theCantauncack,Menapacunt,Pataunck,Ochahannauke,Kaposecock(e),Pamareke,Shamapa,Orapaks,Chepeco, andParaconos – far exceed the usual populations for the Powhatan tribes. According to Feest Strachey's population numbers for the York and Mattaponi Rivers are to prefer over those of Smith (especially with regard to the mighty Mattaponie) – but are probably too high for the tribes along the Pamunkey River (the given 400 warriors or 1,300 tribal members for the Pamareke and Kaposecock(s) are questionable – since both tribes are often regarded assubgroups of the mighty Pamunkey – which according to Smith & Strachey could raise itself about 300 warriors or 1,000 Tribal members counted).
Gleach, Frederic W. (1997)Powhatan's World and Colonial Virginia: A Conflict of Cultures. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Gleach, Frederic W. (2006) "Pocahontas: An Exercise in Mythmaking and Marketing", InNew Perspectives on Native North America: Cultures, Histories, and Representations, ed. by Sergei A. Kan and Pauline Turner Strong, pp. 433–455. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Karen Kupperman,Settling With the Indians: The Meeting of English and Indian Cultures in America, 1580–1640, 1980
A. Bryant Nichols Jr.,Captain Christopher Newport: Admiral of Virginia, Sea Venture, 2007
James Rice,Nature and History in the Potomac Country: From Hunter-Gatherers to the Age of Jefferson, 2009.
Helen C. Rountree,Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through Four Centuries, 1990
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