Eastern Virginia Indians

When the English arrived on the shores of what is now Eastern Virginia in 1607, they settled in an area already occupied by tens of thousands of people. Tribes still live today on the James and along other Virginia rivers. Werowocomoco was the center of power for the political and spiritual leader Powhatan, and beginning in the late 1500s, Chief Powhatan led a chiefdom that influenced dozens of communities in the region. On the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, the Pamunkey Indian Museum & Cultural Center focuses on the tribe's history and culture from 14,000 years ago to the present. Located on the York River about 10 miles downriver from Werowocomoco, the area now preserved as Machicomoco State Park was part of Powhatan's extensive chiefdom and includes an interpretive pavilion on Virginia Indian culture. Established in 1722, Brafferton Indian School had students from many Virginia tribes, including the Pamunkey, Nansemond, Chickahominy, and Nottoway nations, and two young men from the Nottoway tribe attended, including one who received a commendation from George Washington for his service in the Revolutionary War. In 1614, the Chickahominy negotiated an independent treaty with English leader Samuel Argall at James Fort, becoming tributary allies of the colonists. The Treaty of 1646 ended the Third Anglo-Powhatan War and set aside land for Virginia Indians, including the Chickahominy. In 1677, the Articles of Peace, also called the Treaty of Middle Plantation, was signed by the English Crown and representatives of several tribes, including Pamunkey Chief Cockacoeske and leaders of the Nottoway, Nansemond, Monacan, Appomattoc, Wayonoake, Saponi, Nanzatico, and Meherrin tribes. The 1713 treaty recognized the Nottoway land rights.

Virginia · United States