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Chief Powhatan / The father of Pocahontas wanted to invite settlers in for food offerings to become friendly with them. He also tought them to grow corn and tobacco and produced medicines for the ill.

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Those living in the area where Jamestown was settled must have had mixed feelings about the arrival of the English in 1607. One of their first reactions was hostility based on their previous experience with Spanish explorers along their coastline. They attacked one of the ships before the English actually landed. Yet they soon began to offer food and hospitality to the newcomers. At first, Powhatan, leader of a confederation of tribes around the Chesapeake Bay, hoped to absorb the newcomers through hospitality and his offerings of food. As the colonists searched for instant wealth, they neglected planting corn and other work necessary to make their colony self-sufficient. They therefore grew more and more dependent on the indigenous people for food.

Virgina
Discovery and Exploration

As the colony's fortunes deteriorated during its first two years, Captain John Smith's leadership saved the colony. Part of this leadership involved exploring the area and establishing trade with local people. Unfortunately for the Native Americans, Smith believed that the English should treat them as the Spanish had: to compel them to "drudgery, work, and slavery," so English colonists could live "like Soldiers upon the fruit of their labor." Thus, when his negotiations for food occasionally failed, Smith took what he wanted by force.

By 1609, Powhatan realized that the English intended to stay. Moreover, he was disappointed that the English did not return his hospitality nor would they marry Native American women. He knew that the English "invade my people, possess my country." Native Americans thus began attacking settlers, killing their livestock, and burning such crops as they planted. All the while, Powhatan claimed he simply could not control the young men who were committing these acts without his knowledge or permission. Keep in mind, however, that Powhatan's reactions and statements were reported by John Smith, hardly an unbiased observer.

In the next decade, the colonists conducted search and destroy raids on Native American settlements. They burned villages and corn crops (ironic, in that the English were often starving). Both sides committed atrocities against the other. Powhatan was finally forced into a truce of sorts. Colonists captured Powhatan's favorite daughter, Pocahontas, who soon married John Rolfe. Their marriage did help relations between Native Americans and colonists.

With the reorganization of the colony under Sir Edwin Sandys, liberal land policies led to dispersion of English settlements along the James River. Increasing cultivation of tobacco required more land (since tobacco wore out the soil in three or four years) and clearing forest areas to make land fit for planting. Expanding English settlements meant more encroachment on Native American lands and somewhat greater contact with Native Americans. It also left settlers more vulnerable to attack. By this time, the Native American fully realized what continued English presence in Virginia meant--more plantations, the felling of more forests, the killing of more game--in sum, a greater threat to their way of life. The self-proclaimed humanitarian efforts of people like George Thorpe--who sought to convert Indian children to Christianity through education--did not help either. Finally, the deaths of Powhatan and Pocahontas further hastened hostilities.

The Native Americans, led by Powhatan's brother Opechancanough, bided their time. Pretending friendship, they were waiting for an opportunity to strike the English and dislodge them from Virginia. In early 1622, they struck. In all, nearly 350 colonists were killed; Jamestown itself was saved only by the warning of an Native American Christian convert. One result was an ever-hardening English attitude toward the Native American. Another was bloody reprisals against local tribes.

For additional documents related to these topics, it is probably best to focus on John Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia and Peter Force's collection of tracts. Both these items are in The Capital and the Bay. Another good source of information is the Records of the Virginia Company, in the Thomas Jefferson Papers. In addition to browsing these sources, use the terms found in the documents to the right of the page.

Documents

John Smith Appointed to Manage "All Things Abroad," 1607

John Smith Captured by the Pamunkey Indians, 1607

Captain Newport Visits Powhatan, 1607

John Smith Attempts to Suppress the Indians Around Jamestown, 1608

The "Coronation" of Powhatan, 1608

John Smith and Powhatan Exchange Views, 1608

The Virginia Company's Instructions to Sir Thomas Gates Concerning the Natives, May 1609

Powhatan Takes Advantage of "The Starving Time," 1609-1610

Converting Indians to Christianity Justifies English Colonization, 1610

Powhatan's Daughter, Pocahontas, Taken Prisoner, 1612

Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe, 1613

John Rolfe Reports to Edwin Sandys Concerning Indians, 1619

George Thorpe and John Pory to Sir Edwin Sandys, May 15, 1621

A Relation of the Barbarous Massacre, 1622

How the Massacre Was Good for the Plantation, 1622

A Proposal for Subjugating the Indians,

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Virginia's Early Relations with Native Americans | Colonial Settlement, 1600s - 1763 | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

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Those living in the area where Jamestown was settled must have had mixed feelings about the arrival of the English in 1607. One of their first reactions was hostility based on their previous experience with Spanish explorers along their coastline.

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https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/chronology-of-powhatan-indian-activity.htm#:~:text=Many%20other%20Powhatan%20Indian%20and,are%20currently%20seeking%20state%20recognition.

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Pre-1607 - Before the arrival of the English the Virginia Indians had been living in what is now Virginia for over 12,000 years. Chief Powhatan inherited six tribes that made up what became known as the Powhatan Chiefdom during this time. The Powhatan Indian lands encompassed all of the tidewater Virginia area, from the south side of the James River north to the Potomac River, and parts of the Eastern Shore, an area they called Tsenacommacah. Its span was approximately 100 miles by 100 miles. Before the arrival of the English, and their foreign diseases, the population is estimated to have been at least 25,000.

May 1607 - When the English arrived Wahunsunacock, or more popularly Chief Powhatan, was the mamanatowick (paramount chief) of the more than 30 tribes that comprised the Powhatan Chiefdom. These additional tribes had been gained through marriage alliances and coercion. Each tribe had their own chief ( weroance/weroansqua), but all were "ruled" by Powhatan and paid "tribute" to him. By this time the population of the members of the chiefdom was about 15,000 - these are the peoples the English interacted with most.

Winter 1607 - Captain John Smith was captured while out exploring and taken to Werowocomoco where Powhatan lived. The two men conversed and came to an understanding of sorts and in the spring of 1608 Smith was released. Powhatan then began to send gifts of food to help the English - his young daughter Pocahontas usually accompanied these visits as a sign of peace.

1609 - Smith was injured when his gunpowder pouch caught fire and was sent home to England. With his departure relations between the Powhatan Indians and the English began to sour more rapidly. Powhatan moved from Werowocomoco to Orapaks, which was further inland, to get away from the English.

1610 - Pocahontas, who was now a young woman, married a Powhatan "private captain" named Kocoum.

1613 - The English kidnapped Pocahontas to try and force the return of English prisoners and stolen weapons. She was eventually taken to Henrico to live. Negotiations between the two peoples began.

1614 - While in captivity Pocahontas was taught English ways, the Christian faith and baptized Rebecca. During this time she met an Englishman named John Rolfe, who wanted to marry her. With blessings from her father and the governor, according to English accounts, the two were married. The marriage solidified a peace between the English and the Powhatan that became known as the "Peace of Pocahontas." The Rolfes later had a son, who was named Thomas.

1616 - The Virginia Company paid to send Pocahontas, her husband, their infant son and several Powhatan Indians to England. Their hope in doing so was to gain more interest in Jamestown.

1617 - Pocahontas became ill and died in Gravesend, England. After her death the peace between the Powhatan Indians and the English back in Virginia began to unravel.

1618 - Powhatan died. His succession was briefly passed on to his younger brother, Opitchapam, and then to his next younger brother Opechancanough.

1622 - Tired of English expansion Opechancanough planned a coordinated attack on the English settlements. Because of a young Indian boy's warning Jamestown itself was spared. Many outlying settlements were attacked and of a population of about 1,200 settlers about 350-400 were killed. After their attack, on March 22, the Powhatan Indians withdrew, as was their way, to wait for the English to pack up and leave. The English did not leave and more conflicts arose and continued on and off for the next ten years.

1644 - Although the English population had risen to about 8,000 Opechancanough was still upset about the English encroachment on the land and planned another attack. Once again approximately 350-400 English were killed.

1646 - Opechancanough, who was about 100, was captured by the English. While in captivity he was shot in the back by an English guard - against orders - and killed. His death began the end of the Powhatan Chiefdom.

1646/77 - Treaties were signed between the Powhatan and the English. They limited access to lands that were considered English and set up reservations. The 1677 treaty also set up yearly tribute payment that was made to the English king. The Powhatan were now English subjects.

1693 - The College of William and Mary was founded to teach American Indians and clergy. In the early 1700s Governor Spotswood told the Powhatan Indians he would remit their yearly tribute payments if they sent their children to the school. By the late 1700s funding for the college was diverted elsewhere and the school was closed to non-whites until 1964.

1700s - More Indian lands were lost, including the reservations of the Rappahannock (shortly after 1700), the Chickahominy (1718), and the Nansemond (who sold theirs in 1792). Some traditional ways were still practiced, but after decades of interactions with the English many Powhatan Indians were identifying themselves as Christians and speaking English more and more. By 1800 many of the native languages were no longer heard.

1800s - The desire to push the Powhatan Indians off their lands began again. This time the specific target was the four remaining Virginia Indian tribes that still held onto their reservation lands. The whites also wanted to end their status as tribes. One reservation was sold by 1850 while another, the Nottoway Reservation, was divided by 1878 (though many families held onto their lands into the 20th century). The Mattaponi and Pamunkey are the only two tribes that refused to give in to the attempts and still maintain their reservations into the present day.

1912-1946 - Walter Plecker was the head of vital statistics in Virginia during this time. He was a follower of the eugenics movement and a white supremacist. Plecker performed what amounted to "paper genocide" against all Virginia Indians because he wanted to deny they existed as he thought there were no "true" Indians in Virginia. In his view if you had 1/16th African ancestry, or by 1923 any trace of African ancestry, you were considered "colored." He wanted all documents, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, voter registration books, etc to reflect this by not using the term "Indian." The only two classifications according to Plecker were "white" and "colored."

1924 - The Racial Integrity Act was passed. It said, among other things, that it was illegal for whites and non-whites to marry as well as recognized only two racial classifications: "white" and "colored." Walter Plecker was a strong advocate for it as he wanted to keep the white "master race" "pure" and because he denied the existence of the Virginia Indians - who he called "mongrels." He believed the Virginia Indians wanted to escape "negro status" so they could go to white schools and marry whites. After this act was passed it was easier for Plecker to get his wish in having documents use only the terms "white" or "colored." To escape Plecker's aggressive campaign many Virginia Indians left the state. This is the same year the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 was passed. The Act granted all American Indians United States citizenship - some had gained it previously through marriage, special treaties, receipt of allotments or through military service.

1967 - The United States Supreme Court overturned the Racial Integrity Act in the case Loving vs. Virginia saying "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State." Virginia Indians were now able to marry who they chose and more importantly to change their birth certificates to accurately show they were Indians, for a fee. After 1997, when Delegate Harvey Morgan's bill passed, any Virginia Indian born in Virginia could have their records changed for free.

1980s - By the end of the 1980s there were seven tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia who were part of, or allied with, the Powhatan Chiefdom: the Pamunkey, Mattaponi (both maintain their reservation lands from the 1600s), Upper Mattaponi, Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Nansemond, and the Rappahannock.
The Monacan Nation, who was never part of the Powhatan Chiefdom, was recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia during this time as well.

1990s-2009 - Six of the state recognized tribes, all but the 2 reservation tribes, began seeking federal recognition through an Act of Congress. They have tried to get the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act passed many times over the years.
In March 2009 the tribes sent the bill to the House Committee on Natural Resources to start the process again. On April 22 the committee recommended the bill be sent on to the House of Representatives, who passed it on June 3. The Senate then referred a companion bill to their Committee on Indian Affairs, who had it sent to the full Senate on October 25. The bill was then placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on December 23, 2009. This is the farthest the bill has ever gotten in the congressional process.
The Senate bill later died as a result of a hold placed on it - by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) - that prevented it from being heard and voted on by the Senate before 2010 came to a close (the end of that Congressional session).

2010 - In early 2010 three more tribes were recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia: the Patawomeck, the Nottoway, and the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway). There are now eleven tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia and eight who are Powhatan descended - the Patawomeck Indian Tribe joins the seven tribes that were state recognized in the 1980s. About 3,400 people are tribal members of these eight Powhatan descended tribes.
The Monacan Nation has 2,000 tribal members, the Nottoway Indians of Virginia have 120 tribal members, and the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians of Virginia have 272 tribal members.
Collectively these eleven recognized Virginia Indian tribes own less than 2,000 acres of land.
The 2 reservation tribes, the Mattaponi and the Pamunkey, continue to make the yearly tribute payments of fish and game, now to the Virginia governor, as stipulated in the 1646 and 1677 treaties.
Many other Powhatan Indian and Virginia Indian descended tribes are still living in Virginia, and elsewhere, today. Several who still live in Virginia are currently seeking state recognition.

2011 - In February, all six tribes began the process to gain federal recognition again, placing a bill in the US House of Representatives (H.R.783) and a companion bill in the Senate (S.379) on the same day. On July 28, 2011, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs approved the Senate bill; the bill is currently waiting to be placed on the Senate legislative calendar. The House bill is currently in the House Subcommittee Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. Both bills remain in the same spot as of April 2012. If the bills do not pass by the end of 2012 (the end of this Congressional session), the tribes must start the process all over again.
For the most up to date information on the bills:
House version of Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act
Senate version of Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

Bibliography

Breed, Allen. "Virginia Indians balk at Jamestown Anniversary without Recognition." HamptonRoads.com. 12/26/2005. Web. 22 May 2008.

Dilday, Robert. "Baptists executives urge federal recognition of Virginia tribes." AssociatedBaptistPress.com 08/19/2010. Web. 21 August 2010.

Egloff, Keith and Deborah Woodward. First People: The Early Indians of Virginia. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia,1992.

Fiske, Warren. "The Black-and-White World of Walter Ashby Plecker." The Virginian-Pilot. 08/18/2004 1-7. Web. 22 May 2008.

Gleach, Frederic W. Powhatan's World and Colonial Virginia: A Conflict of Cultures. Lincoln: The University of Nebraska Press, 1997.

"Govtrack.us." H.R. 1385: Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2009.05/13/2009. Web. 18 March 2009

"Govtrack.us." S.1178: Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2009. 04/06/2010. Web. 3 June 2009.

Kimberlain, Joanne. "We're Still Here." The Virginian-Pilot. June 7-9 2009: Print.

"Native American Citizenship: 1924 Indian Citizenship Act." NebraskaStudies.org. Web. 24 May 2009.

Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005.

Rountree, Helen C. (editor) Powhatan Foreign Relations: 1500-1722. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993.

Rountree, Helen C. The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.

Rountree, Helen C. and E. Randolph Turner III. Before and After Jamestown: Virginia's Powhatans and Their Predecessors. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002.

"THOMAS (Library of Congress)." 06/04/2009. Web. 10 June 2009.

"THOMAS (Library of Congress)." 12/23/2009. Web. 10 June 2009.

"THOMAS (Library of Congress)." 09/29/2011. Web. 15 February 2011.

"THOMAS (Library of Congress)." 09/29/2011. Web. 15 February 2011.

"U.S. Supreme Court Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. (1967)." FindLaw. 1994-99. Web.3 February 2000.

Waugaman, Sandra F. and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, PhD. We're Still Here: Contemporary Virginia Indians Tell Their Stories. Richmond: Palari Publishing, revised edition 2006.

Wood, Karenne (editor). The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail. Charlottesville: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2007.
Sarah J Stebbins
NPS Seasonal, May 2009
updated June 2010, April 2012
Available online through the National Park Service is A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown: THE FIRST CENTURY by Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D.

Additional information on Virginia Indians can be obtained through the Virginia Council on Indians website at: http://indians.vipnet.org/

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Chronology of Powhatan Indian Activity - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Pre-1607 - Before the arrival of the English the Virginia Indians had been living in what is now Virginia for over 12,000 years. Chief Powhatan inherited six tribes that made up what became known as the Powhatan Chiefdom during this time.

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Common practices for most native american tribes would consist of men harvesting and clearing the fields of crops, then women coming back to plant more crops. Unfortunately women were also in charge of building and maintaining huts and houses, as well and finances. The men would be responsible for hunting and gathering food along with listening to orders by the chief. Obviously these tribes didn't have modern technology for entertainment consisted of music, stories, and dancing.

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The economy was mainly based on the agriculture, trades, and prizes that were taken in from different battles. The wealthiest and richest tribes would have the best and most agriculture. This would be based on the part of the land they were in and the weather of that land. The more crops they had the more they would be able to trade causing them to grow their economy.

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The Powhatan Confederacy (c. 1570-1646 or 1677) was a political, social, and martial entity of over 30 Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes of the region of modern-day Virginia, Maryland, and part of North Carolina, USA formed under the leadership of Wahunsenacah Chief Powhatan (l. c. 1547-c. 1618). These tribes are best known in history for the Anglo-Powhatan Wars of 1610-1646.

The tribes' economy was based on agriculture and trade as well as prizes taken in battle from other native groups outside of the confederacy. Each tribe had its own chief (known as a weroance for males and a weroansqua for females), and they knew their land by the name Tsenacommacah (densely inhabited land), which they treated with respect as a living entity.

Each weroance was subject to Wahunsenacah of the Powhatans and paid him tribute which was redistributed throughout the confederacy to ensure proper food supplies for all. The confederacy maintained the matrilineal model of the individual tribes in which one's family name and status was passed down from the mother's bloodline, and women played important roles in government, finance, and food production.

The various tribes had lived as separate entities in the region for over 12,000 years before they were formed into a confederacy by Wahunsenacah. In 1607, the English established the Jamestown Colony of Virginia and this proved to be the beginning of the end for the Powhatan Confederacy. European diseases, to which the natives had no immunity, killed many, the Anglo-Powhatan Wars killed many others, and survivors were relocated to reservations and then removed further from their ancestral lands by the Treaty of 1646 and the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677.

One of these two dates is usually given for the official end of the confederacy, but their use depends on what one is emphasizing. The 1646 treaty dissolved the confederacy but allowed the indigenous people some of their former rights while the 1677 treaty completely ended Native American autonomy in the region. In the present day, only the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes still retain their 17th-century reservation rights.

Wahunsenacah Founds Confederacy

Wahunsenacah inherited his position as chief from his mother who would have been a powerful member of the Powhatan tribe, perhaps even its weroansqua, and the responsibility for governance over six tribes:

The Iroquois Confederacy ( Haudenosaunee), who controlled the land from modern-day Canada down through Virginia, had been formed sometime in the 12th century and become a powerful political and military presence through their union of formerly warring tribes. Their example may have inspired Wahunsenacah to do the same. The tribes in and around Tsenacommacah frequently fought each other and the Iroquois also presented a significant threat.

By 1607 CE, Wahunsenacah had over 30 tribes as members of his confederacy.

Beginning with his six tribes, Wahunsenacah expanded his kingdom from his village of Werowocomoco (near modern-day Richmond, Virginia) throughout the region by bringing other tribes under his control. He accomplished this through attacks on other tribes which killed their chief and elders, later replacing these with Wahunsenacah's sons, trusted family members, or responsible members of the confederacy. He also used diplomacy, making clear to a tribal chief the benefits of joining him, and bribery by way of offering certain incentives. By 1607, he had over 30 tribes as members of his confederacy.

Wahunsenacah kept peace between the tribes of the confederacy by organizing large-scale hunting expeditions each winter that sent his warriors toward the interior where they were encouraged to attack non-member tribes (especially those of the Iroquois Confederacy), take scalps, and bring back prisoners. The need for a young man to prove himself a warrior in battle was thereby met and tribal honor and prestige maintained through military victory.

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Government & Spirituality

Wahunsenacah organized a cohesive system of government which depended on each individual understanding his or her place and behaving responsibly. Wahunsenacah was the Mamanatowick (Great Chief), and below him was a Peace Chief who handled domestic affairs and a War Chief responsible for military actions against others. Decisions were made for the confederacy as a whole by Wahunsenacah in consultation with his sages/counselors which numbered at least seven although later English accounts give the number at 14 or 20.

Each tribe of the confederacy followed this same model. The people paid tribute to the local chief who passed on what was owed to Wahunsenacah. A system was in place whereby the tribute would then be dispersed to all of the tribes according to their need. A certain amount was stored as surplus against poor harvests and lean times. The Powhatan government operated efficiently to maintain unity and meet the goals Wahunsenacah had in mind in bringing the tribes together:

Peace through common interest, ending intertribal warfare

Protection against other tribes, primarily the Iroquois Confederacy

Protection of the resources and land of Tsenacommacah

Ensuring an adequate food and clothing supply for all the people

Honoring the land and the deities who had provided them with a home

To the tribes of the confederacy, as with all Native American nations, the land had been placed in their care by higher powers and it was their responsibility to keep that trust and honor the land. Scholar Joseph Eppes Brown comments:

Many tribes believe in the sustaining power of the land. Indeed, according to most Native American traditions, land is alive. Every particular form of the land is experienced as the locus of qualitatively different spiritual beings. Their presence sanctifies and gives meaning to the land in all its details and contours. These spirits also give meaning to the lives of the people who cannot conceive of themselves apart from the land. The recognition of a multitude of spirits does not preclude all of these spirits from coming together in one unitary principle. Like the spokes of a wheel, the spirits meet at the center in what some tribes refer to as the Great Mysterious or the Creator. (24)

For the tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, the Creator was Ahone from whom all life flowed and order was maintained. Ahone caused the sun to rise in the morning and the crops to grow, brought life, and took life away. Ahone had a twin, Oke, who served the individual needs of the people because Ahone had enough responsibilities already with the maintenance of the world. The people would pray and sacrifice to Oke who would report their good or bad deeds to Ahone, and the tribe would then prosper or suffer accordingly. The care of the land was intimately tied to the recognition of a world imbued with spirits and so all of nature had to be treated with respect.

Agriculture & Daily Life

This understanding is seen in the agricultural practices and daily life of the tribes. The people of Tsenacommacah had been nomadic prior to the 16th century and, by the time of the Powhatan Confederacy, were semi-nomadic with some permanent villages and others established as seasonal communities. Scholar Rick Sapp describes their relationship with the land and agricultural/hunting practices:

They cleared fields by felling, girdling, or firing trees at the base and then setting fire to the slash and stumps. A site became unusable when soil productivity declined and local fish and game such as buffalo (which migrated into this area before 1400) were depleted. The bands then moved on. In every new location, the people used fire to clear virgin land. (290)

Once the fields were cleared, the women were responsible for planting the staple crops of corn, beans, and squash (the Three Sisters), maintaining, and harvesting them. Thanks were given to the spirits of the place as well as the twin gods for providing the people with sustenance and crop rotation was observed to allow the earth to replenish itself. The earth, as noted by Brown, was thought to be alive and would speak to the people and let them know its needs. The people, in turn, would speak to the earth, the trees, and the crops, explaining their needs and encouraging growth and health.

Women not only cared for the crops but were also responsible for building homes and managing a tribe's finances. Homes, temples, and community structures were all built the same way by bending saplings over to form an upside-down U, anchoring the top to the ground, and covering the structure with woven reed mats, leaving a hole at the top to draw smoke from the hearth fire. A Powhatan building was similar to those of northern tribes of the North American eastern seaboard and was known as a longhouse (a yehakin); the teepee, so often depicted in colonial and later art concerning Native Americans was not used by the Powhatan. Even with seasonal hunting communities, the women would go out before the men and build them shelters along the same lines as permanent settlements.

The men were responsible for hunting, fishing, carrying out orders from the chief, and waging war. Girls learned the domestic skills expected of women, and boys were raised to be warriors or, if they showed certain abilities or certain signs presided over their birth, shamans (known as sachems). A day's work began after sunrise - which was observed with a ritual of gratitude - and ended after sunset. An evening's entertainment would have included storytelling, music, and dance.

Men were also given the task of making canoes ( quintans) by felling trees, setting a small fire in the center of the log, surrounded by mud to contain it, and then scraping out the charred wood to form a hollow. They continued this procedure until the quintan was finished. The size of the quintan was dictated by the size of the tree used. Some, such as those used for hunting, trade, or war parties, were up to 50 feet (15 m) long and could carry as many as 40 men. The canoes were rowed with paddles or moved by poles and could travel quickly up- or downstream.

Ohanoak was polished beads or shells of different colors which were used to make wampum but could serve as currency on their own.

Women often used the canoes in trade or foraging expeditions. Women traded foodstuffs, skins, and furs with other tribes and were also responsible for the manufacture of wampum, polished shells strung together to form a belt or sash which usually told a story and served as currency. The central form of currency is thought to have been ohanoak (also given as roanoke which provided the place- name for the English Roanoke Colony as ohanoak was produced in that area). Ohanoak was polished beads or shells of different colors which were used to make wampum but could serve as currency on their own or strung together in a length but not intricately woven as with wampum. The tribes would later trade wampum with the English settlers and sent wampum of great value as gifts to English monarchs as an expression of friendship and peace.

The English first made contact with the Virginia natives when they established the Roanoke Colony (in 1585 and again in 1587) which failed by 1590, primarily because of the behavior of the colonists toward the Native Americans. They tried again in 1607 and established the Jamestown Colony which would have also failed if Wahunsenacah had not ordered his people to provide the immigrants with food and supplies. Between 1607-1609, the Powhatan tribes endured continual theft of their goods and foodstuffs by starving colonists who could not manage to fend for themselves. Captain John Smith (l. 1580-1631) encouraged some measure of productivity in the settlers, but his efforts were not enough since more and then even more colonists kept arriving.

The famous account of John Smith's capture by the Powhatans and being saved from execution by Wahunsenacah's daughter Pocahontas (l. c. 1596-1617) has come to be understood by modern scholars as either a complete fabrication on Smith's part or his misinterpretation of a death-and-rebirth ritual which made him a werowance of the English and part of the Powhatan Confederacy. Wahunsenacah had provided the English with food, not necessarily out of the goodness of his heart, but because he hoped they would be allies against other hostile tribes as well as the Spanish (who had colonized the West Indies, South and Central America throughout the 16th century) who raided the coasts for Native Americans they could kidnap and sell as slaves. The ritual Smith describes would have been enacted to symbolically "kill" him to his old life and allow him to be born again as a tribal chief, subject to the laws of the confederacy.

Smith clearly did not understand this and the Virginia Company of London - who had funded the Jamestown expedition - considered the Native Americans as just one more resource to exploit for profit. They ordered Smith and Captain Christopher Newport (l. 1561-1617) to make Wahunsenacah an English prince subject to King James I of England (r. 1603-1625) but Wahunsenacah either did not understand the coronation ritual they imposed on him or feigned ignorance; either way, he did not acknowledge James I's supremacy and continued to regard himself as the autonomous ruler of his people.

After his coronation, the colonists were encouraged to think of the Powhatan tribes as subjects of the king who should willingly continue to supply them with food. Wahunsenacah had already provided them with plenty, however, and could not endanger his own food supply and his people for others who could not - or would not - provide for themselves. He cut relations with the colony in 1609 CE and ordered the settlers to remain within the walls of Jamestown. His warriors were given leave to kill any English found on Powhatan land.

Smith returned to England in October 1609, and the colonists starved. When a supply ship arrived in May 1610, the new governor Sir Thomas Gates (l. c. 1585-1622) found only 60 people still alive in the colony. He ordered it abandoned and was bringing the survivors back to England when his ships were met by another carrying the aristocrat Thomas West, Lord De La Warr (l. 1577-1618) who ordered Gates to return to shore and re-establish Jamestown. This was the beginning of the end of the Powhatan Confederacy and Native American autonomy in the region.

Conclusion

De La Warr engaged in a no-compromise policy in dealing with Wahunsenacah who, for his part, refused to be ordered about by a man he considered a commoner. The First Powhatan War (1610-1614) was a bloody series of conflicts, which only ended after Pocahontas was kidnapped in 1613, converted to Christianity, and married the wealthy tobacco farmer John Rolfe (l. 1585-1622) in 1614. Rolfe had arrived with Gates in May of 1610 carrying tobacco seeds which he experimented with to produce a sweet-tasting crop that drew easily in a pipe.

Rolfe's tobacco saved Jamestown as its most lucrative cash crop but doomed the Native Americans of the area because, as the crop became more popular, more land was required for its cultivation. The Native Americans had long used tobacco for sacred rites, as a stimulant, and as medicine but the English turned it into a profitable commercial crop for recreational use and demanded more land as that use increased world-wide.

Pocahontas died in 1617 and Wahunsenacah c. 1618. His half-brother Opchanacanough (l. 1554-1646) then became Chief Powhatan and tried to drive the English out of his lands through the Second Powhatan War (1622-1626) but was defeated and lost more land. He tried again through the Third Powhatan War (1644-1646) which he also lost and in which he was captured, imprisoned, and then killed when he was shot in the back by his guard.

His successor, Necotowance (l. c. 1600-1649) signed the peace treaty of 1646 which dissolved the Powhatan Confederacy. Necotowance was succeeded by Totopotomoi (l. c. 1615-1656) who was only leader of two tribes, and his successor, his wife Cocacoeske (l. c. 1640-1686), had even less power and fewer lands.

In 1676, a wealthy landowner named Nathaniel Bacon (l. 1647-1676) rebelled against the policies of the Virginia governor William Berkeley (l. 1605-1677) and called for the extermination of the remaining Native Americans in the region or their removal. Bacon's Rebellion failed when Bacon died of dysentery and the other leaders were hanged, but the Virginian government forced another agreement on the remaining tribes, the Treaty of Middle Plantation, in 1677, pushing the natives onto reservations.

The government also reinstated the headright system which encouraged colonists to take land from Native Americans in return for clear rights to 50 acres of whatever they were able to acquire. Through these means, as well as European diseases to which the natives had no immunity, the remaining tribes, once of the Powhatan Confederacy, were either killed, driven from the region, or pressed into reservations, and the immigrants turned Tsenacommacah, once densely inhabited by indigenous tribes, into the even more densely populated English colonies of Virginia and Maryland.

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The Powhatan Confederacy (c. 1570-1646 or 1677) was a political, social, and martial entity of over 30 Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes of the region of modern-day Virginia, Maryland, and...

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When the English invaded the native Americans, they started attacking. They would kill livestock, burn down crops, and obviously people. Powhatan said he couldn't control them and there was nothing that they could do about it now. Over the next couple years the English just kept pounding them. More towns more villages, as well as search and destroy raids to get money food and whatever else they could ravage up from them. There were 3 different wars fought the the Powhatan and all 3 were unsuccessful by this time one of their only ways of getting money and suplies was by trading with the English.

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During the third war the Chief Powhatan was shot in the back and killed against orders from an English guard. Following the third war in October of 1646 the General Assembly of Virginia signed a peace treaty with the English, causing the Powhatan to lose power, land and freedom.

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After the war of Jamestown Chief Powhatan, cut off all trade and transportation in and out of Virginia. In 1609 CE Chief Powhatan made an attack on Jamestown after promising to trade with them. There were 3 main wars ( First Powhatan War, Second Powhatan War and Third Powhatan War) all 3 of these wars were won by the English witch resulted in the Native Americans losing land and Freedom.