The Powhatan Tribe was a Native American group in Virginia. They lived in longhouses, farmed, fished, and hunted. Their villages were ruled by a powerful chief, and they had a peaceful relationship with the British until attacks began. The tribe was eventually forced off their land and onto small reservations. Some descendants remain today.
The Powhatan Tribe was a group of Native Americans located in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. The first European contact with the tribe occurred in the mid to late 16th century when Spanish explorers traveled to the area. Most of the information we have about them, however, comes from Captain John Smith and other settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. “Powhatan” or “Powhatan Chiefdom” was the name of a large federation of Virginia Indians, with the Powhatan tribe as a specific tribe within this larger group.
Like other north Indian tribes, the Powhatan tribe lived in longhouses made of bent saplings covered with bark. Their villages, ranging in size from two to 100 dwellings, were set in the midst of their fields. Besides farming, they fished, hunted, and gathered nuts and plants from the woods.
Powhatan villages were placed along rivers which were the main means of transportation. They used pirogues formed from large trees. When traveling overland, they often brought dogs with them as pack animals. Their clothing consisted of breeches and leggings for men and skirts for women. Both men and women wore long hair, earrings and tattoos.
Unlike the Indian tribes of the neighboring areas which belonged to the Iroquois Confederacy and had a democratic form of government, the Powhatan tribes were very autocratic. At the time of Jamestown’s founding, the Powhatan tribe was ruled by Wahunsonakok, a powerful chief who had conquered and claimed over 30 different Indian bands living in as many as 100 different villages to form the Powhatan Chiefdom. While each band still had a leader, all were required to pay homage to Wahunsonakok and were under his authority.
At first, relations between the British and Powhatan were somewhat contentious, and captives on both sides were taken for exchange and peace negotiations. At some point the chief’s daughter, Motoaka, better known as Pocahontas, was taken by the British and held as an exchange for English prisoners. Pocahontas converted to Christianity and was courted by John Rolfe. In 1613, the two were married with the consent of the chief and the Powhatan tribe and the English colonists established a peaceful coexistence.
The peace was not permanent, and after Wahunsonakok’s death, his brother Opechancanough became chief. The new leader was concerned about encroaching English settlers who were steadily moving west, taking more land to replace fields depleted by tobacco crops. In 1622 he led a series of surprise attacks that killed nearly 350 settlers in one fell swoop. This began a decade of warfare which finally ended when a peace treaty was signed in 1632.
Twelve years later, Opechancanough staged another attack, killing nearly 500 settlers. At that point a two-year extermination campaign against the Powhatans was launched. Hostilities ended in 1646 with the death of the chief. The remaining bands of Powhatan Indians were forced off their land holdings and placed on small reservations.
Many of the 30 bands of the Powhatan tribes have died out, although their descendants remain. Some members currently reside on two small reservations in Virginia established in the 1600s. Eight Powhatan tribes are recognized by the state of Virginia, and five of those, along with one other Virginia tribe, have applied for federal recognition.
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