Pamunkey
Encyclopedia
The Pamunkey nation are one of eleven Virginia Indian tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The historical tribe was part of the Powhatan paramountcy
, made up of Algonquian
-speaking tribes. The Powhatan paramount chiefdom
was made up over 30 tribes, estimated to total about 10,000-15,000 people at the time the English arrived in 1607. The Pamunkey tribe made up approximately one-tenth to one-fifteenth of the total, as they numbered about 1,000 persons in 1607.
When the English arrived, the Pamunkey were one of the most powerful groups of the Powhatan chiefdom. They inhabited the coastal tidewater of Virginia
on the north side of the James River
near Chesapeake Bay
.
The Pamunkey is one of only two tribes that still retain reservation lands assigned by the 1646 and 1677 treaties with the English colonial government. The Pamunkey reservation is located on some of its ancestral land on the Pamunkey River
adjacent to present-day King William County, Virginia
. The Mattaponi
reservation, the only other in the state, is nearby on the Mattaponi River
. The Pamunkey tribe has successfully adapted for continuation through the centuries.
of culture, roughly 900 CE
- 1600 CE. The peoples used the Pamunkey River
as a main mode of transportation and food source. The river also provided access to hunting grounds, and other tribes. Access to the river was crucial, because Pamunkey villages were not seldom permanent settlements. Because the Pamunkey people did not use fertilizer
s, they moved their fields and homes about every ten years to allow land to lie fallow and recover from cultivation.
The Pamunkey, and all Virginia tribes, had an intimate, balanced relationship with the animals, plants, and the geography of their homeland. Like other native tribes, they had techniques, such as controlled burning, to clear land for cultivation or hunting. The land belonged to the group as a whole. The chief and council would allot a parcel of cleared ground to a family head for life. Upon his death, the parcel would generally go back to the tribe to be reallotted.
Differing concepts of land ownership and use caused many conflicts between the Virginia tribes and English colonists. For the Virginia Indians the land was "owned" only as long as it was farmed; after that, it was available for "public" use. The Englishmen had, instead, laws on private property and believed that the land theirs as soon as the Indians sold it to them. As a result, when the Englishmen allowed the land to be fallow, the Indians assumed they were free to use it for hunting and gathering, just as they always had. Many Englishmen were outraged by what they saw as encroachment on their private property, and conflicts arose.
Inside the house, they built bedsteads along both walls. They were made of posts put in the ground, about a foot high or more, with small poles attached. The framework was about four feet wide, over which reeds were put. One or more mats was placed on top for bedding; more mats or skins served as blankets and a rolled mat for a pillow. The bedding was rolled up and stored during the day to make the space available for other functions.
(chief) and a tribal council composed of seven members, elected every four years. The chief and council execute all the tribal governmental functions as set forth by their laws. The laws are administered by tribal members. Elections are held every four in the traditional manner using peas and corn kernels. During the elections, a basket is passed around, including the same number of peas and corn kernels as voters. Members first vote for the chief, followed by votes for the seven council members. For each candidate, voters use a corn kernel to vote "yes" and a pea to vote "no".
An 1894 study of the Pamunkey reported on traditional elections:
The same study noted that tribal laws were concerned with, but not limited to, controlling land use, stealing, and fighting (breaking the peace). Instead of using corporal punishment, incarceration, or chastisement, anyone who broke a tribal law was fined or banished. Today, the tribe does not write most of its laws. They resented that in the past, outsiders picked out some laws for ridicule. No outsiders are now allowed to see tribal laws.
Tribal laws govern all civil matters. In criminal matters, outside authorities respect tribal authority. If a sheriff needs to serve a warrant, he goes to the chief first for permission. The tribe does not operate a police force or jail. Most members of the tribe obey the tribal laws out of respect for the chief and the council. The tribe discourages verbal attacks against members. As the Chief Brown explains, they have strict slander laws because, "We're like a 400-year-old subdivision. If we didn't get along we'd have probably killed each other long before now."
The major duty of the chief is to pay the annual tribute to the Virginia Governor. This tribute consists of game, usually a deer, and pottery or a "peace pipe". It is a payment the tribe has been making since the treaty of 1646. Making this annual payment has not always been easy. Chief Miles remembers one year that was particularly hard, "We couldn't find anything, no deer, no turkeys--nothing. My dad was chief then, and we knew we had to have something to present to the governor; so we went to a turkey farm, bought a live turkey, brought it back to the reservation and killed it. That way we were able to fulfill the terms of the treaty--after all it was killed on the reservation." The Pamunkey pay tribute annually to uphold their part of the treaty. As far as anyone knows, they have not missed a payment in 331 years.
evidence, scholars estimate that various distinct cultures of Native Americans
occupied this part of the mid-Atlantic coast for more than 10,000 years before Europe
an contact. Evidence has been collected by archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians. Varying indigenous
cultures lived in the areas later occupied by the historic Pamunkey.
The Pamunkey are part of the larger Algonquian
-speaking language family. This was composed of a number of tribes who spoke variations of the same language, a language now mostly lost. By 1607 more than 30 tribes were tributaries
of the Algonquian Powhatan Confederacy, of which the Pamunkey were the largest. They were one of the most powerful tribes. Powhatan
and his daughter Matoaka (Pocahontas
), who achieved historical fame, were Pamunkey Indians. She married a Patawomeck
named Kocoum three years before Captain Samuel Argall
kidnapped her as a hostage in an attempt to secure the release of some English prisoners and ammunitions held by her father.
in 1607, the Powhatan Confederacy was visited by white men: Spanish, French, and English” (Barbour, 5). Scholars estimate that when the English arrived in 1607, this paramount chiefdom numbered about 14,000-21,000 people.
Colonists of the first successful English settlement, based at Jamestown
, had a complicated relationship with Virginia Indians. In the winter of 1607, Opechancanough, chief of the Pamunkey tribe, captured Captain John Smith. Smith was brought to the paramount chief, Chief Powhatan. This first meeting between Powhatan and Smith resulted in an alliance between the two people. Powhatan sent Smith back to Jamestown in the Spring of 1608 and started sending gifts of food to the colonists. If not for Powhatan's donations, the settlers would not have survived through the first winters. As the settlement expanded, competition for land and other resources, and conflict between the settlers and Virginia tribes increased.
The story of Pocahontas (Matoaka) tells a piece of Pamunkey history, but from an English perspective. Study of primary documents from the time of English arrival show that initial contact was characterized by mutual cultural misunderstanding. Colonists portrayed the Virginia Indians by contrasts. They had respect for Powhatan, but characterized other Indians by terms such as “naked devils”, showing fear. Fear and appreciation of Indians was coupled with distrust and uneasiness. George Percy’s account of the early years expresses such duality: “It pleased God, after a while, to send those people which were our mortal enemies to relieve us with victuals, as bread, corn fish, and flesh in great plenty, which was the setting up of our feeble men, otherwise we had all perished”.
The English distrusted most tribes, but they noted the Pamunkey did not steal. “Their custom is to take anything they can seize off; only the people of Pamunkey we have not found stealing, but what others can steal, their king receiveth.”
Powhatan could not understand the English approach. "What it will avail you to take by force you may quickly have by love, or to destroy them that provide you food? What can you get by war, when we can hide our provisions and fly to the woods? Whereby you must famish by wronging us your friends. And why are you thus jealous of our loves seeing us unarmed, and both do, and are willing still to feed you, with that you cannot get but by our labors?" Smith included this translation of Powhatan's questions in his writings.
Powhatan’s maternal relative and ultimate successor, Opechancanough, launched attacks in 1622 and 1644 as a result of English encroaching on Powhatan lands. The first, known as the Indian Massacre of 1622
, destroyed settlements such as Henricus
and Wolstenholme Towne
, and nearly wiped out the colony. Jamestown was spared in the attack of 1622 due to a warning. During each attack, about 350-400 settlers were killed. In 1622 the population had been 1,200; and in 1644, 8,000 prior to the attacks. Captured in 1646, Opechancanough was killed by an English guard, against orders. His death contributed to the decline of the Powhatan Chiefdom.
In 1646 the first treaty was signed between the Opechancanough's successor, Necotowance, and the English. The treaty set up boundaries between lands set aside for the Virginia tribes and those that were now considered English owned, reservations lands, and yearly tribute payment of fish and game (made to the English). These boundaries could not be crossed unless it was on official business and badges had to be worn to illustrate the point.
The Virginia Colony continued to grow and encroach on Indian land, making it impossible for them to sustain traditional practices. Many Pamunkey were forced to work for the English or were enslaved. As the colonial settlement grew, so did settlers' resistance to Indian attacks.
, which began in 1675, resulted in attacks on several tribes that were loyal to the English. Historians see the rebellion as mostly arising out of colonist Nathaniel Bacon
and Governor Sir William Berkeley's personal rivalry. Some of the causes of the rebellion were declining tobacco
prices (economic problems), growing commercial competition (from Maryland
and the Carolinas), an increasingly restricted English market, and rising prices from English manufactured goods (mercantilism). Bacon, and colonists who agreed with him, found a scapegoat in continuing tensions and raids by local Virginia tribes. During reprisals for an incident in what is now Fairfax County
, Bacon and his followers attacked innocent tribes, including the Pamunkey, for raids conducted by others.
Cockacoeske
(weroansqua of the Pamunkey), who succeeded her husband after he was killed fighting for the English, was an ally of Berkeley against Bacon. To the English, she was known as "Queen of the Pamunkey". She is known for having signed the Articles of Peace (Treaty of Middle Plantation) after Bacon's Rebellion ended. As a result of the treaty, she gained authority over the Rappahannock
and Chickahominy tribes, which had not formerly been under the paramount chiefdom of the Pamunkey. Completion of the treaty ushered in a time of peace between the Virginia tribes and the English. This treaty was signed by more tribal leaders than that of 1646. It reinforced the annual tribute payments and added the Siouan and Iroquoian tribes to the Tributary Indians of the colonial government. More reservation lands were established for the tribes, but the treaty required Virginia Indian leaders to acknowledge they and their peoples were subjects of the King of England.
The Pamunkey have been able to survive because of their ability to adapt as a tribe. Withstanding pressure to give up their reservation lands has helped them maintain traditional ways. Men use some of the old methods for fishing, part of the tribe's traditional heritage. They also continue to hunt and trap on reservation lands.
In 1918 the tribe built a shad
hatchery to ensure continuation of an important food source. When shad are caught, the eggs of females are taken and placed into a bucket. Sperm from males are put into the same bucket. At holding tanks, the fertilized eggs are allowed to grow and hatch. Once the new fish are grown enough, usually after 21 days, they are flushed back into the river. Chief Miles estimates that seven million fry were put back into the river in 1998 and probably triple that amount in 1999.
was strengthened with crushed or burned shells, crushed steatite, river pebbles, or quartz sand.
In 1932, during the Great Depression
, the state of Virginia helped the Pamunkey develop their pottery as a source of income. The state set up a program for a Pottery School and provided a teacher. The State furnished materials for the building, but the tribe built it themselves. Tribal members learned methods to increase the speed of manufacture. They incorporated firing pottery in a kiln
and using glazes into their techniques. They learned to use squeeze molds to produce copies of pots quickly. Kiln firing produced finished pottery of more uniform brown tones than the shades of gray from traditional pottery techniques.
Pamunkey pottery-makers learned how to paint and glaze pots. The teacher taught them designs and pictographs based on well-known and popular Southwestern Indian traditions. Two pictographs represent important stories to the tribe: the story of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas and the story of the treaty that set up payments of game. After the teacher left the school, some members returned to traditional pottery techniques.
Today, Pamunkey use both traditional and newer techniques to create their pieces. To differentiate, pots made the traditional way are called blackware. The Pamunkey Indian Museum has a variety of vessels, as well as videos and exhibits that explain the differences in construction methods, types of temper, and decorating techniques.
The Pamunkey ensured their Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum
, built in 1979, resembled the traditional yehakin. Located on the reservation, the museum provides visitors with insight into the tribe's long history and culture. Included are artifacts from more than 10,000 years of indigenous settlement, replicas of prehistoric materials, and stories. The Smithsonian Institution
recently selected the Pamunkey as one of 24 tribes to be featured in the National Museum of the American Indian
(NMAI) in Washington, DC.
Powhatan
The Powhatan is the name of a Virginia Indian confederation of tribes. It is estimated that there were about 14,000–21,000 of these native Powhatan people in eastern Virginia when the English settled Jamestown in 1607...
, made up of Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking tribes. The Powhatan paramount chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
was made up over 30 tribes, estimated to total about 10,000-15,000 people at the time the English arrived in 1607. The Pamunkey tribe made up approximately one-tenth to one-fifteenth of the total, as they numbered about 1,000 persons in 1607.
When the English arrived, the Pamunkey were one of the most powerful groups of the Powhatan chiefdom. They inhabited the coastal tidewater of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
on the north side of the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
near Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
.
The Pamunkey is one of only two tribes that still retain reservation lands assigned by the 1646 and 1677 treaties with the English colonial government. The Pamunkey reservation is located on some of its ancestral land on the Pamunkey River
Pamunkey River
The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York River it is part of the watershed of Chesapeake Bay.-Course:...
adjacent to present-day King William County, Virginia
King William County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,146 people, 4,846 households, and 3,784 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile . There were 5,189 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile...
. The Mattaponi
Mattaponi
The Mattaponi tribe is one of only two Virginia Indian tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns reservation land. The larger Mattaponi Indian Tribe lives in King William County on reservation lands that stretch along the borders of the Mattaponi River, near West Point, Virginia.The...
reservation, the only other in the state, is nearby on the Mattaponi River
Mattaponi River
The Mattaponi River is a tributary of the York River estuary in eastern Virginia in the United States.It rises as four streams in Spotsylvania County, each of which is given a shorter piece of the Mattaponi's name:...
. The Pamunkey tribe has successfully adapted for continuation through the centuries.
Subsistence and relationship to the land
The traditional Pamunkey way of life was subsistence living. They lived through a combination of fishing, trapping, hunting, and farming. The latter was developed in the Late Woodland PeriodWoodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
of culture, roughly 900 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
- 1600 CE. The peoples used the Pamunkey River
Pamunkey River
The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York River it is part of the watershed of Chesapeake Bay.-Course:...
as a main mode of transportation and food source. The river also provided access to hunting grounds, and other tribes. Access to the river was crucial, because Pamunkey villages were not seldom permanent settlements. Because the Pamunkey people did not use fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
s, they moved their fields and homes about every ten years to allow land to lie fallow and recover from cultivation.
The Pamunkey, and all Virginia tribes, had an intimate, balanced relationship with the animals, plants, and the geography of their homeland. Like other native tribes, they had techniques, such as controlled burning, to clear land for cultivation or hunting. The land belonged to the group as a whole. The chief and council would allot a parcel of cleared ground to a family head for life. Upon his death, the parcel would generally go back to the tribe to be reallotted.
Differing concepts of land ownership and use caused many conflicts between the Virginia tribes and English colonists. For the Virginia Indians the land was "owned" only as long as it was farmed; after that, it was available for "public" use. The Englishmen had, instead, laws on private property and believed that the land theirs as soon as the Indians sold it to them. As a result, when the Englishmen allowed the land to be fallow, the Indians assumed they were free to use it for hunting and gathering, just as they always had. Many Englishmen were outraged by what they saw as encroachment on their private property, and conflicts arose.
Homes
Pamunkey homes, called yihakans (or yehakins), were long and narrow; they were described as “longhouses” by English colonists. They were structures made from bent saplings that were lashed together at the top to make a barrel shape. Indians covered the saplings with woven mats or bark. The 17th-century historian William Strachey thought that bark was harder to acquire, as he noticed that only higher-status families owned bark-covered houses. In summer, when the heat and humidity increased, the mats could be rolled up or removed to allow more air circulation.Inside the house, they built bedsteads along both walls. They were made of posts put in the ground, about a foot high or more, with small poles attached. The framework was about four feet wide, over which reeds were put. One or more mats was placed on top for bedding; more mats or skins served as blankets and a rolled mat for a pillow. The bedding was rolled up and stored during the day to make the space available for other functions.
Government
The tribe is governed by a weroanceWeroance
Weroance is an Algonquian word meaning tribal chief, leader, commander, or king, notably among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region. The Powhatan Confederacy, encountered by the colonists of Jamestown and adjacent area of the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607,...
(chief) and a tribal council composed of seven members, elected every four years. The chief and council execute all the tribal governmental functions as set forth by their laws. The laws are administered by tribal members. Elections are held every four in the traditional manner using peas and corn kernels. During the elections, a basket is passed around, including the same number of peas and corn kernels as voters. Members first vote for the chief, followed by votes for the seven council members. For each candidate, voters use a corn kernel to vote "yes" and a pea to vote "no".
An 1894 study of the Pamunkey reported on traditional elections:
“The council names two candidates to be voted for. Those favoring the election of candidate number 1 must indicate their choice by depositing a grain of corn in the ballot-box at the schoolhouse, while those who favor the election of candidate number 2 must deposit a bean in the same place. The former or the latter candidate is declared chosen according as the grains of corn or the beans predominate.”
The same study noted that tribal laws were concerned with, but not limited to, controlling land use, stealing, and fighting (breaking the peace). Instead of using corporal punishment, incarceration, or chastisement, anyone who broke a tribal law was fined or banished. Today, the tribe does not write most of its laws. They resented that in the past, outsiders picked out some laws for ridicule. No outsiders are now allowed to see tribal laws.
Tribal laws govern all civil matters. In criminal matters, outside authorities respect tribal authority. If a sheriff needs to serve a warrant, he goes to the chief first for permission. The tribe does not operate a police force or jail. Most members of the tribe obey the tribal laws out of respect for the chief and the council. The tribe discourages verbal attacks against members. As the Chief Brown explains, they have strict slander laws because, "We're like a 400-year-old subdivision. If we didn't get along we'd have probably killed each other long before now."
The major duty of the chief is to pay the annual tribute to the Virginia Governor. This tribute consists of game, usually a deer, and pottery or a "peace pipe". It is a payment the tribe has been making since the treaty of 1646. Making this annual payment has not always been easy. Chief Miles remembers one year that was particularly hard, "We couldn't find anything, no deer, no turkeys--nothing. My dad was chief then, and we knew we had to have something to present to the governor; so we went to a turkey farm, bought a live turkey, brought it back to the reservation and killed it. That way we were able to fulfill the terms of the treaty--after all it was killed on the reservation." The Pamunkey pay tribute annually to uphold their part of the treaty. As far as anyone knows, they have not missed a payment in 331 years.
History
Based on archaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evidence, scholars estimate that various distinct cultures of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
occupied this part of the mid-Atlantic coast for more than 10,000 years before Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an contact. Evidence has been collected by archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians. Varying indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
cultures lived in the areas later occupied by the historic Pamunkey.
The Pamunkey are part of the larger Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking language family. This was composed of a number of tribes who spoke variations of the same language, a language now mostly lost. By 1607 more than 30 tribes were tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Algonquian Powhatan Confederacy, of which the Pamunkey were the largest. They were one of the most powerful tribes. Powhatan
Chief Powhatan
Chief Powhatan , whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh , was the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607...
and his daughter Matoaka (Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
), who achieved historical fame, were Pamunkey Indians. She married a Patawomeck
Patawomeck
The Patawomeck tribe of Virginia Indians is based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River . It is one of Virginia's 11 recognized American Indian tribes. It is not federally recognized...
named Kocoum three years before Captain Samuel Argall
Samuel Argall
Sir Samuel Argall was an English adventurer and naval officer.As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the new English colony of Virginia, based at Jamestown, and made numerous voyages to the New World...
kidnapped her as a hostage in an attempt to secure the release of some English prisoners and ammunitions held by her father.
European contact
Initial contact with Europeans was around 1570. “And from [1570] on at ever briefer intervals until the first permanent English colony was established at JamestownJamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
in 1607, the Powhatan Confederacy was visited by white men: Spanish, French, and English” (Barbour, 5). Scholars estimate that when the English arrived in 1607, this paramount chiefdom numbered about 14,000-21,000 people.
Colonists of the first successful English settlement, based at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, had a complicated relationship with Virginia Indians. In the winter of 1607, Opechancanough, chief of the Pamunkey tribe, captured Captain John Smith. Smith was brought to the paramount chief, Chief Powhatan. This first meeting between Powhatan and Smith resulted in an alliance between the two people. Powhatan sent Smith back to Jamestown in the Spring of 1608 and started sending gifts of food to the colonists. If not for Powhatan's donations, the settlers would not have survived through the first winters. As the settlement expanded, competition for land and other resources, and conflict between the settlers and Virginia tribes increased.
Original English impressions
The English distrusted most tribes, but they noted the Pamunkey did not steal. “Their custom is to take anything they can seize off; only the people of Pamunkey we have not found stealing, but what others can steal, their king receiveth.”
Powhatan could not understand the English approach. "What it will avail you to take by force you may quickly have by love, or to destroy them that provide you food? What can you get by war, when we can hide our provisions and fly to the woods? Whereby you must famish by wronging us your friends. And why are you thus jealous of our loves seeing us unarmed, and both do, and are willing still to feed you, with that you cannot get but by our labors?" Smith included this translation of Powhatan's questions in his writings.
Powhatan’s maternal relative and ultimate successor, Opechancanough, launched attacks in 1622 and 1644 as a result of English encroaching on Powhatan lands. The first, known as the Indian Massacre of 1622
Indian massacre of 1622
The Indian Massacre of 1622 occurred in the Colony of Virginia, in what now belongs to the United States of America, on Friday, March 22, 1622...
, destroyed settlements such as Henricus
Henricus
The "Citie of Henricus" — also known as Henricopolis or Henrico Town or Henrico — was a settlement founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia...
and Wolstenholme Towne
Wolstenholme Towne
Wolstenholme Towne was a fortified settlement in the Virginia Colony begun with a population of about 40 settlers of the Virginia Company of London which was located about 7 miles downstream from Jamestown. Named for Sir John Wolstenholme, one of the investors, it was established about 1618 on a...
, and nearly wiped out the colony. Jamestown was spared in the attack of 1622 due to a warning. During each attack, about 350-400 settlers were killed. In 1622 the population had been 1,200; and in 1644, 8,000 prior to the attacks. Captured in 1646, Opechancanough was killed by an English guard, against orders. His death contributed to the decline of the Powhatan Chiefdom.
In 1646 the first treaty was signed between the Opechancanough's successor, Necotowance, and the English. The treaty set up boundaries between lands set aside for the Virginia tribes and those that were now considered English owned, reservations lands, and yearly tribute payment of fish and game (made to the English). These boundaries could not be crossed unless it was on official business and badges had to be worn to illustrate the point.
The Virginia Colony continued to grow and encroach on Indian land, making it impossible for them to sustain traditional practices. Many Pamunkey were forced to work for the English or were enslaved. As the colonial settlement grew, so did settlers' resistance to Indian attacks.
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's RebellionBacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony in North America, led by a 29-year-old planter, Nathaniel Bacon.About a thousand Virginians rose because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkeley's friendly policies towards the Native Americans...
, which began in 1675, resulted in attacks on several tribes that were loyal to the English. Historians see the rebellion as mostly arising out of colonist Nathaniel Bacon
Nathaniel Bacon
Nathaniel Bacon was a colonist of the Virginia Colony, famous as the instigator of Bacon's Rebellion of 1676, which collapsed when Bacon himself died from dysentery.-Early life:...
and Governor Sir William Berkeley's personal rivalry. Some of the causes of the rebellion were declining tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
prices (economic problems), growing commercial competition (from Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and the Carolinas), an increasingly restricted English market, and rising prices from English manufactured goods (mercantilism). Bacon, and colonists who agreed with him, found a scapegoat in continuing tensions and raids by local Virginia tribes. During reprisals for an incident in what is now Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Bacon and his followers attacked innocent tribes, including the Pamunkey, for raids conducted by others.
Cockacoeske
Cockacoeske
Cockacoeskie was a 17th century leader of the Pamunkey Tribe of Native Americans in what is now Virginia in the United States....
(weroansqua of the Pamunkey), who succeeded her husband after he was killed fighting for the English, was an ally of Berkeley against Bacon. To the English, she was known as "Queen of the Pamunkey". She is known for having signed the Articles of Peace (Treaty of Middle Plantation) after Bacon's Rebellion ended. As a result of the treaty, she gained authority over the Rappahannock
Rappahannock Tribe
The Rappahannock are one of the eleven state-recognized Native American tribes in Virginia. They are made up of descendants of several small Algonquian-speaking tribes who merged in the 17th century.-17th century:...
and Chickahominy tribes, which had not formerly been under the paramount chiefdom of the Pamunkey. Completion of the treaty ushered in a time of peace between the Virginia tribes and the English. This treaty was signed by more tribal leaders than that of 1646. It reinforced the annual tribute payments and added the Siouan and Iroquoian tribes to the Tributary Indians of the colonial government. More reservation lands were established for the tribes, but the treaty required Virginia Indian leaders to acknowledge they and their peoples were subjects of the King of England.
Pamunkey Indians today
Today, there are about 200 tribal members, many of whom live at least part time on their 1200 acres (4.9 km²) reservation.The Pamunkey have been able to survive because of their ability to adapt as a tribe. Withstanding pressure to give up their reservation lands has helped them maintain traditional ways. Men use some of the old methods for fishing, part of the tribe's traditional heritage. They also continue to hunt and trap on reservation lands.
In 1918 the tribe built a shad
Shad
The shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. The several species frequent different areas on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea....
hatchery to ensure continuation of an important food source. When shad are caught, the eggs of females are taken and placed into a bucket. Sperm from males are put into the same bucket. At holding tanks, the fertilized eggs are allowed to grow and hatch. Once the new fish are grown enough, usually after 21 days, they are flushed back into the river. Chief Miles estimates that seven million fry were put back into the river in 1998 and probably triple that amount in 1999.
Pottery
The Pamunkey tradition of pottery making dates back to before the English settled Jamestown. They have been using clay from the banks of the Pamunkey River since pre-historic times. Many continue to use the traditional method. To do so, they let the clay dry, then break it into smaller pieces. These pieces are soaked in water until reaching the consistency of cream. The clay is strained to remove rocks or debris. The water is drained and pressed out until the clay is like dough. It is then ready to be made into pots. Traditional pottery by Pamunkey ancestors of the Woodland PeriodWoodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
was strengthened with crushed or burned shells, crushed steatite, river pebbles, or quartz sand.
In 1932, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the state of Virginia helped the Pamunkey develop their pottery as a source of income. The state set up a program for a Pottery School and provided a teacher. The State furnished materials for the building, but the tribe built it themselves. Tribal members learned methods to increase the speed of manufacture. They incorporated firing pottery in a kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
and using glazes into their techniques. They learned to use squeeze molds to produce copies of pots quickly. Kiln firing produced finished pottery of more uniform brown tones than the shades of gray from traditional pottery techniques.
Pamunkey pottery-makers learned how to paint and glaze pots. The teacher taught them designs and pictographs based on well-known and popular Southwestern Indian traditions. Two pictographs represent important stories to the tribe: the story of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas and the story of the treaty that set up payments of game. After the teacher left the school, some members returned to traditional pottery techniques.
Today, Pamunkey use both traditional and newer techniques to create their pieces. To differentiate, pots made the traditional way are called blackware. The Pamunkey Indian Museum has a variety of vessels, as well as videos and exhibits that explain the differences in construction methods, types of temper, and decorating techniques.
The Pamunkey ensured their Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum
Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum is a museum in King William, Virginia, United States, that holds information on the Pamunkey people, their history and way of life....
, built in 1979, resembled the traditional yehakin. Located on the reservation, the museum provides visitors with insight into the tribe's long history and culture. Included are artifacts from more than 10,000 years of indigenous settlement, replicas of prehistoric materials, and stories. The Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
recently selected the Pamunkey as one of 24 tribes to be featured in the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
(NMAI) in Washington, DC.
See also
- CockacoeskeCockacoeskeCockacoeskie was a 17th century leader of the Pamunkey Tribe of Native Americans in what is now Virginia in the United States....
, woman chief through time of Bacon's RebellionBacon's RebellionBacon's Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony in North America, led by a 29-year-old planter, Nathaniel Bacon.About a thousand Virginians rose because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkeley's friendly policies towards the Native Americans... - Queen Anne (Pamunkey chief)Queen Anne (Pamunkey chief)Queen Anne succeeded to the position of chief of the Pamunkey tribe in 1708 after the obscure and short rule of "Queen Betty" who succeeded Cockacoeske. This was nearly a decade after Bacon's Rebellion...
- Virginia tribes
Sources
- Barbour, Phillip. Pocahontas and Her World. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1969.
- Hatfield, April Lee. Atlantic Virginia: Intercolonial Relations in the Seventeenth Century, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.