Native Americans are not an extinct culture. Today tens of thousands of people across the watershed identify as American Indian. Printables: Additional Links: Websites for recognized modern tribes in Maryland and Virginia: Piscataway Conoy Tribe http://www.piscatawayconoytribe.com/ Chickahominy Tribe http://www.chickahominytribe.org/ Mattaponi Tribe https://www.mattaponination.com/ Monacan Indian Nation http://www.monacannation.com/ Nansemond Tribe https://nansemond.org/ Pamunkey Tribe http://pamunkey.org/ Rappahannock Tribe https://www.rappahannocktribe.org/ Upper Mattaponi Tribe https://umitribe.org/ Cheroenhaka- Nottoway Tribe http://www.cheroenhaka-nottoway.org/home.htm Patawomeck Tribe http://patawomeckindiantribeofvirginia.org/
The varied ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay provided the Native Americans with an abundance of natural resources. The rivers allowed them to travel in order to trade these resources across different regions. Printables: Additional Links: The National Park Service identifies the tribes in the Chesapeake Bay when English settlement began. https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/historyculture/tribes-and-cultures.htm The National Park Service provides an overview of the Powhatan tribe at the time of English colonization. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/chronology-of-powhatan-indian-activity.htm Bucknell University provides some information on the Susquehannock tribe […]
John Smith set out from Jamestown with 14 men in a small boat in order to explore and map the Chesapeake region. This is an account of his second voyage. Printables: Additional Links: The National Park Service provides detailed information on John Smith’s 2nd voyage. https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/historyculture/second-voyage.htm A more in depth resource on John Smith from Virtual Jamestown. http://www.virtualjamestown.org/exist/cocoon/Jamestown/fha-js/SmiWorks1
John Smith produced the first accurate map of the Chesapeake Bay. This document not only shows us the geographical features of the region, but also documents the numerous tribes who were living here. Printables: Additional Links: The National Park Service provides background information on Smith’s map as well as a printable version. https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/smith-maps.htm Historic Jamestown provides a brief biography of Captain John Smith, https://historicjamestowne.org/history/pocahontas/john-smith/
The Native Americans of the 18th century Chesapeake Bay did not write their own history, but through documents like John Smith’s map and journals some of their stories can be learned. Printables: Additional Links: The National Park Service identifies the tribes in the Chesapeake Bay when English settlement began. https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/historyculture/tribes-and-cultures.htm The National Park Service provides an overview of the Powhatan tribe at the time of English colonization. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/chronology-of-powhatan-indian-activity.htm Bucknell University provides some information on the Susquehannock tribe in […]
Using John White’s 1585 watercolor paintings as well was pottery shards discovered in the Chesapeake region, this clay pot was constructed to represent a type used by the Native Americans. Printables:
The technique used to sharpen stones for knives, spears, and arrowheads is known as flint knapping. Today these stones serve as evidence of the Native American hunters who were here as long as 10,000 years ago. Printables: Additional Links: The University of Iowa provides a written description of Flint Knapping https://archaeology.uiowa.edu/flintknapping-0 The Cleveland Museum of Natural History provides a demonstration of Flint Knapping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2CcHYuOEsE
This collection of 300 points were all found around the northern portions of the Chesapeake Bay. Today these stones serve as evidence of the Native American hunters who were here as long as 10,000 years ago. Printables: Additional Links: This is a database for different kinds of projectile points. https://www.projectilepoints.net/ The Maryland Archeological Conservation Lab explains more about projectile points. https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/diagnostic/ProjectilePoints/index-projectilepoints.html
This reproduction offers an example of what Native American bows and arrows may have looked like. These tools would’ve allowed for more successful hunts when compared with the spear hunting of earlier cultures. Printables: Additional Links: University of Iowa explains the technology of bows and arrows. https://archaeology.uiowa.edu/american-indian-archery-technology-0 An exploration of different hunting implements and weapons of war for indigenous peoples. http://www.native-languages.org/weapons.htm
Stone axes were a crucial tool for constructing dugout canoes as well as longhouses and wigwams. This reproduction offers an example of what a Native American axe may have looked like. Printables: Additional Links: University of Iowa provides an overview on Stone Axes and other similar tools. https://archaeology.uiowa.edu/ground-stone-artifacts-0 Indiana Public Television provides an in-depth look at different artifacts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1w0Za9vSAA
John White’s 1585 portrait of ‘One of the Wives of Wingino’ offers an example of Native American tattoos. Printables: Additional Links: A short explanation of the role that women and children had in Powhatan society. https://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/what-roles-did-men-women-and-children-have-in-powhatan-society/ Information from the Mariner’s Museum about the role of women in Powhatan daily life. https://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/cbhf/native/nam006.html
John White’s 1585 image of Native Americans eating shows that meals were a communal activity and that tribes were consuming the natural resources available in their particular regions. Printables: Additional Links: A description of how the Powhatan acquired food. https://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/how-did-the-powhatan-acquire-food/ An article exploring different foods native people in the Chesapeake region would have eaten. https://soyummy.com/what-pocahontas-ate/ A description of some of the indigenous peoples’ recreational activities. https://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/what-did-the-powhatan-do-for-recreation/ An article about games and recreation. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Games_by_Early_Virginia_Indians_Uses_of
John Smith set out from Jamestown with 14 men in a small boat in order to explore and map the Chesapeake region. This is an account of his first voyage. Printables: Additional Links: An article from the National Park Service about the 1st Voyage of John Smith. https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/historyculture/first-voyage.htm Here is an interactive map from Virtual Jamestown that allows you to explore John Smith’s voyages. http://www.virtualjamestown.org/smith_voyages/jsmith_voyages.html National Geographic map showing routes of John Smith’s voyages and Native political boundaries. […]
John White’s 1585 painting shows multiple fishing techniques implemented by Native Americans. This image also highlights the abundance of marine life found in the region at the time. Printables: Additional Links: An article on the different ways Chesapeake Indigenous peoples fished. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Fishing_and_Shellfishing_by_Early_Virginia_Indians A video explaining the use of pound net, a technology used in the Chesapeake for hundreds of years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JVd4EkN44E
John White’s 1585 painting illustrates a palisaded, or fortified, village. This was a technique used to protect its inhabitants from raiding tribes. Printables: Additional Links: An example and explanation for a Powhatan home. https://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/what-were-powhatan-homes-like/ A video exploring what a Powhatan village may have looked like in the early 17th century. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcNIInL9gtY
This is John White’s 1585 painting of an archer. His tools, clothing, hair, and jewelry help illustrate features that would’ve been found amongst different Chesapeake tribes. Printables: Additional Links: A quick article explaining some of the clothing items worn by the Powhatan. https://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/how-did-the-powhatan-look-and-dress/ An informative video about the clothing and culture of the indigenous peoples in the Chesapeake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiaVB27Cw5c
John White’s 1585 painting of the village of Secoton highlights how a successful tribe required its members to perform a wide variety of tasks every day. Printables: Additional Links: A collection of writings and lesson plans about the Indians of the Chesapeake Bay region. https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/chesapeake.pdf A Smithsonian article exploring the political landscape of the Chesapeake region in the early 17th century. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/following-footsteps-capt-john-smith-smithsonian-scholar-finds-neglected-history-180960984/
