Patawomeck

Last updated

Patawomeck
Total population
Enrolled members: 2,300
Regions with significant populations
Virginia
Languages
English, Powhatan (historical) and Algonquian (historical)[ citation needed ]
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Chickahominy, Rappahannock, Piscataway

The Patawomeck are a Native American tribe based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River. Patawomeck is another spelling of Potomac.

Contents

The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia is a state-recognized tribe in Virginia that identifies as descendants of the Patawomeck.

Language

The Patawomeck spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. The Patawomeck were one of 32 Algonquian-speaking peoples in the Tidewater area of present-day Virginia. Their language is now extinct.

Revitalization efforts are underway. [1] Classes use the audio and printed materials prepared by the linguist Blair Rudes for cast members who portrayed Native Americans in the film, The New World. [2] [3] Rudes reconstructed the Algonquian language as it was spoken in coastal Virginia in the early 17th century. [4]

History

For thousands of years various cultures of Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands lived along the Potomac River and its tributaries in the coastal area. Archeological excavations have yielded much data about the prehistoric early cultures. At Indian Point on Potomac Creek, for instance, part of the later Patawomeck area, archeological excavations in the 1930s revealed a Native American burial ground (Potomac Creek, 44ST2). Researchers donated 134 skeletons from the grounds to the Smithsonian Institution. Now that the Patawomeck tribe has been recognized by the state, they may undertake claiming the remains for repatriation and burial under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), though a tribe has to be federally recognized to utilize NAGPRA without extra petitioning. [5] [6]

More recently, a 1996 archeological study by the College of William and Mary revealed Native American artifacts dating back to the 15th century. More than 10,000 artifacts were recovered, mostly pottery sherds of the "wrapped-cord type" common among local indigenous people. While the ancient village site is protected under historic preservation laws, the land is being steadily eroded by the creek. [5] The coastal peoples were part of the Algonquian-speaking language family that coalesced into differentiated tribes from present-day New England into the southern states.

The historical Patawomeck tribe were loosely allied with the powerful Powhatan Confederacy. They were an agrarian people, who cultivated varieties of maize. They also relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering resources from their rich environment.

17th century

The first recorded European encounter was that of the English leader Captain John Smith, who visited the people in 1608 in their homeland, between Aquia Creek and Upper Machodoc Creek. He noted they were cultivating 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of corn along the Potomac River. The Patawomeck main town, also called Patawomeck, was located on the north of Potomac Creek, in present-day Stafford County. The weroance of Passapatanzy, a satellite village, was Japazeus (also spelled Japazaws or Iopassus), older brother to the main weroance.

The Patawomeck were semi-independent of the Powhatan Confederacy of Chief Powhatan to the south. They befriended the English colonists (Captain Samuel Argall in particular), often providing them crucial assistance when the Powhatan would not. When the colonists faced starvation at Jamestown in 1609, Francis West was sent to buy corn from the Patawomeck. In a violent confrontation, he beheaded two of them and fled in his pinnace to England.

Argall made peace with the Patawomeck in 1612, during the First Anglo-Powhatan War. According to contemporary accounts by Ralph Hamor and others, on 13 April 1613, Argall, with the connivance of Japazaw in exchange for a copper kettle, was able to capture Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas who lived with the Patawomeck tribe for three years. Argall was on a goods trading mission for her father.

Current Mattaponi tradition holds that she was the wife of Kocoum, brother of the Patawomeck weroance Japazaws, and that Argall's soldiers killed Kocoum after her capture in 1613. [7] Some of today's Patawomecks believe that Pocahontas and Kocoum had a daughter, Ka-Okee, who lived with the Patawomecks after her father's death and her mother's abduction, however the link between Pocahontas and Ka-Okee remains illusive. [8] Englishman William Strachey, who was the Secretary and Recorder for the Colony of Virginia in 1610 and 1611, recorded that Pocahontas had been living married to a "private captaine called Kocoum" for two years, as of 1610-11. [9] Strachey returned to England in 1611 and later published a book on his travels. His book is considered the primary source of information on this period of Virginia history and its native peoples. Because of the various publishing dates of his book (in 1612 and 1616), some people have mistakenly thought Strachey was talking about the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, [10] however, Strachey left Virginia many years before their marriage. Strachey made no mention of a child of the marriage to Kocoum, but he left Virginia before the child is purported to have been born.

The Patawomeck continued to ally with the English in their conflicts with the Powhatan in 1622 (even after Captain Isaac Madison took their weroance prisoner), and in 1644. After settlers began moving into their area in the 1650s, pressures mounted in competition over resources and differing ideas of how to use land. Violent disputes followed. In 1662, Colonel Giles Brent took their weroanceWahanganoche prisoner. After an extensive trial in Williamsburg, Wahanganoche was found not guilty and released. He was none the less murdered by Giles conspirators in 1663 while returning home from the trial. In October 1665, the colonial government forced the tribe to sell their remaining land to the colony for a few matchcoats. [11] [12]

In 1666 after continued conflicts, the English colonists declared war against several tribes in the Northern Neck, including the Patawomeck. After this, the Patawomeck disappeared from the historical record. A silver badge, issued to Wahanganoche in 1662, was found in a contemporary archeological excavation near Portobago (or Portobacco) on the Rappahannock River. It may indicate that the survivors merged with the Portobacco tribe, as did remnants of several other tribes. [13]

20th century

In 1928, the anthropologist Frank Speck wrote of the Native American population living around the original Patawomeck capital. From his studies of the Algonquian peoples, he believed they were remnants of the old Patawomeck nation. Although without solid proof they were not from another tribe, he called them the "Potomac". [14] Many families living in and around White Oak in Stafford County had oral histories linking them to the Patawomecks; these included families with the names Sullivan, Newton, Green, Bourne, Bullock, Fines, and Curtis. [15] However, racism in Virginia caused many families to hide their Indian ancestry. [15] [16] [17] In particular, Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 and the work of state Bureau of Vital Statistics registrar Walter Plecker ensured that for most of the 20th century, official records recognized Virginians as either "white" or "colored", erasing Indian heritage from the public record. [15] [16] [17]

State-recognized tribe

The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia is one of Virginia's eleven state-recognized Native American tribes. [18] It is however not federally recognized. It achieved state recognition in February 2010. [19] In the 17th century, at the time of early English colonization, the Patawomeck tribe was a "fringe" component of the Powhatan Confederacy. At times it was allied with others in the confederacy, and at others, the Patawomeck allied with the English colonists.

Today the tribe has about 2,300 members. [20] Eighty percent live within ten miles (16 km) of their historic village of Patawomeck. They are trying to revive their historic Algonquian language. [2] In the 1990s, Robert "Two Eagles" Green, a native of White Oak and resident of Fredericksburg, worked to reorganize the tribe and began seeking state recognition. [15] The tribe applied to the Virginia Council on Indians for recognition, and were told that they met five of the six criteria for recognition; however, the council felt that the Patawomecks were not able to prove that their group had continued to exist as a distinct Indian community through the years. [21] The alleged Patawomecks felt that they had sufficient evidence to prove their continuous existence as a community, and persuaded Bill Howell, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and representative for Stafford, to sponsor a bill for the tribe's recognition. [22] In February 2010, Las Vegas singer Wayne Newton, whose father was Patawomeck (also of Irish descent), spoke before the House Rules Committee in support of recognition. [16] [17] [22] In the same month, the measure was passed unanimously by the House of Delegates and the state Senate, marking official state recognition of the tribe. [21] [22] The same measure granted the Patawomecks a seat on the Virginia Council on Indians. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford County, Virginia</span> County in Virginia, United States

Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest income counties in America. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 156,927. Its county seat is Stafford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocahontas</span> Native American woman (c. 1596 – 1617)

Pocahontas was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of what is today the U.S. state of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powhatan</span> Indigenous Algonquian tribes from Virginia, U.S.

The Powhatan people are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Argall</span> 16/17th-century English naval officer and colonial official in Virginia

Sir Samuel Argall was an English sea captain, navigator, and Deputy-Governour of Virginia, an English colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powhatan (Native American leader)</span> Leader of the Powhatan Confederacy (c. 1547–c. 1618)

Powhatan, whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh, was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommacah, in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time when English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weroance</span> Leader among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region

Weroance is an Algonquian word meaning leader or commander among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region. Weroances were under a paramount chief called Powhatan. The Powhatan Confederacy, encountered by the colonists of Jamestown and adjacent area of the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607, spoke an Algonquian language. Each tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy was led by its own weroance. Most foreign writers who have come across a weroance only did so on a special occasion. This is the case because a foreigner's presence was special. John Smith noted that there are few differences between weroances and their subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian massacre of 1622</span> Powhatan attack on the English colony of Virginia

The Indian massacre of 1622 took place in the English colony of Virginia on March 22, 1621/22 (O.S./N.S.). English explorer John Smith, though he was not an eyewitness, wrote in his History of Virginia that warriors of the Powhatan "came unarmed into our houses with deer, turkeys, fish, fruits, and other provisions to sell us"; they then grabbed any tools or weapons available and killed all English settlers they found, including men, women, and children of all ages. Opechancanough, chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, led a coordinated series of surprise attacks that ended up killing a total of 347 people — a quarter of the immigrant population of the Colony of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native American tribes in Virginia</span>

The Native American tribes in Virginia are the Indigenous peoples whose tribal nations historically or currently are based in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsenacommacah</span> Native homeland of the Powhatan people

Tsenacommacah is the name given by the Powhatan people to their native homeland, the area encompassing all of Tidewater Virginia and parts of the Eastern Shore. More precisely, its boundaries spanned 100 miles (160 km) by 100 miles (160 km) from near the south side of the mouth of the James River all the way north to the south end of the Potomac River and from the Eastern Shore west to about the Fall Line of the rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglo-Powhatan Wars</span> 17th-century conflicts between Virginia colonists and Algonquian Indians

The Anglo–Powhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Colony of Virginia and the Powhatan People of Tsenacommacah in the early 17th century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The second war lasted from 1622 to 1632. The third war lasted from 1644 until 1646 and ended when Opechancanough was captured and killed. That war resulted in a defined boundary between the Indians and colonial lands that could only be crossed for official business with a special pass. This situation lasted until 1677 and the Treaty of Middle Plantation which established Indian reservations following Bacon's Rebellion.

Totopotomoi was a Native American leader from what is now Virginia. He served as the chief of Pamunkey and as werowance of the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom for the term lasting from about 1649 to 1656, when he died in the Battle of Bloody Run.

The Chesepian or Chesapeake were a Native American tribe who lived near present-day South Hampton Roads in the U.S. state of Virginia. They occupied an area which is now the Norfolk County or Princess Anne County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford, Virginia</span> Census-designated place in Virginia, United States

Stafford, also known as Stafford Courthouse, is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Stafford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,370 as of the 2020 census. It lies 10 miles (16 km) north of Fredericksburg, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of Washington, D.C., and about 60 miles (97 km) north of Richmond, the state capital. Marine Corps Base Quantico is located north of the community. Stafford Courthouse is located at the intersections of U.S. Route 1 and Courthouse Road.

Henry Spelman (1595–1623) was an English adventurer, soldier, and author, the son of Erasmus Spelman and nephew to Sir Henry Spelman of Congham (1562–1641). The younger Henry Spelman was born in 1595 and left his home in Norfolk, England at age 14 to sail to Virginia Colony aboard the ship Unity, as a part of the Third Supply to the Jamestown Colony in 1609. He is remembered for being an early interpreter for the people of Jamestown as well as writing the Relation of Virginia, documenting the first permanent English colonial settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, and particularly the lifestyles of the Native Americans of the Powhatan Confederacy led by Chief Powhatan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve</span> Protected area in Virginia, United States

Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve is a large wilderness area located on the southern border of Stafford County, Virginia, United States, between Potomac Creek and Accokeek Creek. The greater portion of the Crow's Nest Peninsula is approximately 3,800 acres (15 km2) and lies within the coastal plain of Virginia. About 3,115 acres (12.61 km2) of the peninsula is protected as part of the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System. Funding for the original two tracts came from a number of sources including DCR, Stafford County, Virginia Department of environmental Quality and a number other sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passapatanzy, Virginia</span> Unincorporated community in Virginia, United States

Passapatanzy is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 1,283.

The Appomattoc were a historic tribe of Virginia Indians speaking an Algonquian language, and residing along the lower Appomattox River, in the area of what is now Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Chesterfield and Dinwiddie Counties in present-day southeast Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wicocomico</span> Ethnic group

The Wicocomico were an Algonquian-speaking tribe who lived in Northumberland County, Virginia, at the head and slightly north of the Little Wicomico River.

The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia is a state-recognized tribe in Virginia and a nonprofit organization of individuals who identify as descendants of the Patawomeck people.

Tackonekintaco was a 16th and 17th-century leader of the Warraskoyack tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy, in what is now the U.S. state of Virginia.

References

  1. ↑ Alderman, Julie (10 October 2014). "How Patawomeck Descendants Strive To Preserve Their Near-Extinct Language". WAMU 88.5. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 Estes, Lindley (23 November 2014). "Video celebrates Virginia Indian Heritage Month". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Zitz, Michael (24 December 2005). "Stafford history goes Hollywood". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Kimberlin, Joanne (10 June 2009). "Lost Indian language reconstructed for movie". The Virginian-Pilot . Norfolk, Virginia: Landmark Media Enterprises . Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 Linda Wheeler, "Modern Lives Dwell in the Indian Past" Archived 25 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine , The Washington Post, 20 Oct 2002, accessed 16 March 2010
  6. ↑ National NAGPRA Frequently Asked Questions, National NAGPRA, accessed 16 March 2010
  7. ↑ Custalow, Dr. Linwood "Little Bear"; Daniel, Angela L. "Silver Star" (2007). The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing. pp. 43, 47, 51, 89. ISBN   9781555916329 . Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Deyo, William "Night Owl" (5 September 2009). "Our Patawomeck Ancestors" (PDF). Patawomeck Tides. 12 (1): 2–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Strachey, William (1849) [composed ca. 1616]. The Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britinia. London: Hakluyt Society. p.  54 . Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Warner, Charles Dudley (31 October 2012) [first published 1881]. The Story of Pocahontas. Project Gutenberg . Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  11. ↑ Fairfax Harrison, 1924, Landmarks of Old Prince William, pp. 39–40.
  12. ↑ "VDOE :: Virginia's First People Past & Present - Patawomeck".
  13. ↑ Helen C. Rountree, Pocahontas's People, p. 122.
  14. ↑ Rountree, p. 216
  15. 1 2 3 4 Dennen, Rusty (1 October 2006). "A tribe's tale: Jamestown celebration shines new light on Patawomecks". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 Davis, Chelyen (3 February 2010). "Newton returns to back his tribe". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 Kunkle, Fredrick (3 February 2010). "Wayne Newton advocates for Virginia state recognition of Patawomeck Indian tribe". The Washington Post . Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "HJ150: Patawomeck Indian Tribe; General Assembly to extend state recognition & representation on VCI" . Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  19. ↑ Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D., A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown: The First Century, "Chapter 2: Research Design", National Park Service, 2006, accessed 16 March 2010
  20. ↑ Umble, Amy Flowers (27 March 2014). "Stafford High gets real with Indian mascot". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 Davis, Chelyen (17 February 2010). "Patawomeck tribe receives recognition from the state". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  22. 1 2 3 Davis, Chelyen (9 February 2010). "House backs tribal status for Virginia's Patawomecks". The Free Lance—Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
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