Historical Information
Descendants of an ancient confederation that at one time included over thirty nations. People were placed here by the Creator, and have maintained an unbroken history of thousands of years of settlement along the coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic. Although others now occupy most of the lands, many of the nation of the original Powhatan Confederacy still survive. The oldest treaty written in this land is between the Powhatan Nations in the year 1646.
Since the time we met the Europeans in the 1500's, history of Powhatan has been characterized as a struggle to survive war, disease, prejudice, and cultural disintegration. Foreign disease alone probably accounted for halving the Powhatan population by the end of the 17th century. War and starvation largely decimated many of the survivors of those early epidemics. Yet, against all odds, Renape (human beings) have survived. Essentially the term Renape refers to us as an ethnic group, a people speaking a common language. However, they were not all united in one Nation. People governed themselves freely and harmoniously as independent republics, which sometimes came together in alliances or confederations, such as the Powhatan Confederacy. Thus Powhatan refers to our political identity, while Renape refers to our ethnic/language identity.
Preservation
History shows that New Jersey's efforts to create a European society to the exclusion of the Original Peoples resulted in an ethnic cleansing which eliminated almost the entire Native population in the early 19th century.
Despite systematic attempts to destroy our Confederation and our culture, the Powhatan have endured, proving our Peoples' strong will to preserve our heritage. Tribal affinities remain strong, distinctive religious beliefs and economic traditions continue to be practiced, and in spite of efforts to force our people to speak only English, the Powhatan language is still alive!

Common Languages
The most widely accepted classification of Native American languages N of Mexico (although some included are also spoken in Mexico and Central America) is that made by Edward Sapir in 1929. Sapir arranged the numerous linguistic groups in six major unrelated linguistic stocks, or families. There are Eskimo-Aleut, Algonquian-Wakashan, Nadene, Penutian, Hokan-Siouan, and Aztec-Tanoan. Algonquian-Wakashan The Algonquian-Wakashan language family of North America was one of the most widespread of Native American linguistic stocks; in historical times, tribes speaking its languages extended from coast to coast. Today about 130,000 people in Canada and a few thousand speak the surviving languages of the Algonquian-Wakashan family.

Type of Clothing
Costume varied according to sex, age and status. The most common article of apparel for men was a breechclout of skin worn between the thighs. According to Smith, "The common sort have scarce to cover their nakedness but with grassed, the leaves of trees, or such like. . . The better sort use large mantels of dearer skins not much different from the Irish mantels." A man of high status might wear a shirt-like garment made of fringed deerskin or a mantle of turkey feathers. The hair was shaven from the right side of the head (to reduce the risk of entanglement in the hunter's bowstring); the hair on the other side of the head was allowed to grow long and often pulled into a knot and decorated with everything from shells to the dead hand of an enemy. Men used body paint in preparation for war or games.
Weroance (chiefs) wore fine clothes and many ornaments of pearl, rare shell beads and copper, the precious metal of the Powhatans. George Percy described the headdress of one weroance: "a crown of dears haired colored red, in fashion of a rose fastened about his knot of haired, and a great plate of copper on the other side of his head; with two long feathers in fashion of a pair of horns placed in the midst of his Crowne.
In his History and Present State of Virginia (1705), colonist Robert Beverley opined that Powhatan Indian "women are generally beautiful, possessing an uncommon delicacy of shape and features." The skirt was the ubiquitous garment for women; those of higher-status swathed themselves in fringed deerskin. The hair of a married women was worn long and plaited in the back; a young girl had her head on the front and sides shaven close, with the rest of the hair growing long and braided down the back.

Type of Shelter
Powhatan's people lived in villages, which could number as many as one hundred homes. Wooden palisades protected some villages; each house boasted an extensive and carefully-tended garden, in which was sown such staples as corn, beans, peas, squash, pumpkin, sunflowers and maypops (passionflower). Tobacco, primarily used for ceremonial purposes, was grown apart from the rest of the crops.
Tools/Weapons
The men made canoes, traps, utensils, and weapons. The Algonquian people used spears to help them catch fish and eels from the bow of a canoe.
The women wove fishnets, mats, and bark containers. The Algonquian tribes of Maine and Nova Scotia made birch bark boxes decorate with porcupine quills. These were used when gathering roots and berries.
Although the gardens were an important food source, the Powhatans' diet was far more extensive. John Smith remarked that for the bulk of the year, Powhatans relied on other sources of food. The waterways afforded a rich diet of fish and shellfish and the woods yielded nuts, fruits and berries. Since the dog was the only animal domesticated by the Powhatans, hunting was an important way to supplement the diet, and was a task relegated to the men of the tribe. At a very young age, a boy was taught the use of the bow. Rather than a recreational activity for the wealthy, as the English perceived hunting, Powhatans considered it a very serious business, an important way of securing food and clothing.

Type of Food
The Algonquin did some farming, but were mainly hunters. They used fish to fertilize their cornfields. They tapped maple trees for sap to make sugar. The Algonquin Indians that lived on the coast had clambakes in which they ate clams, oysters, lobsters, mussels, and other shellfish. During these clambakes the Indians wrapped fish in seaweed then cooked it in a pit dug in the earth.
The Great Lakes Tribes were excellent hunters, farmers, and food gatherers. They ate wild birds and game. The men hunted moose, caribou, beaver, otter, and other small animals. The women gathered nuts, greens, and berries. The women grew corn, beans, and squash. One main food was the wild rice the Indians gathered that grew in the marshlands around the Great Lakes. The Indians of the Great Lakes knocked off the grains with sticks so the rice fell into their canoes.

Fundamental religions & practices
The primary source for this information is Thomas Hariot's A Briefe and True Report on the New Found Land of Virginia. Thomas Hariot was the historian of Sir Walter Raleigh's first Virginia expedition in 1585.
Thomas Hariot talked with the people he met about their religious beliefs. He tells us that the people believed in many gods. Their chief god had always existed. He created other, lesser gods to help him create the world and take care of it. The sun, the moon and the stars were created first. On the earth he created the waters, then the land. He created woman who gave birth to the people of the world.
Their gods looked like men. The people made carved statues, which we would call idols. They believed their idols became their gods. They worshipped, prayed, sang and made offerings to their gods.
The people believed that when a person died the soul went to a wonderful place, which Hariot called heaven, where the gods live. One had to lead a good life in order to go to heaven. If a person had led a bad life, the soul went to a terrible world where it burned continuously.
The religion of the Powhatans was similar to the tribes visited by Hariot. The Powhatans' temples might hold one, two or three idols. The heads of other lesser gods may have been carved on the poles the people used in their dances. Other carved stone idols could be found in the countryside. The people treated all their gods with respect and taught their children to respect them as well. Because the people believed in their gods, the priests and other religious leaders of the tribe had influence with the tribe. Chiefs would consult the priests before making important decisions.
The people prayed to their gods. A family would give prayer of thanksgiving before each meal. They prayed on important occasions, such as preparation for war.
The Powhatans' religion taught that chiefs would go to their "heaven." The people preserved the bodies of their chiefs and kept the bodies in a temple. The body of a common person would be buried in a single grave in the ground. Tribal leaders who were not chiefs were also treated with great respect. For these people, the Powhatans would bury the bones of many people together in an earth-covered mound.

Economy/ Type of Government
The Powhatan used the word, weroance for all their chiefs. Powhatan was the Chief of chiefs. He assigned lands to the weroance who ruled over the people. We do not know how land was assigned to individual families by the weroance. The people paid tribute to their weroance whom in turn paid tribute to Chief Powhatan. Captain John Smith felt that the people were heavily taxed. Powhatan was indeed very wealthy. He had over a hundred wives and many children. He was waited upon by servants and was protected by a bodyguard of 40 to 50 men. He and his wives wore precious pearls, copper and gold.
The weroance ruled by custom. We know little of their customs, however. Most of the customs that the English recorded were punishments for crimes. Serious crimes such as murder were punished with death. The people considered it a serious crime if someone would steal from a member of the tribe. They saw nothing wrong with stealing from an outsider. This caused real problems with the English who were angered when their possessions were taken.
The weroance had the power of life and death over the people. The will of Powhatan whom the people looked upon as almost a god was supreme. He could punish anyone who offended him. Captain John Smith said that even Powhatan's frown could make people tremble with fear.

Special customs
Pow Wows
Every six months the Algonquins came together for a powwow or general meeting. Each tribe brought its chief to the powwow council. The powwow was an occasion for feasting and dancing. Arguments between groups were settled, alliances formed, and trading was completed during the powwow.
Snowsnake
Snowsnake was a game played by the tribes of the Great Lakes. A Snowsnake was a long, smooth stick of maple wood. One end was carved to look like a snake's head. To play the game the Indians packed down the snow on a long, level strip of ground. Each player slid the stick along the ground, taking turns. The one who slid the stick the farthest was the winner.

Important Leaders
Chief - Roy Crazy Horse Powhatan CouncilMichael Adams - Chairman
Curtis W. Diggs - Secretary
Thomas Brown, Jr. Esq.
Joanne Bundy Hawkins
Forrest Comfort, Jr.
Lorraine Parker Greene
Edgar Harmon
Wanda HoustonEldersJack Forbes, Ph.D.
Charles Juancito
Carl Major
Rarihokwats
The ruler of the Indians in this area was Wahunsonacock, who was commonly referred to as "Powhatan." John Smith described Powhatan as "a tall well proportioned man, with a sower look, his head somewhat gray, his beard so thinne, that it seemed none at all, his age (as of 1608) neared sixties, of a very able and hardy body to endure any labor." Powhatan had a large family, consisting of over 100 wives and many children. The most famous of his children was a daughter named Matoaka, better known by the nickname "Pocahontas."
At its peak, the Powhatan nation included over 30 tribes. Each tribe was lead by it's own chief who paid tribute to Powhatan. Powhatan's people farmed as well as hunting and gathering food.
Although early interactions between the English and the Powhatans were sometimes violent and exploitive on both sides, leaders of both peoples realized the mutual benefit to be derived from peaceful relations. The marriage of Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas, to settler John Rolfe in 1614 ensured a few years of peace. However, with the death of Pocahontas in 1617 and the death of Powhatan a year later, the peace came to an end.
In 1622, lead by their new leader, Opechancanough, the Powhatans staged an attack on English settlements throughout Virginia. The settlers retaliated and waged an all out war on the Powhatan people. For over a decade, the English systematically razed villages, seizing or destroying crops, killing men and women, and capturing children. The English expanded their empire as the Powhatan Empire declined. In 1644, Opechancanough rallied his people for a final attempt at forcing the English off their land. Hundreds of colonists were killed, and Opechancanough was captured by the English and shot. Finally, treaties were made with Opechancanough successor, severely restricting the Powhatan people's territory and confining them to small reservations. By 1669, the population of Powhatan Indians in the area had dropped to about 1,800 and by 1722, 1669 reported many of the tribes comprising the empire of Chief Powhatan reported extinct.