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In the late 16th century, the League of the Five Nations was formed by a group of Iroquoian speaking Indian tribes in Northern New York.
It soon became the most powerful Indian confederation north of Mexico.
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It consisted of the Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Iroquois, and Cayuga.
These tribes together never numbered more than 16,000 men, women, and children, but their prowess in battle enabled them to extend their influence from New England and the St. Lawrence Valley as far west as the Mississippi River and south to the Tennessee River.
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1550-1618
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His Indian name was Wa-hun-sen-acawh , but he was known to the English settlers of Jamestown, Virginia as Powhatan, Chief of the powerful Powhatan confederacy.
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Each a skilled hunter and fisherman, the Powhatan tribe also cultivated large fields of corn and sweet potatoes.
The men painted their bodies and wore necklaces and bracelets of pearls and copper beads.
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Their only clothing consisted of deerskin breechcloths, while the women wore deerskin aprons exclusively.
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Powhatan was known as a harsh ruler, noted for his cruelty to prisoners and to any of his own tribesmen who disobeyed his orders.
Powhatan is best known as the father of Pocahontas, who fell in love with Captain John Smith, leader of the struggling Jamestown settlement.
Smith escaped certain death from Powhatan when young Pocahontas begged for his life to be spared.
