Pamunkey facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Enrolled members: 430 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States ( Virginia) |
|
| Languages | |
| English, formerly Powhatan | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mattaponi, Chickahominy, Patawomeck |
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is one of 11 Native American tribes in Virginia. The state of Virginia officially recognizes them. In January 2016, they became the first tribe in Virginia to be recognized by the United States government. This is called "federally recognized." Six other Virginia tribes also received this recognition in 2018.
The Pamunkey were part of the Powhatan paramountcy. This was a large group of over 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes. About 10,000 to 15,000 people lived in the Powhatan chiefdom when the English arrived in 1607. The Pamunkey tribe had about 1,000 people then. They were one of the strongest groups in the Powhatan chiefdom. They lived along the coast of Virginia, near the James River and Chesapeake Bay.
The Pamunkey tribe is one of only two tribes in Virginia that still have their original reservation lands. These lands were given to them by treaties with the English government in 1646 and 1677. The Pamunkey reservation is on the Pamunkey River in what is now King William County, Virginia. The other reservation belongs to the Mattaponi tribe, and it is nearby.
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Pamunkey Language History
| Dalrymple's Pamunkey | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Virginia |
| Era | recorded 1844 |
| Language family |
unclassified
|
People believe the Pamunkey language was part of the Algonquian language family. However, only 14 words of the language were ever written down. These words were recorded in 1844 by Reverend E.A. Dalrymple. There are not enough words to be sure it was an Algonquian language.
Here are the words that were recorded:
- tonshee means 'son'
- nucksee means 'daughter'
- petucka means 'cat'
- kayyo means 'thankfulness'
- o-ma-yah means 'O my Lord'
- kenaanee means 'friendship'
- baskonee means 'thank you'
- eeskut means 'go out dog'
- nikkut means 'one'
- orijak means 'two'
- kiketock means 'three'
- mitture means 'four'
- nahnkitty means 'five'
- vomtally means 'six'
- talliko means 'seven'
- tingdum means 'eight'
- yantay means 'ten'
Only the word nikkut ('one') is similar to words in the Powhatan language. The other words do not match any known Algonquian languages. Over time, many different groups of people mixed with the Pamunkey. So, the words recorded in 1844 might be from a mixed language, not the original Pamunkey language.
How Did the Pamunkey Live?
Living Off the Land
The Pamunkey traditionally lived by using what nature provided. They fished, trapped, hunted, and farmed. Farming became important between the years 900 and 1600. The Pamunkey River was very important for travel and food. It also gave them access to hunting areas and other tribes.
Pamunkey villages did not stay in one place forever. They moved their fields and homes about every ten years. This allowed the land to rest and recover, as they did not use fertilizers.
The Pamunkey, like all Virginia tribes, had a close connection with the land. They used methods like controlled burning to clear land for farming or hunting. The land belonged to the whole group. The chief and council would give a piece of land to a family head to use for life.
English colonists had different ideas about land ownership. This caused problems. For Native tribes, land was "owned" only while it was being farmed. After that, it was free for anyone to use. Englishmen believed land was theirs forever once they bought it. So, when English farmers let their fields rest, Native Americans thought they could use them for hunting. Many Englishmen saw this as trespassing on their private property.
Pamunkey Homes
Pamunkey homes were called yihakans or yehakins. English colonists described them as "longhouses." They were long and narrow. They were built by bending young trees and tying them together at the top to make a curved shape. The Pamunkey covered these frames with woven mats or bark. Bark was harder to get, so only important families had bark-covered houses. In summer, when it was hot, the mats could be rolled up to let air in.
Inside the houses, beds were built along both walls. They were made of posts stuck in the ground, about a foot high. Small poles were attached to make a frame about 4 feet wide. Reeds were placed over this frame, and then mats were put on top for bedding. More mats or animal skins were used as blankets. A rolled mat served as a pillow. During the day, the bedding was rolled up to make more space.
How the Pamunkey Government Works
The Pamunkey had a system where leadership passed down through the mother's side of the family. This was confusing for the English. In the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation, the English finally recognized the Pamunkey queen.
Like other tribes in the Powhatan group, the Pamunkey had a weroance (chief) and a council of seven members. The council members are chosen every four years. The chief and council manage all the tribe's government duties based on their laws.
Traditional elections used a basket with peas and corn kernels. Voters would put a corn kernel in the basket for a "yes" vote and a pea for a "no" vote. This was done for the chief and then for each council member.
The tribe has laws about land use, stealing, and keeping the peace. If someone broke a tribal law, they were fined or sent away from the tribe. They did not use physical punishment or jails. The Pamunkey do not let outsiders see their laws. This is because, in the past, outsiders made fun of some of their laws.
Tribal laws handle all civil matters within the tribe. For serious crimes, outside police may respectfully tell the Tribal Chief if they need to serve a warrant. However, this is not legally required. The tribe does not have its own police or jail. Most tribal members follow the laws out of respect for their chief and council. The tribe also has strict rules against speaking badly about other members. As a former Chief explained, "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 chief still pays a yearly tribute to Virginia's governor. This payment usually includes a deer and pottery or a "peace pipe." The Pamunkey have been paying this tribute since the treaty of 1646. They have not missed a payment in over 340 years.
Pamunkey History Timeline
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Experts believe that different Native American cultures lived in this part of Virginia for over 10,000 years. The Pamunkey are part of the larger Algonquian-speaking family. By 1607, over 30 tribes were part of the Powhatan Confederacy. The Pamunkey were the largest and most powerful of these tribes. Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas were Pamunkey.
First Contact with Europeans
Europeans first met the Pamunkey around 1570. Spanish, French, and English visitors came to the Powhatan Confederacy before the first permanent English colony was built at Jamestown in 1607. When the English arrived, there were about 14,000 to 21,000 people in the Powhatan chiefdom.
The English settlers at Jamestown had a complex relationship with Virginia's Native Americans. In the winter of 1607, Opechancanough, the Pamunkey chief, captured Captain John Smith. Smith was taken to Chief Powhatan. This meeting led to an alliance between the two groups. Powhatan sent Smith back to Jamestown in 1608 and began sending food to the colonists. Without Powhatan's help, the settlers might not have survived their first winters. As the English settlement grew, there was more competition for land and more conflict between the settlers and the tribes.
English Colonization and Conflict
The story of Pocahontas is a famous part of Pamunkey history, but it is told from the English point of view. When the English first arrived, both sides often misunderstood each other's cultures. The colonists saw the Virginia tribes in different ways. They respected Powhatan but called other Native Americans "naked devils." They felt both fear and appreciation, but also distrust. One colonist wrote that God sent the Native Americans, who were their enemies, to give them food. This food saved the weak settlers, or they would have died.
The colonists generally did not trust most Indian tribes. However, they noted that the Pamunkey did not steal. One colonist wrote, "Their custom is to take anything they can seize off; only the people of Pamunkey we have not found stealing."
Chief Powhatan could not understand why the colonists used so much violence. He asked, "What will it help you to take by force what you can quickly have by love? Why destroy those who give you food? What can you gain by war, when we can hide our food and run into the woods? Then you will starve by harming us, your friends." Captain John Smith wrote down these questions from Powhatan.
Opechancanough, Powhatan's half-brother and later chief, led attacks in 1622 and 1644. These attacks happened because English colonists were taking more and more Powhatan lands. The first attack, known as the Indian Massacre of 1622, destroyed many colonial settlements. Jamestown was saved in 1622 because of a warning. About 350-400 settlers were killed in each attack. Opechancanough was captured in 1646 and later killed by a guard. His death weakened the Powhatan chiefdom.
In 1646, the first treaty was signed between Opechancanough's successor, Necotowance, and the English. This treaty set boundaries for lands given to the Virginia tribes and lands for the English. It also required yearly tribute payments of fish and game to the English. People could not cross these boundaries without official business and special badges. In the late 1600s and early 1700s, settlers kept expanding the colony. This pushed the Pamunkey further from their lands and made it hard for them to keep their traditional ways of life.
Bacon's Rebellion and Peace
Bacon's Rebellion started in 1675. It involved attacks on several tribes that were loyal to the English. This rebellion was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Sir William Berkeley. Bacon and other colonists, many of whom were former servants, were angry because the governor did not protect them from Native American raids.
Cockacoeske, the Pamunkey weroansqua (female chief), was an ally of Governor Berkeley. She was known to the English as "Queen of the Pamunkey." She signed the Articles of Peace (Treaty of Middle Plantation) in 1677, after Bacon's Rebellion ended. This treaty gave her authority over the Rappahannock and Chickahominy tribes. These tribes had not been under Pamunkey rule before. The treaty brought a time of peace between the Virginia tribes and the English. It also made the annual tribute payments stronger and included other tribes. The treaty required Native American leaders to agree that they and their people were subjects of the King of England.
Pamunkey People Today
Today, there are about 430 Pamunkey tribal members. Some live on their 1,200-acre reservation. Others live in different parts of the United States.
The Pamunkey have survived because they have been able to adapt. They have held onto their reservation lands, which helps them keep their traditional ways. Men still use old methods for fishing, which is part of their heritage. They also continue to hunt and trap on their reservation lands.
In 1998, the tribe built a shad hatchery. This helps make sure there are enough shad fish, which are an important food source. When female shad are caught, their eggs are collected and fertilized. The fertilized eggs are grown in tanks until they hatch. After about 21 days, the young fish are released back into the river.
Pamunkey Pottery Making
The Pamunkey have been making pottery since before the English settled Jamestown. They have used clay from the Pamunkey River banks for thousands of years. Many still use the traditional method today. First, they let the clay dry and break it into small pieces. These pieces are soaked in water until they are like cream. The clay is then strained to remove rocks. The water is drained, and the clay is pressed until it is like dough. Then it is ready to be shaped into pots. Ancient Pamunkey pottery was made stronger with crushed shells, stones, or sand.
In 1932, during the Great Depression, the state of Virginia helped the Pamunkey develop their pottery to earn money. The state set up a pottery school and provided a teacher. The tribe built the school themselves. Tribal members learned faster ways to make pottery. They learned to fire pottery in a kiln and use glazes. They also learned to use molds to make copies of pots quickly. Kiln firing made pottery a more even brown color, unlike the gray shades from traditional methods.
Pamunkey potters learned to paint and glaze their pots. The teacher taught them designs based on popular Southwestern Native American traditions. Two designs tell important tribal stories: one about Captain John Smith and Pocahontas, and another about the treaty that set up game payments. After the teacher left, some members went back to using only traditional pottery techniques.
Today, Pamunkey artists use both traditional and newer methods. Pots made the traditional way are called 'blackware'. The Pamunkey Indian Museum has many pots and videos that show the different ways they are made and decorated.
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum, built in 1979, looks like a traditional yehakin. It is on the reservation and teaches visitors about the tribe's long history and culture. It has artifacts from over 10,000 years of settlement, copies of ancient tools, and stories. The Smithsonian Institution chose the Pamunkey as one of 24 tribes to be shown in the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C..
Official Recognition by the U.S. Government
The state of Virginia has always recognized the Pamunkey tribe, with formal relations going back to the treaties of 1646 and 1677. However, the United States government did not exist then, so there were no formal relations between the Pamunkey and the U.S. government.
In 1982, the Pamunkey started the process to become "federally recognized." Their application faced some challenges. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) first said the Pamunkey met the requirements in January 2014. The final decision was delayed until July 2, 2015, when the BIA officially recognized them. In February 2016, the Pamunkey won a court case that challenged their right to exist as a political group.
