Powhatan Tribe

The Powhatan lived in the Eastern Woodlands region. The Eastern Woodlands region is composed primarily of states east of the Mississippi River, including Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, and more. The Powhatan lived on the east coast in Virginia. They lived in many of the areas surrounding Chesapeake Bay. They built their towns on high ground near the rivers that ran through their region. Being near the Atlantic Ocean and major rivers, such as the Potomac River and the James River, provided the Powhatan with numerous resources. The area in which they lived was also filled with lush forests, which they used to make a variety of tools and dugout canoes. Their climate was humid subtropical with ample rainfall. Summers tended to be warm and often humid, while winters ranged from mild to cold.

The Powhatan people raised crops and hunted wild game. Women were primarily responsible for the planting, tending, and gathering of crops, such as corn, beans, and squash. Men took charge of the hunting. They would hunt larger game, such as deer, along with smaller game including rabbits, squirrels, wild turkeys, and more. When hunting the men would typically use bows and arrows. The majority of the hunting took place in the spring. In addition to hunting, the men would also fish using nets and spears from their canoes. FIshing occured primarily in the spring. The Powhatan also gathered food from their environment, such as nuts, fruts, tubers, etc. The majority of the Powhatan's food was provided by the women. The women were also responsible for preparing the meals, whether it be soups or cornbread. The women even took charge of butchering the meat brought home by the men!

The Powhatan tribe lived a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Their towns ranged in size, consisting of between two and hundred houses. The Powhatan houses were called yehakins. Yehakins were made of bent saplings. These saplings were lashed together, then woven mats or bark was placed on top, leaving two holes for an entrance and one for smoke to escape. Yehakins came in a variety of sizes, housing between six and twenty people. Chief's yenakins tended to be larger than other members of the tribe. The women of the tribe were responsible for building the yehakins, making many historians infer that the women may have also been considered the owners of the yehakins.

While the Powhatan did not travel from place to place building new shelters, they did do a fair amount of traveling. Men traveled on foot during hunting expeditions, while women also traveled on foot gathering food and other resources. The Powhatan also used dugout canoes to travel the rivers within their region. Dugout canoes were created by hollowing out large trees.

The clothing of the Powhatan tribe was minimal and well adapted to their climate. Both men and women typically wore clothes made out of deerskin. When traveling, both men and women wore moccasins made from deerskin. In the winter, men and women would wear fur cloaks.

Men wore deerskin breechclothes attached to a cordage belt. In the winter or when traveling men would wear leggings to protect from the cold and other elements. Chiefs or other important me would also wear feathered or otherwise embellished cloaks. Men typically wore their hair long on the left side and tied in a knot, while keeping it shaved on the right side. This aided in their hunting as it kept their hair from getting caught in their bows.

Women wore knee-length skirts or dresses made from deerskin. In winter, the women would also don leggings to protext against the cold. Women would also wear deerskin aprons. Women wore their hair in a variety of ways. It could be cut long or short, let loose or braided into a plait.

Once children hit puberty, they would dress similarly to adult men and women. Before puberty, it was not uncommon for children to be unclothed.

The Powhatan had many customs and traditions. Men and women had very separate roles within the Powhatan society. Men had fewer jobs than women, but their jobs were very demanding. Men focused on hunting, fishing, fighting, clearing garden plots, and building dugout canoes. Women, on the other hand, did pretty much everything else, including rearing the children, gathering resources, farming, cooking, and more. Before puberty, children playing a variety of games. They played with dolls and played games similar to football and lacrosse. From a young age, children were taught the expectations of Powhatan life. An important part of the Powhatan culture was self control. Members of the Powhatan tribe were expected to be respectful and listen attentively to one another.

The Powhatan religion was focused primarily around beliefs in multiple, minor deities. Workshipped figures were typically tied in to nature, such as animal or elemental spirits.

Chiefs were in charge of the Powhatan tribes. Chief Powhatan eventually united several smaller tribes together and declared himself paramount chief or "king". The chiefs of the smaller tribes still retained some power, but they had to pay tribute to Chief Powhatan.

1. Pocahontas was a real person and a member of the Powhatan tribe. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, but she married John Rolfe, not John Smith.

2. The English settlers at Jamestown encountered the Powhatan tribe.

3. Powhatan society was matrilineal, in other words, things were inherited or passed down on the maternal side.

4. The Powhatan tribe spoke Algonquian.

5. Powhatan means "waterfall" in Algonquian.

6. The Powhatan sometimes used dogs as pack animals.

7. Chief Powhatan's real name was Wahunsonacock.

8. The Powhatan fought in a series of wars, ranging from 1609-1646.

9. In 1677, the Powhatan Indians were forced to sign a treay with the Engligh which set up reservations for the tribes and instituted yearly tribute payments of fish and game to the English.

10. There were an estimated 14,000-21,000 Powhatan people living in Virginia when the English settlers arrived in Jamestown.

11. Today, eight Powhatan-descended tribes are recognized by the state of Virginia.

12. Divorce was possible in Powhatan society.

13. Powhatan men farmed tobacco.

14. In 1646, the Powhatan confederacy lost its power.

15. The Powhatan tribe at first tried to help the English settlers, but then ended up in several conflicts with them.

A long time all of the people and animals lived underground in complete darkness. One day, a mole bravely crawled far away from everyone. He crawled and crawled until he found a hole, which he climbed through. Immediately, he saw light and trees and rivers and sky. It was very beautiful! The mole came back and told the people of what it had seen, but sadily the light had blinded it, which is why moles are blind to this day. The people became very excited and decided to go though the hole. Person after person climbed through the hole, until a terrible thing happened and a very fat person became stuck in the hole, trapping everyone else beneath. The people who had made it out of the hole kept walking and walking until they came to a river. At the river, a bird flapped its wings three times causing the waters of the river to part. This allowed many of the people to cross, but after a while the bird flew away and the waters came back, leaving some of the people on the other side. The people who had made it across kept walking and walking until they came to a very high mountain. At the mountain, some deer helped the people across, but then some eagles chased the deer away before everyone could cross the mountain. The people who passed the mountain ended up in a thick forest, so thick they could not see one another. Some went this way and some went that way, scattering around, which is why to this day there are so many tribes living in different places.