The Pamunkey Indian Reservation is a Native American reservation of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe located in

King William, Virginia King William is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of King William County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 252. Located in King William is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the Unite ...

, United States. This reservation lies along the

Pamunkey River The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York Rive ...

King William County, Virginia King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater R ...

on the

Middle Peninsula The Middle Peninsula is the second of three large peninsulas on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the Middle Peninsula was home to 92,886 people. It lies between the Northern Neck and ...

. It contains approximately 1,200 acres (4.8 km²) of land, 500 acres (2 km²) of which is wetlands with numerous creeks. Thirty-four families reside on this reservation and many Tribal members live in nearby

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

, and other parts of Virginia.

History

It was confirmed to the

Pamunkey The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is one of 11 Virginia Indian tribal governments recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the state's first federally recognized tribe, receiving its status in January 2016. Six other Virginia tribal governments, t ...

tribe as early as 1658 by the Governor, the council, and the

General Assembly of Virginia The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1619 ...

. The treaty of 1677 between the King of England, acting through the Governor of Virginia, and several Native American tribes including the Pamunkey is the most important existing document describing Virginia's relationship towards Indian land. The

tribe early ancestors had locations as far north as the Middle Peninsula of Virginia and as far south as South

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

in Virginia. A burial mound, reported to contain the remains of

Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommaca ...

, father of Matoaka (better known to historians as

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) 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 ...

), is also located on this Reservation next to railroad tracks. His brother

Opechancanough Opechancanough (; 1554–1646)Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, ''Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown.'' University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville, 2005 was paramount chief of the Tsenacommacah, Powhatan Confed ...

relocated his remains here. He is also buried here.

References

*''Virginia's First People: Past and Present'', virginiaindians.pwnet.org

External links

{{authority control Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia American Indian reservations in Virginia Geography of King William County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in King William County, Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Pamunkey 1658 establishments in Virginia