In August 1676 Nathaniel Bacon brought his campaign to "ruin and extirpate all Indians in general" to the Green Dragon Swamp on the upper Pamunkey River. While there, he attacked and massacred nearly fifty Pamunkey Indians, who had been at peace with the government of Virginia for thirty years. Having once formed the backbone of the…

In north central Virginia there is a local tale--The Legend of Jump Mountain, which purports to explain the origins of the Hayes Creek Indian Burial Mound. A highly romantic legend, it immortalizes post colonial intertribal warfare during the early nineteenth century while ignoring the antiquity of the mound and the local descendants of its…

In the 1990s, as Virginia Indians faced the 2007 quadracentennial of Jamestown's founding, they initiated plans to publicly correct inaccuracies and omissions embedded in the historical narrative. The Beyond Jamestown: Virginia Indians Past and Present Teachers' Institute was one such initiative through the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities'…

Obscured by the invasive expansion of an aggressive Iroquois confederacy, there exists a remnant population of eastern Siouan peoples known as Tutelos amid the Six Nations Reserve at Grand River, Ontario. While there is a general dearth of source materials for the Tutelo Indians of Virginia, there is an interesting correspondence between a Native…

This essay argues that Amherst County citizens and policy makers treated Monacan children differently than white, black, and even other Indian students in Virginia and were determined to keep this particular group of children out of "their" schools and out of "their" community. Even despite federal mandates to do otherwise,…

This teacher's packet provides background materials for teachers to incorporate the study of Jamestown, Virginia, into their classroom. The packet includes the following background essays: (1) "A Short History of Jamestown"; (2) "The Fort"; (3) "Life in an Indian Village"; (4) "Recommended Reading and…

This bibliography provides an introduction to the archaeology, ethnology, and history of Indians in the Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland areas. Some publications are available from the Museum of Natural History bookstore while others may be found in larger libraries or obtained through inter-library loan. Sections of the bibliography…

Describes instances in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in which charitable funds, collected mainly from pious Englishmen for the conversion and higher education of American Indians, were diverted to revitalize colonial enterprises, found Dartmouth College, and support financially strapped Harvard College and William and Mary College.…

Briefly overviews the history of the Monacans, a people of Sioux origin who settled on Bear Mountain in central Virginia during the 17th century. Discusses efforts of the Monacan Tribal Association, formed in 1988, to receive federal recognition and reclaim their cultural heritage. Efforts include plans for a museum to display Monacan history and…

Describes relations between the early colonists in Virginia and the Powhatan Indians. Argues that, in any exploration of intercultural relationships, one must recognize the impact and importance of native initiative. Suggests that the ethnohistorical perspective requires sensitivity to the cultural integrity of natives' decisions and the effects…

This paper depicts the historical background and lifestyle of the Powhatan Indians. There are approximately 30 such tribes in present-day Maryland, Virginia, and near the North Carolina border. The name Powhatan is defined, and the history and current lifestyles of the Virginia and New Jersey Powhatans are described. Contemporary Powhatan social…

Except for discussions of the early colonial period, the American Indians of Virginia are invisible in history textbooks, leading many people to assume that the state's Indian population vanished long ago. This book shares the unique stories of some of Virginia's Indian people, providing an insight into the history, education, and cultural…

In 1948, Library of Congress scholar William Gilbert wrote: "Indian blood still remains noticeable in our eastern States population in spite of the depletions arising from over 300 years of wars, invasions by disease and white men from Europe and black men from Africa." Noting that Virginia's surviving Indian groups tended to retain…

This unit is one of a series that represents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. By studying a crucial turning point in history students become aware that choices had to be made by real human beings, that those decisions were the result of specific factors, and that they set in motion a series…