A Powhatan man
Who were the first people who lived in Virginia?
prehistoric camp site
They were Native Americans, or American Indians.
Native Americans, often called American Indians, came from Asia to America across what is now the Bering Sea, during the last great Ice Age. They settled across all of Virginia thousands of years ago.
The Alaskan Tundra today, close to where the first Americans crossed
from Asia several thousand years ago.
The Bering Strait
They settled all over Virginia, as well as all over North and South
America.This is a drawing by John Smith of Indians
hunting from a canoe, as well as on land,in the Tidewater
area of Virginia.
Native Americans living in the Tidewater area
of Virginia around 1600 spoke Algonquian
(Algonkian) languages.
What were the names of some of the tribes?
Tidewater region
•Accomack
•Chickahominy
•Mattaponi
•Nansemond
•Pamunkey
•Potomack
•Powhatan
An original map of Virginia
An original drawing by John Smith of a Powhatan village
These tribes lived in Tidewater and spoke Algonquian:
These tribes ate seafood and raised vegetables. They hunted birds and
deer for meat. They lived in houses made from plant and animal
parts.
In the piedmont region of Virginia,
tribes spoke Siouan
languages.
The Piedmont region
An arrow for hunting fish
Corn
tassels
What were the names of some of the tribes in the Piedmont region, who
spoke Siouan languages?
Here are some of these tribes, who lived in the Piedmont and
spoke Siouan languages:
Using a weir to catch fish in a river
A stone bowl
AppomattuckAppomattuck
Manahoac Manahoac
Saponi Saponi MahyssanMahyssan
TuteloTutelo Monacan Monacan
Occaneechi Occaneechi
What was life like in a Monacan village, in the Piedmont Region, where Native Americans spoke a Siouan language?
The Monacans were an agricultural (farming) people who grew the "Three
Sisters" crops of corn, beans and squash, as well as a wide variety of other foods, including sunflowers, fruit trees, wild
grapes and nuts.
They lived in villages with palisade (fort) walls, and their homes were dome-shaped structures of bark and reed mats.
A Monacan dwelling, made from poles, bark, and animal skins.
These Monacan ancestors hunted deer, elk and buffalo, and they would leave their villages every year to visit hunting camps known to have plenty of game.
The Monacans also buried their dead in mounds, a tradition that makes them different from neighboring Indian nations.
mounds
Throughout the Piedmont and mountain regions, thirteen known mounds have been identified and many excavated.
mounds
In these mounds, archaeologists have found interesting information about the lives of these First Americans, whose ancestors inhabited our region for more than 10,000 years.
There was a tribe in the Allegheny (Appalachian) Plateau. This tribe was
called the Cherokee.
The Allegheny (Appalachian) Plateau
A Cherokee chief
The Cherokee spoke an Iroquoian language.
An early drawing of some Cherokee people
They lived in homes of wooden frames covered with vines and of saplings (small trees) covered with clay. They lived in small communities, often in small valleys by rivers.
Each village had a council house where ceremonies and tribal meetings were held. The council house was seven-sided to represent the seven clans of the Cherokee: Bird, Paint, Deer, Wolf, Blue, Long Hair, and Wild Potato.
Each tribe elected two chiefs -- a
Peace Chief who counseled during peaceful
times and a War Chief who made decisions during times of
war.
A modern Cherokee man
However, the Chiefs did not rule absolutely. Decision making was a more democratic process, with tribal members having the opportunity to voice concerns.
A modern-day Cherokee man
So we know that American Indians lived all over Virginia. They spoke three kinds of languages and had diverse (different) cultures. Thank you for watching my
show. Peace to you and your tribe,
Mrs. Wooding
