1. Native Americans
of Virginia
A Powhatan man

2. Who were the first people who lived in Virginia?
prehistoric camp site
They were Native Americans, or American Indians.

3. 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 Bering Strait
The Alaskan Tundra today, close to where the first Americans crossed from Asia several thousand years ago.

4. 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.

5. Native Americans living in the Tidewater area of Virginia around 1600 spoke Algonquian (Algonkian) languages.
Tidewater region
What were the names of some of the tribes?

6. Accomack Chickahominy Mattaponi Nansemond Pamunkey Potomack Powhatan
These tribes lived in Tidewater and spoke Algonquian:
An original map of Virginia
Accomack
Chickahominy
Mattaponi
Nansemond
Pamunkey
Potomack
Powhatan
An original drawing by John Smith of a Powhatan village

7. These tribes ate seafood and raised vegetables
These tribes ate seafood and raised vegetables. They hunted birds and deer for meat. They lived in houses made from plant and animal parts.

8. In the piedmont region of Virginia, tribes spoke Siouan languages.
An arrow for hunting fish
Corn
tassels
The Piedmont region

9. What were the names of some of the tribes in the Piedmont region, who spoke Siouan languages?

10. Using a weir to catch fish in a river
Here are some of these tribes, who lived in the Piedmont and spoke Siouan languages:
A stone bowl
Appomattuck
Manahoac
Saponi Mahyssan
Tutelo Monacan
Occaneechi
Using a weir to catch fish in a river

11. What was life like in a Monacan village, in the Piedmont Region, where Native Americans spoke a Siouan language?

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. The Monacans also buried their dead in mounds, a tradition that makes them different from neighboring Indian nations.
mounds
Monacans mounds

16. Throughout the Piedmont and mountain regions, thirteen known mounds have been identified and many excavated.
mounds

17. 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.

18. There was a tribe in the Allegheny (Appalachian) Plateau
There was a tribe in the Allegheny (Appalachian) Plateau. This tribe was called the Cherokee.
The Allegheny (Appalachian) Plateau

19. The Cherokee spoke an Iroquoian language.
A Cherokee chief
An early drawing of some Cherokee people

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

23. However, the Chiefs did not rule absolutely
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

24. So we know that American Indians lived all over Virginia
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