Agreement protects important site in Powhatan Tribe history

Tuesday, June 18, 2013  

An agreement will be announced on Friday that will protect Werowocomoco, the historic home of Chief Powhatan.

Werowocomoco means "place of chiefs" in the Powhatan language. It served as the political base for Powhatan's confederation of tribes in present-day Virginia.

"This is like our Washington,” Kevin Brown, the chief of the Pamunkey Tribe, which was part of Powhatan's confederation, told the Associated Press.

Tribal leaders will take part in the ceremony to announce the agreement to protect the 57-acre site along the York River. It's about 15 miles from Jamestown, where European immigrants settled in 1607.

Tribes helped the settlers endure harsh winters and later negotiated the first treaties with European governments. However, the tribes have not been acknowledged by the federal government.

Get the Story:
Likely Virginia site of complex Indian empire, Pocahontas’ rescue preserved under agreement (AP 6/18)
Federal Government Holds 1,800 Sets Of Virginia Indian Remains (WUSA 6/14)

Powhatan's village to be placed on National Register (3/28)