Side by side,
reservations of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi can be visited, both tribes are
survivors of the powerful Powhatan Confederation. Ten thousand years before
the birth of Christ the Pamunkey Indians were working the soil of an area that
would eventually become the Commonwealth of Virginia. When many of their
neighboring Powhatans fled, leaving their homeland to the English settlers,
the Pamunkey stayed. They remain on their Virginia reservation to this day.
Residents of the
reservation near West Point worked for years developing their interpretive
museum. Displays trace the tribe’s origins in prehistoric Paleoindian days.
The advances in both tools and agriculture during the Woodland Period become
obvious as one sees specific examples of implements as they developed from
archaic to modern. You can see the gradual improvement of tools in seven
separate areas: cutting, hammering, chopping, grinding, piercing, scraping and
tying.
The Pamunkey
Museum also has an exhibit on changing styles of Native American pottery,
from the primitive beauty of Woodland work through the decades to the designs
of the 1990s. It is noteworthy that the ‘40s and ‘50s produced a garishly
colored unauthentic-looking design, whereas the more recent pieces resemble
very early works in form, clay, color and texture. Some fine examples of
recent work are on sale at the gift shop, where you will also find Native
American jewelry and souvenirs designed to appeal to young visitors. Museum
hours are 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday and 1:00 to 4:00
P.M. on Sunday.
The nearby
Mattaponi Museum eschews the organized, educational approach. Here, the
collection of an entire people is jumbled together in a one-room display.
Stuffed birds and local wildlife overlap ceremonial drums. Fossils dating from
archaic man rest beside modern newspaper clippings about political figures. The
artifacts span the entire history of the Mattaponi and the Powhatan
Confederation. There is a headdress reputedly worn by Powhatan, a necklace that
once belonged to Pocahontas and a tomahawk of Opechancanough’s that reminds
visitors of the more violent history between the Native Americans and the
English settlers.
Opechancanough
(pronounced Ope-can-canoe) is a tribal hero to the Mattaponi, who consider him a
member of their tribe. Some historians dispute this, claiming instead, that he
came from the West Indies. The Mattaponi revere him as one of the few Native
Americans to perceive the eventual catastrophe of English domination. The
museum includes several items than once belonged to Opechancanough.
One unusual item
is a “mercy” tomahawk, used by the medicine men for those they could not heal.
Several medicine bags, in which powerful amulets were carried, are on display.
There is also a replica of the execution club, a snake-like club used for ritual
killings. It was reputedly a club like this that Powhatan raised to kill
Captain John Smith before Pocahantas’s timely intervention. The museum is open
by appointment only; call (804) 769-2194. A nominal admission is charged.
Directions: From
I-95 just north of Richmond take Route 360 north for approximately 20 miles to
Route 30, then head south for seven miles to Route 633. Turn right on Route 633
and travel eight miles to the Pamunkey Indian Reservations. Signs will direct
you to the museum. The Mattaponi Reservation is almost directly across Route 30
from the Pamunkey Reservation. From Route 30, turn right on Route 640 and go
one mile then make a left on Route 625 and travel 1 3/10 miles to the
Reservation.
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