Virginia: The Land and It’s First Inhabitants
A Teaching Unit for Grade 4 Students
Prepared by: Crystal Fleeger
URL:
Submitted as Partial Requirement for ED 405
Elementary and Middle Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction
Professor Gail McEachron
The College of William and Mary
Spring 2009
Contents
Historical Narrative
Map/Globe Skills Lesson: Native American Shelters throughout Virginia
Critical Thinking and the Arts: Native American Basket Weaving
Civic Engagement: Pocahontas
Global Inquiry: Regions of Virginia
Assessments: Objective and Essay
Bibliography
Appendix: National and State Standards
Expenses
Historical Narrative: Virginia and the First Inhabitants
Introduction
Before the English settled in the area they called Jamestown in 1607, there were Native Americans inhabiting the land. These people were divided into three distinct language groups: the Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan. In order to survive in the wilderness of what is now called Virginia, the English settlers had to adapt to the environment by learning about the land – its climate, animals and natural resources available. Through the support of the Native Americans, the English colonists at Jamestown survive their first winter. These acts, and many others that followed, were the beginning of cultural exchanges that ensured the success of our state and nation. The exchanges were sometimes friendly and at other times marked by conflict and violence. It is important that elementary students study this period in American history because it was the first permanent settlement in the “New World” that led to further colonization by the English and others. The influence of the Eastern Woodland tribes is also evident in some local area names as well as the types of crops grown throughout Virginia. The SOLs of Virginia cover this material in Virginia Studies 2 a-e and VS.3g. These standards are defined in more detail in Appendix A.
The Eastern Woodland tribes lived throughout the five regions of Virginia. In each of these areas we see the cultural influence of the Native Americans. Through reservations, artifacts, place names and museums set up around known Native American villages.
Key Ideas and Events
To understand how the Eastern Woodland tribe adapted to the land, we must first know to what they needed to adapt, the land itself. Virginia is located in the Southeastern part of the United States, bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay, to the North by the Potomac River, to the South by the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and to the west by the Appalachian Mountains (De Angelis, 2001). Its bordering states are North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. (De Angelis, 2001). Virginia is divided into five regions: the Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau (De Angelis, 2001). Each region is unique and provides a slightly different environment.
The Tidewater region is the large area of flat land on the eastern side of Virginia, also known as the Coastal Plain (Smith, 2003a). This area extends from the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay on the east to the fall line on the west. The fall line marks the last set of waterfalls for rivers that continue to flow east to the ocean (Smith, 2003a). The region also contains a portion of the Delmarva Peninsula, a section of land which lies between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean (Barrett, 2006; De Angelis, 2001). It is shared by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, where the portion owned by Virginia is called the Eastern Shore. The largest rivers in Virginia run through this region and include the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers. By the time these rivers reach the Tidewater region they are wide and slow-moving (Smith, 2003a). The longest of these is the James River flowing from the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. Due to its closeness to the ocean, the key industries of this region include fishing, shipping, agriculture, and tourism (Smith, 2003a).
The Piedmont region is the largest landform region in Virginia, bordered on the east by the fall line and the west by the Blue Ridge Mountains (De Angelis, 2001). The name Piedmont is Italian meaning “foot of the mountain” (Smith, 2003a). This region has also been called the “Heartland of Virginia” and “Virginia’s Midlands” (Smith, 2003a). It is noted for its rolling foothills and fertile land covered with forests of pine, oak, and maple (Barrett, 2006).
The Blue Ridge Mountains, the oldest mountain range in North America, are part of the great Appalachian Mountain Range and make up the third region of Virginia (Smith, 2003a). The misty blue color they take on from a distance gives them their name (De Angelis, 2001). Mount Rogers, Virginia’s highest peak, is in the range standing at 5,719 feet above sea level (Smith, 2003a).
The Valley and Ridge region contains many hills and long ridges with valleys dividing them. Scientists now know that this region was once under water due to fossils of sea animals discovered throughout the area (Smith, 2003a).
The Appalachian Plateau makes up the westernmost border of Virginia and the final region (De Angelis, 2001). This area is characterized by a series of gapes, ridges, and valleys that extend into neighboring Kentucky and Tennessee (Smith, 2003a).
All of the adaptations the Native Americans made to survive and prosper in this land were then taught to the English so they might survive (Boraas, 2003). This did not come before difficult relations between the Native Americans and English settlers, as is evident with the well-known story of John Smith and Chief Powhatan. This tale truly begins with the story of Opechancanough, the younger half brother of Chief Powhatan. In 1561, as a young boy, he was taken with Pedro Menendez de Aviles to Spain where he was educated in Christianity and taught Spanish. In 1563, on a journey to return to his homeland, he traveled again with Menendez de Aviles to Mexico where the archbishop insisted he remain there instead of returning to his village. Soon thereafter King Phillip II of Spain sent orders that Opechancanough be released to return home. During his trip a storm picked up and he was once again taken back to Spain. In September of 1570, nine years after his departure, he finally made it home where he was put in charge of Pamunkey tribe by his half brother, Chief Powhatan (Edwards, 2002).
The Eastern Woodland tribes were divided into three groups which were formed based on the language spoken by the tribe (Britton, 2001). The Algonquian language group contained the Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Powhatan, and Nansemond tribes among others (Boraas, 2003). These tribes all lived in the Tidewater region near the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. Another of these language groups was the Siouan. It included the Saponi, Occaneechi, and Tutelo tribes in the Piedmont region (Smith, 2003b). Finally, the Iroquoian language group was divided with the Cherokee living in the Appalachian Plateau and the Nottoway and Meherrin living in the southern section of the Tidewater and Piedmont regions (Smith, 2003b). The Native Americans who lived in this land long before modern transportation, shipping, agriculture, and other technologies learned to adapt to the environment and use what was available to provide food, clothing, and shelter.
Native Americans gathered, farmed, fished, and hunted for their food. Women were responsible for gathering, farming, and cooking meals while men did the hunting and fishing (Smith, 2003b). Among the items women gathered were wild berries, nuts, oysters, and clams. Food such as corn, beans, pumpkins, squash, and melons were grown (Smith, 2003b). In the early summer the women would plant the “three sisters,” corn, beans, and squash, together. When these plants grew, the bean vines would climb up the corn stalks while the squash grew beneath (Smith, 2003b). This provided the necessary nutrients and shelter for each crop. Some food grown was then dried and stored for winter months (Rosinsky, 2005). Women made pottery and baskets to help collect, hold, and prepare food (Smith, 2003b). Tobacco was also grown, but it was separated from the other crop farms and the men prepared and maintained these fields (Smith, 2003b). Tobacco was important to the village and was used for religious ceremonies as well as for trading for other goods (Rosinsky, 2005). If the fields in a village would not produce a sufficient harvest, the whole village would move to more fertile ground. In addition to the food grown and gathered, men hunted deer, bear, elk, turkey, bison, and also fished (Boraas, 2000). For tribes in the Appalachian Plateau fishing was not a part of the culture as it was for tribes closer to the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay.
Just as the diet of the Native Americans was influenced by the resources in the environment, their clothing was as well. Most clothing was made from deerskin or other animal hide the men hunted. For shoes, women made moccasins from buckskin (Rosinsky, 2005). Leggings were also made of animal skin and word to protect their legs as they traveled through the forest (Smith, 2003b). In the summer, men would wear only a deerskin loincloth while women wore an apron or long wraparound skirt. Children typically only wore moccasins until around the age of eight to twelve. To protect themselves from the cold of winter they would wear shirts made of animal skin, fur robes, leggings, and feather cloaks decorated with porcupine quills and seashells along with their other clothing. Grease from the hunted animals was rubbed on their skin to ward of insects in the summer and to keep warm in the winter (D’Apice, 2001). Even their hair styles were dependent on the culture and roles in the village. Since a large portion of the men’s job was to hunt using bow and arrow, they would shave the right side of their head leaving the left side uncut and pulled into a knot decorated with shells and feathers. Women’s hair styles were dependent on their marital status. Married women wore their hair in a long braid down their back while young girls shaved their hair close on the front and sides leaving the rest in a braid (Smith, 2003b). In addition to using clothing to protect them from the elements it was also used as a sign of rank. Chiefs wore decorative clothes and ornaments made of pearls and copper. The quality of a woman’s jewelry was used in much the same way showing how important she or her husband was in the community (Smith, 2003b).
The layout of the village was very carefully planned to provide protection and access to important resources. Villages were typically located on creeks or rivers where water, fishing, and hunting grounds would be abundant (Smith, 2003b). These villages were usually surrounded by a tall wooden fence called a “palisade” to protect them from wild animals and enemy tribes (Boraas, 2003). Another way they set up the villages for protection was by placing the homes close together within the palisade. These homes, called longhouses or yehakin (Rosinsky, 2005), were between 20 and 100 feet long and housed between 6 and 20 people (Smith, 2003b). They were built by the women using bent saplings to form an arch and then covered with woven mats made of river reeds. These mats could be rolled up to let sunlight and fresh air into the houses (Boraas, 2003). A fire was kept burning inside the homes at all times to keep away evil spirits, provide warmth, and allow for cooking. Each home had a hole in the roof in order to release the smoke accumulated from the constant-burning fire (Boraas, 2003). In summer camps and on hunting trips wigwams were built as shelters in place of longhouses. Wigwams were simply smaller versions of the longhouses. Due to the cold mountain climate found in the Appalachian Plateau, the Cherokee Indians had plans for both a summer and winter house. The summer homes were built with poles, woven twigs and a type of clay plaster. Winter homes, however, were round earthen lodges, each warmed by a small fire (Smith, 2003b).
Men, Women, Youth, & Children
All of these activities occurred in a local tribe which, in some cases, was connected to a larger group of tribes such as the Powhatan Confederacy. This confederacy was led by the commonly known Chief Powhatan, who was actually named Wahunsonacock, but took on the name Powhatan after his village when he was installed as the werowance, or “big chief,” of the Powhatan Confederacy (Edwards, 2002). This Confederacy was made up of 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes numbering around 14,000 members (Edwards, 2002). He ruled his tribes with fairness, shown by his reputation for distributing food evenly among the people. He was also quite known for his system of justice. If anyone was found to have broken a law of the people they were to be punished severely, often including torture or even death (Lynette, 2004). In 1607, when the English arrived in Jamestown, John Smith described him as a “ . . . personage a tall well-proportioned man, with a sower look, his head somewhat gray, his beard so thinne that it seemeth none at al, his age neare 60; of a very able and hardy body to endure any labour (Smith, 1624).”
In December of 1607 this same John Smith was captured by Opechancanough, Chief Powhatan’s half-brother, while on an exploration of the land (Boraas, 2003). Opechancanough took Smith through many of the villages to show off his capture before coming to the village of the werowance (Edwards, 2002). At this time Chief Powhatan ruled that Smith should be put to death. It is at this time we have one of the most famous stories of the time – Pocahontas’ rescue of Captain John Smith. We have since discovered that this very well may not have been the case. Historians have determined that Pocahontas, who was around ten to twelve years old at the time, did put her head down to be killed as well if John Smith were to die, but the circumstances behind it are less certain. Many scholars believe Chief Powhatan planned this event as a way to show mercy to this Englishman without showing weakness to his tribe (Lynette, 2004). It is also interesting to note, considering how famous the story is, that Pocahontas’ real name was Matoaka. Her nickname, Pocahontas, meant “playful” and used by the English (Rosinsky, 2005). After his encounter with the Powhatan tribe, John Smith was escorted back to Jamestown as a friend of the tribe. After that time young Pocahontas continued to help the Jamestown settlement by bringing food and warning of attacks planned against them (Rosen, 2004).
Another lesser-known child of this era is young Tom Savage, a thirteen year old orphan from England. Before the ships sailed from England Tom Savage was hired on as an indentured servant to Captain Newport. Once they reached the Jamestown settlement it was discovered that the Powhatan tribe often traded children. Tom Savage was traded for an Indian boy named Namontack. He lived with the Powhatan for three years learning their language and customs, while also spying for the English (Rosen, 2004).
Closing and Legacy
Looking back at the innovations of the Native Americans, their ability to adapt to the land, and their generosity in teaching and helping the settlers of Jamestown, it is easy to see what a large part they played in the success of this colony and later this state and nation. The adaptations they made to the land and later shared with the settlers ensured their survival and the continued existence and expansion of the English colonization. Even today we see their influence in this region and throughout state in both the crops grown, corn and tobacco, and names of rivers and cities, such as Rappahannock and Chesapeake among many others. Their actions affected not only this nation, but other nations as well. Obviously, this helped England at the start of colonization, but also prompted other countries to begin settling in the “New World.” Today we see an obvious lack of Native Americans due to their mistreatment throughout our history, but their influence and significance have not been diminished. Today we see some of the native Virginian tribes coming together to work towards a cultural rejuvenation of their heritage. Many of the tribes, excluding the Mattaponi and Pamunkey which were recognized in the 17th century, were not recognized as tribes by the Commonwealth until the 1980’s. These include the Nansemond, Chickahominy, and Rappahannock among others There are still several groups that are in the process of petitioning the Commonwealth for recognition, including the Nottoway tribe and Blue Ridge Cherokee. In 1982 the Virginia Council of Indians was formed. Made up of eleven members, mostly chiefs, they conduct studies and research on the relations between the Native American tribes and the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as make recommendations to the Commonwealth about Native American policies (Virginia Council on Indians, 2009).