Powhatan Indian Research

Powhatan Indians (Southern Renape pawd’tan, ‘falls in a current’ of water.-Gerard). A confederacy of Virginian Algonquian tribes. Their territory included the tidewater section of Virginia from the Potomac south to the divide between James River and Albemarle sound, and extended into the interior as far as the falls of the principal rivers about Fredericksburg and Richmond. They also occupied the Virginia counties east of Chesapeake Bay and possibly included some tribes in lower Maryland. In the Piedmont region west of them were the hostile Monacan and Manahoac, while on the south were the Chowanoc, Nottoway, and Meherrin of Iroquoian stock. Read more about the Powhatan History

Archives, Libraries  and Genealogy Societies

• AccessGenealogy Library – Provides a listing of our on line books, books we own, and books we will be putting on line
• Genealogy Library – Read books online for Free!
• Powhatan Ranape Nation Museum
  PO Box 225
  Rancocas, NJ 08073

Powhatan Indian Biographies

• Powhatan Chiefs
• Honorable Chief Powhatan, (hosted at Pauwau Virtual Museum)
• Chief Powhatan (hosted at Wikipedia)
• Openchancanough
• Pocahontas Biography (hosted Encyclopedia of World Biography)

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

• Tracing your Indian Ancestors
• Tribal Leaders Directory
• Recognized Indian Entities, 10/2010 Update (PDF)

Powhatan Indian Cemeteries

• Native American (Indian) Cemeteries

Powhatan Indian Census

• Indians in the 11th (1890) Census of the United States
• Native American (Indian) Census Records
• US Indian Census Schedules 1885-1940

Powhatan Indian Church Records

Powhatan Indian Court Records

Powhatan Indian Culture/Customs

Federal Recognized Tribes

Genealogy Help Pages

• Proving Your Indian Ancestry
• DNA- Testing for your Native American Ancestry
• How to Write a Genealogical Query

Powhatan Indian History

• Powhatan Indian Tribe History
• Powhatan Indian Locations
• Powhatan Indian Villages
• Powhatan Indian Chiefs and Leaders
• Powhatan Confederacy (hosted at Wikipedia)
• Chronology of Powhatan Indian Activity (hosted at National Parks Service)
• Virtual Jamestown (hosted at Virtual Jamestown)
• History of Jamestown (hosted at Historic Jamestowne)
• Powhatan Towns and Villages (hosted at Native American Genealogy)
• Powhatan Locations (hosted at Native American Genealogy)

Powhatan Indian Home Page Links

Powhatan Indian Land, Land Allotments and Maps

• Powhatan’s Territory 1607

Powhatan Indian Language

• Powhatan Language (hosted at Native Languages)
• Sign Language Among North American Indians (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

Powhatan Indian Legends

• Indian Mythology
• Pocahontas Myth

Mailing Lists

• NA-NEWBIES – A mailing list for anyone new to Native American Research, all Tribes and Nations.
• NATIVEAMERICAN-BURIALGROUNDS – Discussing and sharing of information regarding remaining and lost Native American burial grounds in the United States
• NATIVEAMERICAN-CHIEFS – A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the chiefs of the Native American tribes/nations in the United States. Stories or history of Chiefs in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean are also welcome.
• INDIAN TRIBES-LOCATION, One for each state.  Ask questions to find the location of your ancestors
• INDIAN CEMETERIES, A place to share the location or transcriptions of Indian Cemeteries
• INDIAN ROLL LIST, List for each of the Indian Rolls, discussion on each of the rolls

Powhatan Indian Military

• Indian Wars, Conflicts and Disturbances 1614-1893
• Indians Who Served in the War (WWII)

Other Tribes

The list of tribes and organizations below are not federally recognized. Many of them are state recognized organizations only or working towards federal recognition. We do not have the resources to check the validity of each and every organization and expect that you should before attempting to join or send a monetary contribution. We will provide a listing for any Native American organization or tribe.  If you would like your organization listed please submit the information here.

• Powhatan Renape Nation
  Rankokus Indian Reservation
  P.O. Box 225
  Rancocas, NJ 08073
  • History

Schools

• Hampton School Records
• Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute
• Indian Schools, Seminaries and Asylums

Treaties

• Indian Treaties, Acts and Agreements
• Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. 2
  As the United States expanded westward from the original thirteen colonies, settlers often confronted the existing owners of the land. As a result the federal government often negotiated treaties with these Native Americans. This collection of official treaties was compiled by the United States and originally printed in 1904.

Suggested Reading

Pocahontas, Alias Matoaka and her descendants

Pocahontas’s People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through Four Centuries, By Helen C. Roundtree
This history traces events that shaped the lives of the Powhatan Indians of Virginia, from their first encounter with English colonists, in 1607, to their present-day way of life and relationship to the state of Virginia and the federal government.
Roundtree’s examination of those four hundred years misses not a beat in the pulse of Powhatan life. Combining meticulous scholarship and sensitivity, the author explores the diversity always found among Powhatan people, and those people’s relationships with the English, the government of the fledgling United States, the Union and the Confederacy, the U.S. Census Bureau, white supremacists, the U.S. Selective Service, and the civil rights movement.