Mattaponi

For other uses, see Mattapony (disambiguation).
Mattaponi
Total population
Enrolled members:

Mattaponi, King William County, Virginia: 450

Upper Mattaponi, Hanover County, Virginia: 575
Regions with significant populations
 United States Virginia
Languages
English, Virginia Algonquian (historical)
Religion
Christianity (incl. syncretistic forms)
Related ethnic groups
Pamunkey, Upper Mattaponi
Location of the Mattaponi Indian Reservation

The Mattaponi (English: /ˌmætəpoʊˈnaɪ/[1]) tribe is one of only two Virginia Indian[2] tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns reservation land, which it has held since the colonial era. The larger Mattaponi Indian Tribe lives in King William County on the reservation, which stretches along the borders of the Mattaponi River, near West Point, Virginia.[3][4]

The Mattaponi were one of six tribes inherited by Chief Powhatan in the late 16th century.[5] The tribe spoke an Algonquian language, like other members of the Powhatan Chiefdom. The paramount chiefdom of the Powhatan numbered more than 30 tribes by the time the English arrived and settled Jamestown in 1607.[6]

In addition, a Mattaponi band had long been settled outside the reservation at an unincorporated hamlet called Adamstown, located on the upper reaches of the Mattaponi River. This has been identified as Indian land in records dating to the 17th century. In 1921, this Upper Mattaponi Tribe of Adamstown organized as an official group. They have been recognized as a tribe by the Commonwealth of Virginia and own 32 acres (130,000 m2) of land in Hanover County.[6][7] Federal status was granted to the Upper Mattaponi Tribe through the passage of the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017 on January 12, 2018.[8]

The Mattaponi Indians are classified as a branch of Pamunkey Indians, who are also federally recognized. The Mattaponi and Pamunkey have an identical cultural foundation, and come from the same historic political body.[9]

  1. ^ Feest, Christian F. (1978). "Virginia Algonquians." In Northeast, ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 268
  2. ^ "A Guide to Writing about Virginia Indians and Virginia Indian History" Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, Virginia Council on Indians, Commonwealth of Virginia, updated Aug 2009, accessed 16 Sep 2009
  3. ^ Wood, Karenne, ed., The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail, Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2007 Archived 2009-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Egloff, Keith and Deborah Woodward. First People: The Early Indians of Virginia. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1992.
  5. ^ Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005.
  6. ^ a b Waugaman, Sandra F. and Danielle-Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D. We're Still Here: Contemporary Virginia Indians Tell Their Stories. Richmond, VA: Palari Publishing, 2006 (revised edition)
  7. ^ Kimberlain, Joanne. "We're Still Here", The Virginian-Pilot, June 7–9, 2009
  8. ^ "Bill passes to give 6 Va. Native American tribes federal recognition". 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Mattaponi Tribe History - Access Genealogy". 10 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2016.