POW-07
John Jenkins Designs
The Powhatan people may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. It is estimated that there were about 14,000-21,000 Powhatan people in eastern Virginia, when English colonists established Jamestown in 1607.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a “Mamanatowick” (paramount chief) named Wahunsenacawh created an organization by affiliating 30 tributary peoples, whose territory was much of eastern Virginia. They called this area Tsenacommacah (“densely inhabited land”).
Wahunsenacawh came to be known by English colonists as “The Powhatan Chief”. Each of the tribes within this organization had its own Weroance (leader), but all paid tribute to the Powhatan Chief.