Powhatan Tribe

The Choctaw Indians were an important tribe, and the largest of the Muskogean tribes. The Choctaws have two stories about their origins in their traditional homeland in central Mississippi. One is that their ancestors came from west of the Mississippi River and settled in what is now the homeland. The other is that the tribe is descended from ancestors who were formed by a spirit from the damp earth of Nanih Waiyah, a large mound in northeastern Mississippi. Either way, the Choctaws resided in places, holding most of Southern Alabama and Mississippi with adjoining parts of Louisiana.

It is thought that the Virginia Indians played a role in the location and survival of Jamestown. The English were in Powhatan 's territory, and the island had a natural defense from their enemies making it the safest place to be, even if it was not a geographically ideal location. Powhatan was considered one of the most powerful chiefs claiming to have over a hundred children. Powhatan died in 1618 and his brother, Opechancanough led an attack on the English in 1622 and 1644. Pocahontas would befriend John Smith and marry John Rolfe in 1613 resulting in a temporary peace between the Virginia Indians and the

Wahunsonacock, Powhatan, was born in 1547 at a Algonquian Powhatan Village near the James River. His parents were Great Powhatan Nemattanon Don Luis DeVelasco Japasaw and PauPauwiske Morning Scent Flower Mangopeesoman. The Powhatan Tribe were a matrilineal society, so his mother gave him the right to be chief. The name of the Powhatan Tribe was established when the tradition of crowning a chief as a king, Chief Powhatan being the first. When he became chief, he ruled six tribes, he used these alliances to go to war with other tribes, expanding his rule to 30 tribes. He then became the founder of the Powhatan Confederacy, which was established in 1580.

Though warfare and attacks on entire villages took a definite toll on the populations of Native Americans, disease was by far the biggest killer. We’ve all heard the stories of smallpox infected blankets being given to the Native Americans, and other such atrocities, but I was simply dumbfounded at the actual numbers of dead due to Old World diseases being introduced to the New World, North America. While it has been somewhat difficult for scholars to determine the exact count of Indians who died from disease, they have fairly accurate estimates.

The tribe I chose was the Apache, I chose them because they’re interesting and their way of life and culture is intricate. Apache is what the Spanish used to describe them it means enemy, The Apache had other names for themselves like Inde which means “the people”. The Apache were from Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. They had many ceremonies and leaders to represent their tribe.

The colonization of the Americas began in the year of 1492, when Christopher Columbus and his band of explorers arrived off the coast of the Bahamas. This new “discovery” for Europe would have drastic effects not only on the settlers themselves, but on the natives and their environment. It is without a doubt that the appearance of these explorers placed the Indians on a dangerous trajectory. Now, it is currently understood how the colonization of the American continent brought disease, war and ultimately death for many of the natives. Early exploration, conquest and settlement brought about new economies for the Europeans, new religious freedoms, and knowledge of the world and of exploration, producing great benefits for the colonists. Although the settlers did face risks and sometimes death during their conquest, they undoubtedly benefitted from this expansion. The Indians, however, were dealt a different hand. The culture that they had developed and the immense civilizations that had evolved were ultimately destroyed as the spread of epidemics, constant war, and brutal exploitation brought these prosperous and hospitable peoples to their knees.

Despite the hospitality of the Powhatans, whatever they did not give the colonists, the colonists just stole it. The Powhatans stopped offering their lending hand.

The Cherokee tribe is known as one of the earliest and largest Indian tribe in North America. They are federally recognized even today among several states(museum). While they slowly became Americanized by the Europeans who came over to America, some still practice their typical Indian rituals publicly today. Most converted to Christianity and their government in Oklahoma is based off the American government with three branches. One would believe that the Trail of Tears could have completely vanquished these Indians but many made it through the horrendous trial and kept the Indian bloodline going even present day (Conley).

Hiawatha was an Iroquois Indian who wanted the Iroquois Tribes to unite together. He did not enjoy Iroquois battling each other, though he did agree with the Iroquois fighting with other tribes of different languages. Hiawatha persuaded the tribes of the Iroquois to create a Confederacy of Peace while being the Keeper of the Wampum, a chief position of leadership.

Throughout America’s History Native Americans have had their land taken away from them. This started with the Europeans landing in America with Native Americans, claiming they conquered the Americas. This was all allowed by the doctrine of discovery, that allowed European Christians to claim land if documented first (Meyers). Columbus and his crew took the claim of discovering the Americas, also labeling the Natives as Indians because he believed he landed in India. Europeans brought of countless diseases such as bubonic plague, chicken pox, pneumonic plague, cholera, diphtheria, influenza, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough (Ojibwa).This caused countless Natives to die because they had no immunity to these diseases. Next one of the first treaties were broken which cause the Native Americans to endure a great journey and travel countless miles to their new land known as The Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was a part of Andrew Jackson 's Indian Removal policy, which made 15,000 Cherokees up and leave their land because whites wanted their land(Historical Documents: The Trail of Tears). During this journey, 4,000 out of the 15,000 Cherokee’s died because of lack of food, exhaustion,and diseases(Historical Documents:The Trail of Tears). The continuing mistreatment of Natives has not ended, it is still going on today.

The Wampanoag' is a Native American individuals in North America. They were a free alliance comprised of a few tribes. Numerous Wampanoag individuals today are selected in two governmentally perceived tribes, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, or four state-perceived tribes in Massachusetts. In the start of the seventeenth century, at the season of first contact with the English, the Wampanoag lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a domain that incorporated present-day Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket islands. Their populace numbered in the thousands because of the extravagance of nature and their development of corn, beans and squash. Three thousand Wampanoag lived on Martha's Vineyard alone.

It is estimated that 60% to 90% of Native American tribes had died from new diseases brought from the Columbian Exchange from the Europeans. Numerous diseases such as the infamous smallpox were introduced to the Native Americans and were degrading to the population as the Europeans grew a type of immunity from the diseases unlike the Native Americans. Conflict between the Spanish and the Native Americans brought war which encourages diseases to spread through hand to hand combat. Cultures and tribes were on the brink of extinction, as European expansionism and imperialism succeeded in claiming land that was formerly the Native Americans. The mass genocide and epidemic of various diseases towards the Native Americans reach to new heights due to the Columbian Exchange as Europeans militants strived for land and gold at the cost of the Native American’s

In the period termed pre-contact the indigenous peoples living in the Chesapeake Bay region were known collectively as the Powhatan people. This name was used for the collective of the Algonquian speaking tribes in the Chesapeake Bay and, during the time of interest, was led by Chief Powhatan, who took his tribe name as his ruling name. Chief Powhatan inherited the rule of six tribes when he became chief, as well as having accumulated a multitude of tribes during his reign to create the Powhatan confederacy. Within this confederacy, each distinct tribe was responsible for providing military support when requested, as well as were required to provide taxes in the form of pelts, food, copper and pearls. Notably, at no point was gold objectively mined by the Powhatan people. These people left no written records and thus the information available in modern times about the

Indians are getting payback. Yet another war has broken out yesterday Friday, March 22, 1622 in the English colony of Virginia. Officials have reported that about two weeks before this massacre English settlers killed a leading Powhatan warrior. We believe this could have contributed to this crazy event.

Historically the treatment of Native Americans has been highly problematic, especially throughout the colonization of the New World. Although, when colonising some Europeans took a merciful and sympathetic approach to the Native Americans, generally the treatment towards the indigenous people was not humane. Not only did the Native Americans die at the hand of the settlers, they also died from diseases that had been brought to the new world by explorers for which they had no immunity. In some cases diseases such as smallpox wiped out entire tribes. Together, the introduction of diseases and the actions of the European settlers had devastating effects on the Native Americans.