Chief Powhatan

Hello! My name is Wahunsenacawh, but many people know me by my other name, Powhatan. Powhatan was the name of my home village and also the name for all of my people. I was a mamanatowick, which means I was the great chief of many villages. Around the year 1600, I was the leader of more than 30 different tribes. We lived in a beautiful land we called Tsenacommacah. Today, you might know this place as Virginia. We had our own special homes called yehakins, and we lived by farming corn and beans and fishing in the wide rivers.

One day in the year 1607, something new and surprising happened. Three large ships with giant white sails appeared on the water. These ships came from a faraway land called England. The men on the ships decided to build a village on our land, and they named their village Jamestown. At first, my people and I watched them very carefully. We had never seen people like them before. Their clothes, their tools, and their ways were all different from ours. Their leader was a man named Captain John Smith.

I had a clever and brave daughter named Pocahontas. She was very curious about the English visitors and wasn't afraid to meet them. She helped build a bridge of friendship between our people and the newcomers from England. When the visitors were hungry, she brought them food from our villages. She also helped us understand each other's words and ways. Her kindness was very important to all of us because it helped bring peace for a time.

I worked my whole life to be a strong leader and to protect my people and our lands during a time of great change. I lived to be about 70 years old, passing away around the year 1618. Today, people remember me as a powerful chief who united many tribes. My people, the Powhatan, still live in Virginia today, carrying on the traditions of our ancestors. My story is a reminder of a time when two different worlds met for the first time.