Chickahominy Tribe
"The Coarse-Ground Corn People"
Contact Information
8200 Lott Cary Road
Charles City, VA 23030
804-829-2027
Chief: Stephen Adkins
History & Information
The Chickahominy Tribe is located in Charles City County, Virginia, midway between Richmond and Williamsburg, near where the tribe lived in 1600. When Jamestown was founded, the tribe lived in established towns along the Chickahominy River, from the mouth of the river near Jamestown to the middle of the current county of New Kent. Because of their proximity to Jamestown, the Chickahominy people had early contact with the English settlers, helping them to survive during their first few winters here by trading food for other items. Later, the tribal members helped teach the settlers how to grow and preserve their own food. Captain John Smith made several trade voyages up the Chickahominy River to the heart of the Chickahominy land.
As the settlers began to prosper and expand their settlements, the Chickahominy were crowded out of their homeland. In the treaty of 1646, the tribe was granted reservation land in the Pamunkey Neck area of Virginia, near where the Mattaponi reservation now exists in King William County. Eventually, the tribe lost its reservation land, and the tribal families began a gradual migration to the area called the Chickahominy Ridge, where they now reside.
The families began to purchase land for their homes and established Samaria Baptist Church, which serves as an important focal point for the community. They also purchased land here for tribal use and eventually constructed a tribal center. Each year, the Fall Festival and Powwow is hosted by the tribe on its property near the tribal center, with people in attendance from all over the United States, particularly the East Coast.
At the time of the English colonists' arrival, the tribe was led by a council of elders and religious leaders called the mungai or "great men," rather than by a single person. Today, it is led by a tribal council consisting of twelve men and women, including a chief and two assistant chiefs, all elected by vote of the members of the tribe.
There are approximately 875 Chickahominy people living within a five-mile radius of the tribal center, with several hundred more living in other parts of the United States.
The Chickahominy Tribe was granted official recognition by the state of Virginia in 1983 and since 1996 has been working hard towards recognition by the federal government.