Mattaponi

The Mattaponi tribe is one of only two Virginia Indian tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia that own reservation land. The tribe currently live in King William County on reservation lands that stretch along the borders of the Mattaponi River, near West Point, Virginia.

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

History

According to archaeologists, Virginia Indians have been living in the area now called Virginia for as many as 15,000 years.

16th century

In 1607, the Mattaponi Indians were identified by name by the English explorers John Smith, who noted that they were living along the Mattaponi River, and William Strachey, who placed the number of their warriors at 140.

During the second Anglo-Powhatan War of 1644-1646, the Mattaponi fled their homeland along the Mattaponi River and took refuge in the highlands along Piscataway Creek. With the cessation of hostilities, the tribe gradually returned to its homeland.

In 1646, at the conclusion of the Anglo-Powhatan War, the first treaty was signed between the Powhatan tribes and the English. The treaty set up reservations lands for several of the tribes as well as annual tribute payment of fish and game, made to the English.

In 1656-1657, the King and greatmen of the Mattaponi Tribe signed peace treaties with the Court of Rappahannock County and the justices of Old Rappahannock County in which the tribal members were to be treated as Englishmen as far as court and civil rights were concerned.

Bacon's Rebellion

During Bacon's Rebellion, the Mattaponi were one of several innocent tribes who were subjected to attacks by forces under Nathaniel Bacon. Historians believe Bacon had a personal rivalry with Governor Sir William Berkeley, though there were other causes of the rebellion. Some of these other causes were: declining tobacco prices (economic problems), growing commercial competition (from Maryland and North Carolina), an increasingly restricted English market, and rising prices from English manufactured goods (mercantilism). Continued tensions and raids by other local Virginia tribes gave Bacon and his followers a scapegoat in which to take out their frustrations.

Once the conflict ended, the Treaty of Middle Plantation was signed on May 29, 1677. The treaty was signed on behalf of several tribes, including the Mattaponi, by Cockacoeske (weroansqua of the Pamunkey). Known as "Queen of the Pamunkey" by the English, she had succeeded her husband, Totopotomoi, upon his death fighting for the English in 1656. A time of peace between the Virginia tribes and the English followed the signing of the treaty. This treaty was signed by more tribal leaders than the treaty of 1646. It reinforced the annual tribute payments and added the Siouan and Iroquoian tribes to the Tributary Indians of the colonial government. More reservation lands were established for the tribes, but the treaty required Virginia Indian leaders to acknowledge they and their peoples were subjects of the King of England.

The Mattaponi and Pamunkey Tribes continue to provide the annual tribute payment stipulated by the treaties of 1646 and 1677.

Late 1600s

In 1685, the Mattaponi, along with the Pamunkey and Chickahominy Tribes, attended a treaty conference at Albany.

17th and 18th centuries

The Mattaponi continued to occupy their reservation throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, as acknowledged by encroachments on tribal land during that time period, the presence of a Baptist missionary who worked with the Tribe beginning in the second quarter of the eighteenth century, and by the comments of then Governor Thomas Jefferson in 1781. Throughout their history, the Mattaponi had their own tribal government separate from the Powhatan leadership, although the tribe remained a part of that Chiefdomship.

19th century

The same patterns of occupation and internal political control continued throughout the nineteenth century, with the Mattaponi repeatedly defending themselves and their land against efforts by local officials and individuals to dispose of their property and deny their existence as a tribe. In 1812, an effort was made to take an acre of land from the Mattaponi Tribe for a dam, but it was defeated, and in 1843, the so-called "Gregory Petition" alleged that the Pamunkey and Mattaponi were no longer Indians. This effort to remove the Mattaponi and Pamunkey from their lands was also defeated. At about the same time, the historian Henry Howe reported that there were two Indian groups living in King William County, the Pamunkey and the Mattaponi. In 1865, the Pamunkey Baptist Church was formed, which many Mattaponi attended over the years.

Throughout the 19th century, the Mattaponi Tribe had its own tribal leadership. In 1868, the Mattaponi Tribe submitted a list of its Chiefs, headmen and members to the Governor. The list identified the Chief as Ellston Major, headmen as Austin Key and Robert Toopence, and tribal members as Nancy Franklin, Claiborne Key, Austin Key, Jno Anderson Key, Henry Major, Ellston Major, Ellwood Major, Lee Franklin Major, Coley Major, Mary Major, Parkey Major, John Major, Park Farley Toopence, Elizabeth Toopence, Robert Toopence, Emeline Toopence, Laura Toopence, Mary Catherine Toopence, James C. Toopence, and Lucy J. Toopence. The list was signed by Hardin Littlepage and William J. Trimmer, Trustees for the tribe. Present-day tribal members trace back to the individuals on that list. In the same year, L.D. Robinson, another trustee for the Tribe, reported on a road dispute involving access to the reservation. In an effort to resolve the dispute, the Tribe petitioned Governor Wells to prevent the blocking of the road.

As the last two tribes to function as part of the Powhatan Chiefdom, the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Tribes were treated by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a single administrative entity until 1894, when the Mattaponi formally separated from the Pamunkey-led Powhatan Chiefdom. The Commonwealth's general assembly responded in 1894 by appointing five trustees to the Mattaponi Tribe. The Mattaponi, like the Pamunkey Tribe, were declared exempt from certain local and county taxes. For its part, the Mattaponi Tribe adopted bylaws for its governance and established a school on its reservation.

20th century and present

During the 20th century, the Mattaponi Tribe and its reservation have been repeatedly acknowledged by the Commonwealth's Governors and Attorneys General. The Mattaponi Tribe has been repeatedly identified in scholarly publications and newspaper articles.

The Mattaponi Tribal Council continues to exercise its autonomous control over the affairs of the reservation. It assigns land for its members' use, settles internal disputes, maintains tribal property, and protects the interests of the Mattaponi Tribe in its relationships with local, State, and Federal Governments. It continues to maintain its obligations under the Treaty of Middle Plantation of 1677 by giving to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia the annual tribute.

Camp Mataponi, located in Naples, Maine is a girls' sleepaway camp. The name is derived from the Mattaponi Tribe, and many Mattaponi stories are told at the camp.

References

info from VA House of Representatives, 106th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5073

External links

• Mattaponi Indian Reservation
• Mattaponi Indian Tribe Information