According to archaeologists, Native people have lived in the area we now call Virginia for as many as 15,000 years. However, if you ask us Virginia Indians how long our people have been here, we will say that we have always been here. Our histories, our ancestral connections, and our traditions are intertwined with the land known to the Powhatan peoples as Tsenacommocah--a bountiful land given to us by the Creator as the place most fitting for us to live.

The early inhabitants of Virginia were hunter-gatherers who followed the migratory patterns of large game, but over time, they settled into specific territories. Our people developed intimate, balanced relationships with the animals, plants, and geographic formations that characterized our homelands. History books seldom refer to the sophisticated agricultural techniques we practiced for more than 900 years or to the culturally managed landscapes we developed, where hunting and fishing areas alternated with townships and croplands along the waterways.