Pamunkey Indian Reservation

The Pamunkey Indian Reservation is a Native American reservation of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in King William, Virginia, United States. It lies along the Pamunkey River in King William County, Virginia on the Middle Peninsula. It contains approximately 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) of land, 500 acres (2.0 km²) of which is wetlands with numerous creeks. Thirty-four families reside on the reservation and many Tribal members live in nearby Richmond, Newport News, and other parts of Virginia.

Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Virginia
Indian reservation
Replica cabin near the reservation entrance
Location within the Commonwealth of Virginia
Coordinates: 37°34′29″N 77°0′5″W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	King William
Established	1658
Government
• Chief	Robert Gray [1]
Area
• Total	1.9 sq mi (4.8 km2)
• Land	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population  (2012)
• Total	80
• Density	42.1/sq mi (16.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	23806
Area code	804
Website	pamunkey.org
Pamunkey Indian Reservation Archaeological District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
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Nearest city	Lanesville, Virginia
Area	1,700 acres (690 ha)
NRHP reference No.	82004567[2]
Added to NRHP	September 16, 1982

History

Theodora Octavia Dennis Cook, Pamunkey Powhatan, ca. 1864-ca. 1935. Mrs. Cook is wearing a traditional turkey feather neck ornament, now in the collections of NMAI.^[3]

It was confirmed to the Pamunkey tribe as early as 1658 by the governor, the council, and the General Assembly of Virginia.^{[clarification needed]} The treaty of 1677 between the king of England, acting through the governor of Virginia, and several Native American tribes including the Pamunkey is the most important existing document describing Virginia's relationship to Indian land. The Pamunkey tribe's early ancestors had locations as far north as the Middle Peninsula of Virginia and as far south as South Hampton Roads in Virginia. A burial mound, reported to contain the remains of Chief Powhatan, father of Matoaka (better known to historians and the public as Pocahontas), is also on this reservation, next to railroad tracks. His brother Opechancanough relocated his remains here. He is also buried here.