Why are Indians of the Chesapeake region interested in the trail?
American Indians populated the Chesapeake region for more than 10,000 years before the arrival of Captain John Smith and his crew, yet their lengthy history is overshadowed by the relatively recent writings of Captain John Smith and other colonists. The trail will draw attention to the extensive societies and cultures of 17th-century Native Americans and provide opportunities to learn how various tribes interacted with Smith and influenced English settlement of the Bay. The survival of the English in the early days of Jamestown colony is largely due to the knowledge, trade goods, and food provided by the Indians. Today’s Indian tribes welcome the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail as an opportunity to tell the history of this region not just from the European perspective, but also from the American Indian perspective. On May 8, 2006, the Virginia Council on Indians —representing the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Monacan Indian Nation, Nansemond, Pamu
