LM: Life Writing Post

Lacheal Martin

Life Writing

The following post will discuss how online materials portray the lifestyle of indigenous peoples near the Chesapeake Bay, and how the materials John Smith produced similarly reflect it.

The Chesapeake Bay, stretching from Maryland to Virginia, was one of the spots where several indigenous peoples lived during the seventeenth century. The Native tribes of Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Powhatan, Chickahominy, Nansemond, Rappahannock, Nanticoke, Piscataway, and Monacan settled around the bay, developing communities which were regulated under chiefdoms (Schupman and Tayac 2). In these communities, individuals communicated through languages from the Algonquian language family (Schupman and Tayac 2). Despite the large population, all lifestyles were similar. The Natives did not seek for a permanent home, as they were always migrating when agricultural lands became fallow (Beacham). They preferred landscapes with features such as nearby sources of freshwater (rivers and fresh springs), viable soil, marshes to catch turtles and shellfish, and uplands for hunting (Beacham). As the Chesapeake Bay provided those resources, Natives lived in homes built with wooden longhouses, a popular style of housing (Beacham).

Labor management was divided by gender. For Powhatan women, they were responsible for building homes, making clothes, cooking, and agriculture (“What Were the Responsibilities”). They harvested crops such as corn, squash, and beans (“What Were the Responsibilities”). Meanwhile, the men had responsibilities that revolved around hunting and fishing (see fig. 1) (Beacham).

Fig. 1. Indigenous peoples using spears and traps to catch fish; “Firsthand Accounts”; National Endowment for the Humanities; neh.gov, 2007, https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2007/januaryfebruary/feature/firsthand-accounts.

They caught deer, turkey, crabs, fish, and more as sources of food (“What Were the Responsibilities of the Powhatan Men”). The men also created tools made of stone (“What Were the Responsibilities of the Powhatan Men”). The Chesapeake region provided plenty of resources for the communities to survive. However, when John Smith and his men arrived at the Bay in 1607, the indigenous peoples were threatened by the voyagers’ motive to colonize the area—bringing changes that environmentally and economically transformed the Bay (“History & Culture”).

During his journey, John Smith recorded the lifestyle of the Natives he saw and appearance of the region. He describes the landscape as an area with plenty of natural resources: “the Westerne shore by which we sayled we found all along well watered, but very mountanous and barren, the vallies very fertill, but extreame thicke of small wood so well as trees, and much frequented with Wolves, Beares, Deere and other wild beasts” (Smith and Kislak 118). Regarding the appearance of the indigenous peoples, he commented that they wore “skinnes of wilde beasts” (Smith and Kislak 63), which were gathered from hunting. Lastly, regarding the division of labor, John Smith wrote:

The men bestow their times in fishing, hunting, wars, and such manlike exercises, scorning to be seene in any woman like exercise; which is the cause that the woman be verie painfull and the men often idle. The women and children do the rest of the worke. They make mats, baskets, pots, morters; pound their corne, make their bread, prepare their victuals, plant their corne, gather their corne, beare al kind of burdens, and such like. (Smith and Kislak 64)

Notice the information from the secondary sources in the first half of this paper is similar to the details John Smith recorded in his book. Both sources highlight the natural resources (ex. animals, good land, rivers and shores as a water source, etc.), and how the indigenous peoples worked to survive. Together, the commentary on the land and the labor reveals how natural resources play a significant role in survivability.

In addition to his writings, Smith designed a map of the Chesapeake Bay, based on his explorations (see fig. 2).

Fig. 2. John Smith’s map of the Chesapeake region. “Smith Maps”; National Park Service; nps.gov, 13 Nov. 2018, https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/smith-maps.htm

The map contains many details about the geographical and cultural aspects of the region. First, on the upper left corner is a sketch of Powhatan when Smith was taken as prisoner (“Powhatan”). Powhatan is seated in the middle, above a group of huddled individuals, looking powerful — which gives insight into his role in the community. Second, the map depicts the geography of the area. There are symbols of a cross placed in various locations to mark the places he visited. This famous map has served as a template for mapmakers for years. To compare, look at a tourist map of the Chesapeake Bay that can be found on the internet (see fig. 3):

Fig. 5. Modern Map of the Chesapeake Bay. “Sealake Products The Original Chesapeake Bay Map,” Sealake Products, amazon.com,https://www.amazon.com/Sealake-Products-Original-Chesapeake-Bay/dp/B00IJHTELW?th=1.

Although the map is simplified, the outline of the Chesapeake Bay is very similar to the original.

Overall, the online resources regarding the Chesapeake Bay help us understand what information was included about the indigenous peoples associated with the Bay during the seventeenth century. Most of the resources highlighted the relationship between the indigenous peoples and the natural world. Despite migration, the people greatly valued land. So, communities had a holistic view of their land because they lived in connection to the natural world, making land a part of their identity.

Works Cited

Beacham, Deanna. “Indigenous Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Woodlands,” National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/chba/learn/news/upload/ICL-Banner-Update- April2015-Updated.pdf. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

“History & Culture.” National Parks Service, www.nps.gov/chba/learn/historyculture/index.htm. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

“Powhatan.” National Parks Service, https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/historyculture/powhatan.htm. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

Schupman, Edwin, and Gabrielle Tayac. We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region, edited by Mark Hirsch, National Museum of the American Indian, 2006, pp. 2-24.

Smith, John, and Jay I. Kislak Reference Collection. The generall historie of Virginia, New England & the Summer Isles: together with The true travels, adventures and observations, and A sea grammar. Glasgow: J. MacLehose ; New York: Macmillan, 1907. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/75320262/>.

“What Were the Responsibilities of the Powhatan Men?” Chesapeake Bay - Native Americans - The Mariners' Museum, The Mariners' Museum, https://www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/cbhf/native/nam005.html. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.

“What Were the Responsibilities of the Powhatan Women and Children?” Chesapeake Bay - Native Americans - The Mariners' Museum, The Mariners' Museum, www.marinersmuseum.org/sites/micro/cbhf/native/nam006.html. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.