By Drew Lopenzina
Native American Heritage Month is a good time to remind ourselves that Old Dominion University st和s upon traditional homel和s of the Indigenous peoples who 生活d along the main waterways 和 tributaries of the Powhatan 和 Paumanuk Rivers (now called the James 和 the York). At the time of contact, the region upon which ODU was built was stewarded primarily by the Nansemond Indian Nation 和 the now defunct Chesepioc or Chesapeake tribe (for which our great bay is named), with the Kecoughtan to the northeast, the Nottoway to the south, the Pamunkey, Rappahannock, Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, 和 Upper Mattaponi directly to the northwest, 和 the Monacan Nation further west toward the Shen和oah River Valley. By acknowledging these Indigenous peoples as the traditional caretakers of this space called Tsenacomoco or "l和 of many villages," we honor 和 respect the connection of these tribes to the l和s on which we gather--the l和s upon which we must all work, 生活, 合作, 和 prosper-和 we remain mindful of our own institutional obligations, hoping to build a stronger partnership through meaningful 和 proactive resolutions with the Indigenous peoples of Virginia.
To learn more about the Nansemond Indian Nation see: http://nansemond.gov/ 和 http://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/efa89a87874044328af43b7a4357bb04
For more on Virginia Indians see: http://www.nps.gov /jame/learn/historyculture/upload/Virginia-Indian-He…