The Nansemond Indian Nations Chief Emeritus, Lee Lockamy, has loaned an exhibit of artifacts to the wildlife refuge. This collection includes arrowheads of various ages, shells and tools such as mortars and pestles. The Nansemond Indian Nation’s ancestral lands included the area along the Nansemond River and extended east to the Atlantic Ocean. This area includes what is currently Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The Nasemond, are the indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Our tribe was part of the Tsenacomoco (or Powhatan paramount chiefdom) which was a coalition of approximately 30 Algonquian Indian tribes distributed throughout the northern, southern, and western lands surrounding the Chesapeake Bay.
Our people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where we fished (with the name “Nansemond” meaning “fishing point“), harvested oysters, hunted, and farmed in fertile soil.
Our tribe formally organized with elected officers in 1984 and later applied for and received Virginia state recognition in 1985. After more than 30 years of effort as the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association, our tribe (along with 5 other tribes from the original Powhatan paramount chiefdom) was granted federal recognition. In honor of this turning point we have returned to the name used by our ancestors—the Nansemond Indian Nation.
Nansemond Indian Nations Visitor Center Exhibit
Posted: June 14, 2024 by Back Bay NWR Society
The Nansemond Indian Nations Chief Emeritus, Lee Lockamy, has loaned an exhibit of artifacts to the wildlife refuge. This collection includes arrowheads of various ages, shells and tools such as mortars and pestles. The Nansemond Indian Nation’s ancestral lands included the area along the Nansemond River and extended east to the Atlantic Ocean. This area includes what is currently Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The Nasemond, are the indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Our tribe was part of the Tsenacomoco (or Powhatan paramount chiefdom) which was a coalition of approximately 30 Algonquian Indian tribes distributed throughout the northern, southern, and western lands surrounding the Chesapeake Bay.
Our people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where we fished (with the name “Nansemond” meaning “fishing point“), harvested oysters, hunted, and farmed in fertile soil.
Our tribe formally organized with elected officers in 1984 and later applied for and received Virginia state recognition in 1985. After more than 30 years of effort as the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association, our tribe (along with 5 other tribes from the original Powhatan paramount chiefdom) was granted federal recognition. In honor of this turning point we have returned to the name used by our ancestors—the Nansemond Indian Nation.
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