In this history, Helen Roundtree traces events that shaped the
lives of the Powhatan Indians of Virginia, from their first en-
counter with English colonist, in 1607, to their present day
way of life and relationship to the state of Virginia and the
federal government. This book covers 400 years. The author
explores the diversity found among the Powhatan people, and
those people's relationships with the English, the government
of the fledging United States, the Union, and the Confederacy,
the U.S. Census Bureau, white supremacist, the U.S. Selective
Service, and the civil right movement. In doing so, she brings the
reader through the travils and near demise of the Powhatans to
an understanding of how they have survived as Indians in Virg-
inia. Social, economic, political and ritual life are examined as
they have evolved over the post-contact years.