Chickahominy (tribe)

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The Chickahominy are a tribe of Native Americans who primarily live in the Greater Richmond, Virginia area, specifically in Charles City and New Kent counties.

The Chickahominy ("The Coarse Ground Corn People", c.f. Ojibwe: zhishigo'aamin "grain cracked by grinding") were an autonomous tribe when the first permanent English settlement was founded as Jamestowne (Jamestown, Virginia) in 1607. The Chickahominy were allied to Wahunsonacock, known to the English as Chief Powhatan, and his chiefdom of 30 or so tribes. The Chickahominy were forced to cede much of their land in 1646 after a failed attempt to drive the colonists from Virginia. The tribe's territory consisted of the land along the river that was eventually named after them, the Chickahominy River.

Today, the Chickahominy consists of approximately 750 people living within a five-mile radius of the tribal center and tribally owned land in Charles City County, and several hundred more living in other parts of the United States. The tribe was recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1983 and is currently fighting for federal recognition with other Virginia tribes.