The Powhatan Indians
When the first settlers came to Jamestown, they met Powhatan Indians. This is because the Tidewater area of Virginia was inhabited by some 30 different tribes of Indians belonging to the Powhatan Confederacy. Chief Powhatan held out a hand of friendship to the first Virginia Settlers.
The Indians in coastal Virginia deeply felt the presenceG of the English settlers. Each culture had different ideas about the other, and the difference in language was a problem. When the English saw a large area of unoccupied land, for example, they believed that it was not being used, and would claim it as their own.
The Powhatan's believed in the idea of communal propertyG --the idea that open land was a source of food and materials to be shared by all. The nativesG saw the land, the sky, water, and air as important parts of the earth that could not be bought and sold.
Due to these differing beliefs, and many other cultural differences, the English and the Indians did not have much chance in living in the same area together. Little by little, the English took the Powhatan land, and as a result their once magnificentG power slowly disappeared.
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