Chickahominy
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Enrolled members) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Charles City County, Virginia (Chickahominy) | 840 |
| New Kent County, Virginia (Eastern Chickahominy) | 132 |
| Languages | |
| English, Algonquian (historical) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Native | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Piscataway, Yaocomico | |
The Chickahominy are a tribe of Virginia Indians who primarily live in Charles City County, located along the James River midway between Richmond and Williamsburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This area of the Tidewater is not far from where they lived in 1600, prior to English colonization. They were officially recognized by the state in 1983.
The Eastern Chickahominy split from the main tribe in 1983 and were recognized separately by the state. They are based in New Kent County, about 25 miles (40 km) east of Richmond. Neither tribe has an Indian reservation, having lost their land to English colonists in the 18th century, but they have purchased lands that they devote to communal purposes.
Both tribes are among the 11 who have organized and been officially recognized by Virginia since 1983. Neither has received recognition from the federal government. In 2009, a bill was proposed in Congress to federally recognize six "landless" Virginia tribes already recognized by the state, including these two. Although passed by the House, it did not gain Senate approval.
The Chickahominy ("The Coarse Ground Corn People") were among numerous independent Algonquian-speaking tribes who had long occupied the Tidewater area. They were led by mungai ("great men"), who were part of a council of elders and religious leaders. The Chickahominy's original territory consisted of the land along the Chickahominy River (named by the English after them), from the mouth of the river at its confluence with the James River, near Jamestown in present-day Charles City County, to what is now known as New Kent County, Virginia.
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