Older buildings and neighborhoods in Fairfax County are part of Fairfax County's "heritage resources" and are economic and social investments that pay dividends. These sites and buildings also tell the history of the built environment in the county, which includes Native American hunting camps and long-term settlements.
Take a Cultural History Tour of Old Colchester Park and Preserve and learn about the history and stories of Native Americans through the material evidence left behind.
Riverbend Park Visitor Center has a feature exhibit in the building that is an excellent display of Native American life along the Potomac River. A naturalist is available to answer questions during open hours.
First People: Early Indians of Virginia. Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Virginia Indian Program. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
State-Recognized Tribes of Virginia. National Park Service
Chief Cook of the Pamunkey Indians
Archaeological evidence shows that people have been living in what is now Virginia as far back as 16-22,000 years ago. Virginia’s modern day tribes were firmly established in ancestral lands long before the English arrived to settle at Jamestown. These tribes contributed significantly to the newcomers’ ability to survive those first few years upon their arrival to present-day Virginia. Over the four hundred years since the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia’s native people have contributed greatly to the vitality of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation, and continue to do so.
Mattaponi Tribe
Pamunkey Tribe
Eastern Chickahominy Tribe
Rappahannock Tribe
Upper Mattaponi
Nansemond Tribe
Monacan Indian Nation
Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Tribe
Nottoway Tribe of Virginia
Patawomeck Tribe
