Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Fall 2013 Issue | Page 8

Holy Spirit Mission continued from page 5

Coming Home to Werowocomoco
Nellie Adkins and Jean Mary Taylor
It has been a dream in the hearts
of Virginia Indians belonging to
tribes affiliated with the Powhatan
Confederacy that the site of the
chief seat be found. The place called
Werowocomoco was the capital, the
heart of the Confederacy. It was the
primary residence of the father of
Pocahontas, Matoaka, the man the
English called Powhatan because they
could not get their tongues around
his complex double name in the
Algonquian language.

On June 1, Nellie Adkins and
Jean Mary Taylor, diocesan Native
American Ministry Team co-chairs, were
invited to attend a formal “coming
home” to Werowocomoco ceremony
in Gloucester, Va., where a 58-acre
easement of land was dedicated by
landowners Robert and Lynn Ripley to
the Department of Historic Resources
of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The easement will ensure that this
sacred place remains open to further
discoveries of native history and
preserves the future for the birthright of
Virginia Indian people.

In late July, Chief Kevin Brown of
the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Adkins
and Taylor, representing the Native
American Ministry Team, traveled
together to Werowocomoco to meet
with Bob and Lynn Ripley and have
an opportunity to spend time on the
sacred grounds at length. Bob gathered
us on his golf cart and drove us around
the land, stopping many times as he
pointed out discoveries that he, his
wife Lynn, archeologists and historians
have made in the years since the Ripleys
have owned the property. Bob verbally
painted a fascinating portrait of how
this truly could only be the real site of
the capital of the Powhatan (Pamunkey)
Confederacy – the place of the chief
seat. His enthusiasm and joy at being
able to share history, and his story, were
palpable. We felt encircled by those who
had gone before us.

The Ripleys’ desire to make this
dream a reality for Indian people is
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Virginia Episcopalian / Fall 2013

(Left to right) Jean Mary Taylor and Nellie Adkins of the diocesan Native American
Ministry Team join Chief Kevin Brown of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe at Werowocomoco,
the site of the chief seat of the Powhatan Confederacy.
Artifacts from the 58-acre
land easement, believed to
be the site of the primary
residence of Powhatan.

evidenced again and again in how they
have allowed, even invited, archeologists
and historians to comb their land, and in
their unbridled joy in sharing what they
have learned, and found, with others.
Both Bob and Lynn spoke of how aware
they are of living in such a sacred place.
The inclusion of Indians as “diggers” and
investigators, not often seen in the past,
was key in the digs at Werowocomoco.

Jeff Brown, a former councilman
at Pamunkey, William & Mary Indian
Advisory Board member, and frequent
participant in the Werowocomoco digs
said about the site, “This went back to at
least 1200 A.D. It was the seat of power.”
Brown also noted his deep respect
and admiration for Lynn Ripley and her

continuing involvement at the site, not
as an owner, but as one of the diggers.
“Lynn spent many weeks with us. She
was not afraid to get dirty,” said Brown.

The Diocese of Virginia, with the
strong encouragement and support
of Bishop Johnston, has been involved
in work with a number of Indian tribes
affiliated with the Pamunkey Indian
Tribe. The importance of the return
to Werocomoco for our brothers and
sisters along the Red Road is also of
great importance to us within the
Diocese of Virginia as we continue
to work, with them, for a greater
understanding of cherished history and
forged future together.