Description
The Chesepian or Chesapeake were a Native American tribe who lived near present-day South Hampton Roads in the U.S. state of Virginia. They occupied an area which is now the Norfolk County or Princess Anne County. The name Chesapeake is an anglicization of the Algonquian word, K'che-sepi-ack, which translates as "country on a great river." In 1585, their name was recorded by English colonists as Ehesepiooc. Their name is spelled many different ways and also listed as Chesapians. The main village of the Chesepian was on the Lynnhaven River in Princess Anne County. It was named Skicoke, located in the present independent city of Norfolk. There was not one single culture that defined people in this area. Instead, there was a diversity of cultures, languages, political groups, and identities.
Language
Although they spoke an Eastern Algonquian language like many tribes within the Powhatan Confederacy, archaeological evidence suggests that the Chesepian people originally belonged to another group, the Carolina Algonquian.
Culture
Most of the indigenous peoples of the Chesapeake identified their lineage through their mothers, not their fathers. People had several names, including a personal name, a name used when they were a child, and a name taken when they were older. Religion was widely practiced in indigenous cultures. Creation stories explained the origin of the world and the role of humans within it, priests provided advice to leaders and the larger community, and prayer was a part of everyday life. To provide for all of the tribe’s needs, men and women had different responsibilities. Women did the farming, gathering, and housebuilding. Men hunted and defended the tribe in times of conflict. American Indians in the Chesapeake constructed a type of house known as a longhouse. The women of the tribe constructed them by building a wooden frame with an arched roof and covering the frame with mats woven from reeds. The lifestyle as well as ceremonial practices of tribes revolved around the changing seasons.