The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is one of the most historically significant indigenous nations on the East Coast. Long before English settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607, the Pamunkey were the most powerful tribe within the great Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom, which encompassed over 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes in the Chesapeake Bay region. Chief Powhatan and his famous daughter, Pocahontas, were both of Pamunkey descent.