How A Werowocomoco Internship Helped Connect A Native Youth With His Heritage

Annapolis MD

16 May, 2022

11:18 AM

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By Jeremy Cox, the Chesapeake Bay Journal May 11, 2022 Growing up near the shipyards that snake along Norfolk's waterfront, Kalen Anderson pictured himself working there some day as a welder. He pursued the dream, graduating from community college with an associate degree in mechanical engineering. Just as he was about to take the next step toward his industrial career, the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. The ensuing occupational detour led Anderson, a member of the Nansemond Tribe, to an internship with the Appalachian Conservation Corps. Dispatched to work on a piece of land about an hour's drive north of his home, he found a new calling. And in March, the Corps Network, a national association of service and conservation corps organizations, recognized Anderson for his work, naming him one of four recipients of the Corpsmember of the Year award, chosen from 25,000 program participants nationwide. Now, the 21-year-old sees his professional life tied to the land he first encountered during that internship. Known as Werowocomoco, the 264-acre tract along the York River was once the seat of the Powhatan confederacy and is one of the most significant American Indian sites in eastern North America. "To me, it is my Washington DC," said Anderson. "To walk in a place where your ancestors lived, walked and birthed kids, it holds a lot of sentimental value." The National Park Service owns the Werowocomoco property and is developing a plan for its use through a collaboration with seven tribes in the region. Anderson envisions getting a permanent job at the site with the park service and working his way up the career ladder. The park service and its partners on the Werowocomoco project are working to involve tribal youth wherever possible in its development, said Zach Foster, director of the Appalachian Conservation Corps. "This site is sacred to several different tribes," Foster said. "Indigenous voices need to figure first and foremost in that conversation." The events that took place at Werowocomoco are well known, even if its name is not. The site overlooks Purtan Bay in Gloucester County and is believed to be where the English colonist John Smith first met the Algonquian leader Powhatan more than 400 years ago. In 1607, while exploring the Chickahominy River, Smith was captured by Indians and taken as a prisoner to the town. There, he met Powhatan, who was the spiritual and political leader of Native communities living throughout what is now called the Virginia Tidewater. According to Smith, he also met Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas, there and later boasted — in a much-disputed account — that she rescued him from execution. The name Werowocomoco faded from history. Its exact location was uncertain until 2001, when riverfront landowners Bob and Lynn Ripley began meeting with archaeologists to discuss artifacts found on their property along the York River. In 2002, archaeologists announced that evidence had confirmed the site's identity as Werowocomoco. The park service acquired the property from the Virginia couple for $7.1 million in 2016. Now managed as part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the site remains closed to the public as the park service develops a management plan with its tribal partners: the Rappahannock, Upper Mattaponi, Mattaponi, Pamunkey, Nansemond, Chickahominy and Eastern Division Chickahominy. "Werowocomoco" translates from the Virginia Algonquian language as "place of leadership." It turned out to be an apt description for Anderson, too. "He's got an amazing work ethic. It's very refreshing," said Christine Lucero, a senior interpretation and partnership specialist with the park service. "I mentor a lot of youth, and he just stands out." Anderson has been active in his community. He dances in a traveling American Indian troupe called Red Crooked Sky, which has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and other venues across the region. And he has worked with his tribe on restoring oyster beds in the Nansemond River. But he doesn't recall ever learning about Werowocomoco in school. "We watched the Pocahontas movie in school, but that was it," he said, adding that the omission reinforces his desire to share its story as widely as possible. "We hope Werowocomoco can show people that we're more than just a Disney movie and history books. We're still here." The internship program rotates young workers through several categories of park service tasks. They shadow employees and then take on many of the tasks themselves. Anderson rode alongside park service law enforcement officers on their rounds. He helped conduct water quality tests. He assisted archaeologists as they performed underwater surveys for artifacts. For their capstone projects, Anderson and his fellow interns prepared presentations outlining their individual visions for the sacred land. On one slide, he designed a Venn diagram with the word "Values" hovering inside a bubble at the center. Three bubbles overlapped its edges, each proposing its own priority. The typed letters read: "Education exchange for Virginia Natives and public," "Protect and conserve" and "Cultural and spiritual identity for Virginia Natives." As Anderson sees it, Werowocomoco should foremost be a place where tribal members can practice their culture. But he sees room for other members of the public to enjoy its beauty and learn its history in a controlled setting. "I don't want to keep it like nobody can come out there," Anderson said. "But given the importance of the site and how sacred it is, we don't want it to be exploited." Anderson is now pursuing a bachelor's degree in environmental science through an online program at Southern New Hampshire University. He has returned to work full time as the lead intern at Werowocomoco. One of his favorite duties, he said, is offering guided tours of the site to Virginia tribal members who are experiencing it for the first time. "They all fall in love with it," he said. Just like he has The Chesapeake Bay Journal is a nonprofit news organization covering environmental issues in the Bay region. Sign up for a free subscription at BayJournal.com.