The Potomac River of 1608 was a major highway of native trade with copper, furs and marine shell traded from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes. The river was also a political boundary, with the fringe of the Powhatan paramount chiefdom along the south shore and the Piscataway paramount chiefdom along the north shore. Henry Fleet, who was a trader for furs at settlements along the river after 1632, estimated 5,000 peoples living in the Potomac tidewater at that time. Powhatan had instructed his tributary chiefs along the southern shore to attack Smith and his crew, while the independent chiefdoms on the north shore warmly received him as a new trading partner. Diplomacy, inter-nation trade, and defense prevailed 400 years ago. The same applies to this area today, only on a global scale.

Today the nation’s capital is centered on what was the western edge of the Piscataway paramount chiefdom territory. The National Museum of the America Indian welcomes visitors from around the world to tell, in native voice, the post Jamestown impact on the native world inundated by the ever increasing flood of European and African populations to the Chesapeake region. Other museums on the National Mall tell of other aspects of the American story, a complex tapestry of diverse cultures whose unique contributions created the society and environment of today. These and the 156 Gateway sites around the Bay provide windows into our past. You are encouraged to explore on your own a voyage of discovery to learn more about the ever changing environments, cultures and history of this region.