NORFOLK, Va. — Headwaters Casino, the first of its kind in the city of Norfolk, is slated for completion in 2024.
The new entertainment facility is being built by one of Virginia's oldest native groups, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, in the hopes of bringing both fun and a bit of a history lesson to the Mermaid City.
"We want people who visit any of our businesses to know that it's a Pamunkey Indian tribe that owns it," said the tribe's Chief, Robert Gray. "There's a lot of things about Virginia Indians that people don't know."
In the 1600s, 30 Native American tribes were scattered across Hampton Roads. Eventually, most of them were ruled by Powhattan. Today, just nine tribes are left.
These are the 7 tribes federally recognized in Virginia:
- Chickahominy Indian Tribe Providence Forge, VA
- Chickahominy Indians Eastern Division Providence Forge, VA
- Monacan Indian Nation Amherst, VA
- Nansemond Indian Nation Suffolk, VA
- Pamunkey Indian Tribe King William, VA
- Rappahannock Tribe Indian Neck, VA
- Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe King William, VA
Click here to see exactly where these tribes are in Virginia on a map.
"A lot of the tribes in Tidewater, Virginia had direct ties to Powhatan and this was part of how he controlled this region," explained Kris Peters, the museum educator at the Hampton History Museum.
This included the Pamunkey Tribe, who will be the first to bring gaming to Norfolk.
"There were several members of the leadership there that were part of his direct family," added Peters. "The Powhatan Indians as a whole in Tidewater, Virginia were agriculturalists, who also did a lot of hunting and fishing. They grow corn, beans, and squash."
According to Chief Gray, the Pamunkey Indians were the first tribe to make contact with the Europeans. Years later, they would help Americans win their independence, fighting alongside the Patriots in the Revolutionary War.
"We were the tribe of first contact," said Chief Gray. "The Pumonkey tribe is the tribe of Powhattan and Pocahontas."
Powhatan also ruled over the Kecoughtans, which is why their name is scattered throughout the Peninsula, including Keoughtan High School and Kecoughtan Road. But the tribe's name didn't always have such a difficult spelling.
"When we look at other Algonquin languages still around today, we see the word would be more like Kikotan," explained Peters.
But eventually, after 3 wars with the British, the Kecoughtans were displaced. Many Kecoughtans found refuge in their fellow natives, migrating north to live with the Pamunkey Tribe.
"At the end of the third Anglo-Powhatan War, the English basically set up a reservation system similar to what we would recognize today in the United States," explained Peters. "And each of the tribes that were still living in Tidewater, Virginia had its own land designated for them that the English weren't supposed to infringe on. And the largest of these groups was the Pamunkey."
The Pamunkey Reservation can be found near West Point along the Pamunkey River. Chief Gray says just about 80 tribal citizens inhabit the land, but they have about 400 members scattered across the United States.
Constantly threatened by climate change, chief Gray says building Norfolk's first casino will allow the tribe to expand their reservation and land the tribe holds sacred.
"It just gives a sense of identity knowing that our ancestors have been roaming that ground for tens of thousands of years," he said. "The land means a whole lot to the Pamunkey people."
The Chief added that the money collected from the casino will also help Pamunkey schools and hopefully expand the tribe's museum so more people can learn about the natives of Virginia.
"Right now, we're still hoping to get broadband on our reservation. So if we have to use this to get it, or whatever else, but just anything to help our citizens," said Chief Gray. "We have a museum on the reservation, so we hope to expand that. We would encourage people to come learn more than they could learn just by coming into a casino."
And Chief Gray says what helps his citizens, benefits everyone living in the Commonwealth.
"Having something up and running, we're hoping as quickly as possible, is what we want," said Gray. "It benefits us, it benefits the city of Norfolk if they can start gaining revenue, and the Commonwealth will get the tax revenue from it. We live in Virginia, we own it, and the money will stay here and benefit the Commonwealth."
Headwaters Casino is slated to open next to Harbor Park and Norfolk's Amtrak Station. The city of Norfolk says they are waiting on site plans and an application for a development certificate.
Both the city and the Pamunkey Tribe say they hope to have the resort up and running as soon as possible.
