tion of Werowocomoco came to light around 15 years ago, when Lynn Ripley began finding an enormous number of pre-contact artifacts on her land. Archaeological examination of the site began shortly thereafter. In 2003, Gallivan and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, research assistant professor of anthropology, met with leaders of the eight Virginia Indian tribes with links to Werowocomoco.
The scholars incorporated representatives of the tribes as advisors in the Werowocomoco Research Group, based at William & Mary. Virginia Indians have been involved in excavation and interpretation of the site from the earliest stages of the research. Representatives of each tribe spoke at a June, 2013 event marking the signing of a conservation easement, which protected the archaeologically significant portions of the property from development.
Gallivan says that it is essential to include representatives of the descendant peoples in the incorporation of Werowocomoco into the National Park System.
“Native communities have lived in the Chesapeake region for thousands of years,” Gallivan explained. “My colleagues and I have worked closely with Powhatan descendants, a number of whom have urged us to orient our research toward historical developments older than and distinct from John Smith’s account of his rescue, stories that dominate conversations about the Native past. We can’t begin to understand the full story without this deeper historical perspective.”