The Mattaponi Reservation, located in West Point, Virginia, is a small monument to the once thriving tribes that were represented in the great Powhatan Confederacy dates back as far as 1600 AD.

During its greatest days, the Powhatan Confederacy consisted of approximately 34 tribes representing more than 10,000 people under the leadership of Chief Powhatan (Pocahontas' father). The Confederacy's territory once spanned the entire coastal plain of Virginia. Today, however, the Mattaponi Reservation encompasses only 150 acres with approximately 70 people living on the reservation.

A visit to the Mattaponi Reservation and Museum is the perfect educational day trip. It will not only provide you with a wonderful sense of the traditional life of the Mattaponi people, it will also provide a first-hand look into lifestyle that is threatening to disappear all together. Some of the artifacts in the museum date back over 1,000 years with one of the most famous exhibits being a necklace that once belonged to Pocahontas.