The Great Native American Chiefs

Powhatan (?-1618)

Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas, was the first Native American leader to have any important contact with the first European colonists in North America. Nearly 60 years old when the colonists arrived, Powhatan was chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, comprised of thirty tribes whose territory stretched from the Potomac River to Albermarle Sound in North Carolina. Although Powhatan had maintained peace with the English settlers at Jamestown, his death in 1618 saw the beginning of strife and warfare between the two groups. This drawing of Powhatan is from the only known portrait of the chief, drawn by a 17th century European artist.

Source: Famous Native American Leaders - Dover Press