Some people travel hundreds of miles to experience history. Around Chuckatuck, we only have to look across the creek.

From our home on Cedar Creek, we can look toward Mattanock Town, the ancestral home of the Nansemond Indian Nation. It’s a reminder that long before Suffolk existed — long before Virginia appeared on a map — this land was home to the Nansemond people, whose name means “fishing point.” For thousands of years, they lived along the Nansemond River, fishing its waters, harvesting oysters, hunting its forests, and farming its fertile shores.

English settlement though brought warfare, displacement, and centuries of pressure to abandon their identity. Nevertheless, the Nansemond endured — maintaining their families, their community, and their connection to this land through an unlikely marriage between a 17th century English minister and the daughter of a Nansemond Chief. Today, they remain an important part of our community — not just a chapter in a history book, but our neighbors.

My own appreciation for their story began when I was young. My father shared his fascination with local history after spending his childhood walking freshly plowed fields, finding arrowheads left behind by those who called this place home generations before us. Those small discoveries sparked a lifelong respect for the people who came before us.

One memory has stayed with me for decades: meeting Chief Earl “Running Deer” Bass at a Nansemond Pow Wow. I was just a kid, and he was already in his 80s, but I remember him as a kind, gentle soul – and a man who loved Christ. He was fiercely proud of his Nansemond heritage and of his Christian faith — an example that has stayed with me.

In 1988, the tribe held its first Pow Wow back on their ancestral land, calling it the “Nansemond Indian Homecoming.” This weekend, that history comes alive once again as the 38th Annual Nansemond Indian Pow Wow returns to Mattanock Town. Gates open at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with Grand Entry at noon on Saturday and 1 PM on Sunday. Visitors can experience traditional dancing and singing, Native arts and crafts, food, fellowship, and opportunities to learn about one of Virginia’s oldest living cultures. Admission and parking are free, though donations are encouraged to support the tribe’s ongoing work.

If you’ve never been, I encourage you to go. It’s a chance to celebrate a people whose story has never ended, and whose roots remain firmly planted right here in our backyard.

Sometimes the richest history isn’t found in a museum. Sometimes, it’s just across the creek.
From our Chuckatuck porch where we can still hear the drumbeats of the Nansemond, until next time, that’s another Fred On History Friday.