Cattashowrock Town, Indigenous-led Living History Museums, and the Resilience of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe

Cattashowrock town, a living history Iroquoian Palisade village reconstruction, as described in 1728 by William Bryd the II of Westover, is the focal point of this architectural history thesis about the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe. This thesis begins with an examination of the history of the Cheroenhaka in Southhampton county and their resilience into the present day leading to their reorganization led by Chief Walter David “Red Hawk” Brown in 2002. The history portion is a continuation of the work of scholars Louis Binford and Helen Rountree who documented the ethnohistory of the Cheroenhaka in the 1960s and 1980s. Further chapters examine the architectural design of the living history site of Cattashowrock Town as envisioned and implemented by Chief Brown and the Cheroenhaka tribal members. This thesis further examines the importance of Indigenous-led “living history” museums and how “living history” sites, such as Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, have the potential to influence the learning of school-aged children, both positively and negatively. There is a focus on the experiences of school-aged children of Virginia and Native American students at the University of Virginia. This is an examination of the importance of Cattashowrock town, powwows, land reclamation, and cultural preservation, with a focus on Cheroenhaka youth who are the future of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe, which includes Chief Brown’s own young children princess Windsong and prince Red Eagle.