(water sloshing) ASHLEY SPIVEY: My mother, who is Pamunkey, did not take us to places like Jamestown or Colonial Williamsburg, because at that time, we did not see ourselves represented or reflected there.

KEITH ANDERSON: There was pieces here and there about the Indigenous community, but it wasn't prioritized.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: For 400 years, Indigenous people were largely left out of the story told at Jamestown.

The Paspahegh Indians had been living here for centuries when European settlers arrived and built James Fort in 1607.

The fort was inside the Powhatan chiefdom, which stretched from the James to the Potomac.

The Paspahegh are gone now, but their story is not lost on Indigenous people today.

TANYA STEWART: There wasn't anything talked about how we were treated, how we were killed off.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: But Jamestown is updating its story to more accurately reflect the history of those who lived here.

CHIEF KEITH ANDERSON: Well, they've done a great job over the last 10 to 20 years recognizing the importance of the Indigenous community in Virginia.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: For Nansemond Chief Keith Anderson, the archaeological work that's happening around James Fort is essential to understanding the native contribution.

CHIEF KEITH ANDERSON: There's a very significant amount of artifacts from the Nansemond Tribe that are here that have helped us really regain a sense of pride and belonging to the Commonwealth.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: There are more than 4 million artifacts in Jamestown's collection, all cared for by Senior Curator Leah Stricker.

LEAH STRICKER: These artifacts provide a tangible connection to history, a tangible connection to people of the past, whether that be the colonists, the English colonists who came here, or those who were here many thousands of years before then.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: Evidence of what really happened here, in the form of projectile points, pottery, tools and beads.

TANYA STEWART: Well, I'm a beader at heart.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: Tanya Stewart is a Chickahominy tribal elder who teaches ancient native practices.

TANYA STEWART: What they have found at Jamestown, it helps us learn about the tribes that were there before, the trading that was done, how the natives and the soldiers at the fort, how they interacted.

DAVID GIVENS: Native peoples were living and sustaining the colony at times, and that's not a story that you often hear in your history books, but we are seeing it with the archaeology.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: David Givens oversees the archaeological work at James Fort.

The property is managed through a private-public partnership between Preservation Virginia and the National Park Service.

DAVID GIVENS: The archaeology of Virginia Indians across our state is very rich, sometimes misappropriated, sometimes whitewashed.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: The evidence seems so clear that Jamestown decided to revamp its museum to better tell the Indigenous story.

DAVID GIVENS: We wanted to make sure that we were telling the story, that entanglement story, in a meaningful way.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: Now that archaeology is setting the story straight about what happened at Jamestown, the next question is, who should decide what happens to the artifacts unearthed here?

ASHLEY SPIVEY: It's not just a subject of study, it is a literal representation of the people that we are descended from.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: Ashley Spivey is Pamunkey Indian.

Her work focuses on preserving tribal history.

ASHLEY SPIVEY: And so when you find something in the ground, that's not just an object for study, it's an object representing our histories, our stories, and our families.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: New federal rules that went into effect earlier this year give tribes control when it comes to public displays of native artifacts.

Some large national museums have closed spaces to consult with Indigenous peoples about their exhibits.

DAVID GIVENS: This one that's got the orange in it.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: Givens says, at Jamestown, the work of interpreting history is ongoing.

DAVID GIVENS: Everything that we dig up and everything at the site, we're only stewards of that shared history.

ADRIENNE McGIBBON: Chief Anderson, who's been informally advising Jamestown, says the state's federally recognized tribes should be involved.

KEITH ANDERSON: Those respective tribes have a seat at the table from the onset, and that the tribes, anthropologists or scientists are invited as well to be a part of that process.