The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe

The first major group of travelers from England arrived on Virginia.s shores 400 years ago, with visions of wealth and success.

On July 12, a group of Virginia Indian chiefs journeyed to England, this time to raise awareness of their tribes and make peace with their ancestors' conquerors.

For England's Jamestown 2007 organizers, the trip was a chance to revive social and economic links between Kent County - where the trip is centered - and Virginia.

For Indians, it was a first step toward balming scars of violence and betrayal formed long ago.

"This gate ... was opened up when the British came," explained Upper Mattaponi Chief Kenneth Adams. "This reconciliation, this 400-year journey that we.ve been on, is sort of a closing of that circle."

"The main thing I think we're interested in is that (they know) the Virginia Indians still exist," said Wayne Adkins, assistant chief of the Chickahominy tribe. "The way the history is written, it sounded like the Indians in Virginia disappeared around the mid 1700s."

Perhaps most important, leaders say, is the chance to confront the complex emotions surrounding their history - pride in their ancestors' role in keeping the Jamestown colony afloat, mixed with anger and sorrow at their eventual decimation at the hands of the English.

"When we come together where Pocahontas has been laid to rest, I'm convinced that there will be tears of joy," Adams said, his voice choking with emotion. "And some sorrow."