Tidewater is a region in the Atlantic Plains of the United States located east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line (the natural border where the tidewater meets with the Piedmont region) and north of the Deep South. The term "tidewater" can be applied to any region where water levels are affected by the tide. Still, culturally and historically, the Tidewater region refers most commonly to the low-lying plains of southeastern Virginia (known as the coastal plain or Tidewater Virginia), eastern Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and the Chesapeake Bay. It can also encompass Delaware, the remainder of the Delmarva Peninsula, and Northeastern North Carolina.

The cultural Tidewater region got its name from the effects of changing ocean tides on local rivers, sounds, and shorelines. The area has a centuries-old cultural heritage that sets itself apart from the adjacent inland parts of the United States, especially concerning its distinctive dialects of English, which are gradually disappearing, along with its islands and its receding shoreline.

Most Native Americans in the Tidewater region were Algonkian-speaking tribes who lived from the fall line eastward to the Chesapeake Bay and south to the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. From north to south, they inhabited the area from the Potomac River in Maryland to the Neuse River in North Carolina. Two tribes, the Accomac and the Accohanoc, also Algonkian-speaking, lived on the Eastern Shore. John Smith's region map, which has been deemed quite accurate compared to modern maps, shows about 200 villages with king's house symbols indicating tribal capitals. The Algonkian tribes in the Tidewater region were occasionally at war between themselves and with tribes to the north and west, and they were enemies with Siouan tribes west of the fall line in the Piedmont region. To the south were Iroquoian-speaking tribes.

The natives were hunters, gatherers, and fishers and depended on corn (maize), beans, and squash, which they grew in the region's rich soils. By continuously growing corn, they were susceptible to crop failure. They fished and ate berries and nuts in the spring and summer, ate grown vegetables in the summer and fall, and hunted for deer, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, etc. in the winter. Deer was used for clothing and tools as well as food. Each tribe had a chief, Werowances if male and Werowansquas if female. Political power was inherited and passed down through the female line. The Powhatans lived in villages along rivers and banks in houses called yehakins made from a tree framework covered in bark or marsh reed mats. Men hunted and fished while women farmed, made clothing, and cooked. Children learned these skills from adults and played. Tattoos of animals and nature were common, and clothes were made from deerskin and woven grasses. Necklaces and earrings made from shells and pearls showed wealth.

The Virginia Algonquians (also known as the "Southeastern Algonkian") were part of the Powhatan Confederacy which originated around the James River and encompassed the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers to the north. Eventually, the confederacy included more than 30 Algonquian tribes east of the fall line including the Pumunkey, Nansemond, and Chickahomony, the three largest tribes in Virginia, as well as the Accomac and Accohanoc on the southern tip of the Eastern Shore.

The original confederacy is estimated to have had around 1,750-1,850 members before expanding to have 8,000-9,000. The Eastern Shore had 400 members; the rest lived on the mainland with a slight majority living in the Northern Neck and South of the James River. The more loyal and powerful tribes of the confederacy, like the Pumunkey, lived between the James and Rappahannock Rivers. There are accounts of chiefs of tribes further away, like the Potomac and Accomac, who defied the authority of Powhatan.

Powhatan, originally named Wahunsonacock, was the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy. He was also the father of Pocahontas. He grew his dominion by conquering many of the tribes that joined, including the Chesapeake, Kecoughtan, and Piankatank tribes according to natives that interacted with the Jamestown colonists. Powhatan's relative, Opechancanough (it's unknown if he is a brother, half-brother, or cousin), was the tribal chief of the Pumunkey before succeeding Powhatan as the chief of the confederacy after his death.

The Carolina Algonquians were the first natives to come in contact with English settlers at the failed colony on Roanoke Island. At the start of English settlement in the region in the early 17th century, there was a shift in tribal locations, as many natives moved west or further south into current North Carolina to avoid colonists. After the establishment of the first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607, Powhatan moved from Werowocomoco on the York River westward to Orapaks on the Chickahomony River. Many tribes moved south in the 1630s and 1650s after the Indian Massacres of 1622 (also called the Powhatan Uprising of 1622) and 1644.