West Virginians,
I am writing to get you to call
your Federal representatives to support the legislation for the recognition of
the Virginia Tribes (Chickahominy,
Eastern Chickanominy, Upper
Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Monacan and Nansemond). I have been following this
periodically since starting my research into Appalachian Indian history with
particular focus on the Monacan Nation due to their close archaeological and
historical connections to Kanawha-New River Valley Indians. There has been some legislative movement
in recent days. They need your help to ensure that Congress does not ignore
this opportunity to correct the injustices of over 400 years of neglect.
Let me give
a bit of background for those who don’t follow Virginia Indian issues
regularly. The six tribes covered by HB872 and S465 were present when the
English arrived in 1607. The standard historical view suggests that tribal
control of what would be come Virginia had diminished by the 1680-1700. While
the English were able to overwhelm many tribal power structures, the tribes did
not dwindle or disappear, not even in the Piedmont and Mountains of Virginia. A
more detailed history of the events connecting these six nations can be found
in the text of S465. But I will mention a more recent set of events that give
clarity to the problems facing Virginia Indians and other tribes around the
country.
In 1924,
Virginia passed a law intended to clarify the vital statistics of the state,
ominously called the Racial
Integrity Act. It required that everyone be reclassified as either white or
colored. Walter Plecker, the Virginia registrar of statistics, developed the
guidelines for reissuing all the vital records for the state and implemented
them with an iron fist. This effectively split peoples like the Monacan down
the middle, most often forcing them to identify as "colored" and relegated many
in the community to the second-class experiences that disenfranchised
African-American and Hispanic communities during the Twentieth Century. Plecker
even reissued birth and death certificates for people long since dead.
The lasting
effects of this are seen by the backlash within the American public and Federal
government tribal recognition. Since the 1970s, Virginia Indians have been
attempting to gain recognition from their state and the federal government.
This is where HB3764 takes on its major importance. The Department of the
Interior has failed to recognize the Monacans’ multiple
attempts to present the genealogical connection between the Amherst County
communities and the Monacans of the seventeenth century. Due to the Racial Integrity
Act and Walter Plecker, one of the primary connective tissues between the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the modern era was effectively erased.
That being said, the Monacans and many others have presented comprehensive
historical accounts that satisfy even the most rigorous examinations. But
despite this, the executive branch version of the process has failed the
Monacans.
HR3764
gives Congress the power to recognize tribes, joining the executive and judiciary
versions of such power. This provides another avenue for tribes seeking
recognition though admittedly still fraught with challenging legal, economic
and political pitfalls. My one concern is that Congress, the august body who
implemented Indian
Removal, railroaded the Indian
New Deal, and developed Indian
Termination, now may be the last hope for beginning to correct the
stripping of sovereignty that occurred in Virginia over the last 400 years.
So please join
me in contacting our federal legislators requesting them to vote for HR872,
HR3764, and S465. If I find a Senate version of HR3764, I will post a link to
it as well. Vote for long-overdue tribal recognitions for the Chickahominy,
Rappahanock, Upper Mattaponi, Monacan, and Nansemond this year, they have waited
too long. This will bring us one step closer to recognizing the intimate and
deeply rooted influence of indigenous peoples in our history, the roles they
play in our nation today, and recognizes the power of their voices for the
future. Thank you!
1. The Bills:
·
H.R. 872: To
extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy
Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock
Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe.
This provides the listed groups with all the benefits of federal tribal status.
Status: Hearings in House Natural
Resources Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, 09/29/2015
·
H.R.3764:
Tribal Recognition Act of 2015. This gives Congress the power to recognize
tribal nations, a power held only by the executive and judiciary branches up
till now. Status: Ordered to be Reported
(Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 23 – 13, 09/08/2016
·
S.465:
Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2015
This is the Senate version of HB 872. Status: Placed on Senate Legislative
Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 221, 09/10/2015
2. Who to contact:
For House contact for your District
Representative
David B. McKinley (WV District 1)