Call your Reps!!

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 Senate Contact both Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Shelly Moore Capito

For House contact for your District

·      Representative Evan H. Jenkins (WV District 3)

·      Representative Alexander X. Mooney (WV District 2)

Representative David B. McKinley (WV District 1)