Trump signs bill recognizing Virginia Indian tribes
January 30, 3018
President Trump has signed into law a bill granting federal recognition to six Indian tribes in Virginia, a move that formally recognizes their place in U.S. history and makes them eligible for federal funding.
More importantly, sponsors say, the measure signed into law Monday corrects a long-standing injustice for tribes that were among the first to greet English settlers in 1607.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...46b038-05d4-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html
During the Civil War of the 1860s, she explained, many southern courthouses were burned, and records thus destroyed.
Then, in the 1920s, Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act, requiring Native Americans to classify themselves as “black,” making it nearly impossible to prove their Indian ancestry.
In 1999, the tribes turned to Virginia lawmakers for help.
In February 2017, Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman introduced the recognition bill to the House, where it passed in May. The Senate version, co-sponsored by Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, passed unanimously January 11.
Treaty with the Crown
Chickahominy ("The Coarse Ground Corn People") and other tribes of the paramount chiefdom ruled by Powhatan traded with settlers and taught them how to grow and preserve their own food. Later, the Chickahominy renounced their allegiance to Powhatan and allied themselves with the settlers.
“We agreed to provide 350-500 bowmen to the settlers in the event of an attack by the Spanish,” he said. In 1677, the Chickahominy and several other Virginia tribes signed a peace treaty, pledging fidelity to the British Crown in exchange for protection.
“Later, when the United States was formed, there was no move to engage those treaties or enter new treaties. And we never took up arms with the United States, so consequently, we never signed a treaty with the United States.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-recognizes-six-virginia-native-american-tribes/4232989.html
The six tribes covered by the bill were part of the Powhatan Nation, a confederation of Eastern Virginia tribes known for Pocahontas who, according to legend, saved the life of Capt. John Smith and later married the first English tobacco planter, John Rolfe.
The recognition also would allow the tribes to repatriate remains of their ancestors stored at the Smithsonian.
There are currently 11 state-recognized tribes in Virginia and more than 500 federally recognized Indian tribes, many of whom navigated the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs process.
Only one other tribe in Virginia has been federally recognized — the Pamunkey in 2016, one of two tribes with land on a reservation in King William County.
A discriminatory state law and quirks of history blocked that path for other Virginia tribes.
The Racial Integrity Act of 1924, required that births in the state be registered as either “white” or “colored,” with no option available for Native Americans. The result is what historians have described as a “paper genocide” of Indian tribes.
Other key documents were lost in Civil War-era fires.
Delays also resulted from the tribes’ unique place in history: They made peace with England before the country was established and never signed formal treaties with the U.S. government.
http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2018/jan/19/6-virginia-tribes-set-federal-recognition/
January 30, 3018
President Trump has signed into law a bill granting federal recognition to six Indian tribes in Virginia, a move that formally recognizes their place in U.S. history and makes them eligible for federal funding.
More importantly, sponsors say, the measure signed into law Monday corrects a long-standing injustice for tribes that were among the first to greet English settlers in 1607.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...46b038-05d4-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html
During the Civil War of the 1860s, she explained, many southern courthouses were burned, and records thus destroyed.
Then, in the 1920s, Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act, requiring Native Americans to classify themselves as “black,” making it nearly impossible to prove their Indian ancestry.
In 1999, the tribes turned to Virginia lawmakers for help.
In February 2017, Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman introduced the recognition bill to the House, where it passed in May. The Senate version, co-sponsored by Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, passed unanimously January 11.
Treaty with the Crown
Chickahominy ("The Coarse Ground Corn People") and other tribes of the paramount chiefdom ruled by Powhatan traded with settlers and taught them how to grow and preserve their own food. Later, the Chickahominy renounced their allegiance to Powhatan and allied themselves with the settlers.
“We agreed to provide 350-500 bowmen to the settlers in the event of an attack by the Spanish,” he said. In 1677, the Chickahominy and several other Virginia tribes signed a peace treaty, pledging fidelity to the British Crown in exchange for protection.
“Later, when the United States was formed, there was no move to engage those treaties or enter new treaties. And we never took up arms with the United States, so consequently, we never signed a treaty with the United States.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-recognizes-six-virginia-native-american-tribes/4232989.html
The six tribes covered by the bill were part of the Powhatan Nation, a confederation of Eastern Virginia tribes known for Pocahontas who, according to legend, saved the life of Capt. John Smith and later married the first English tobacco planter, John Rolfe.
The recognition also would allow the tribes to repatriate remains of their ancestors stored at the Smithsonian.
There are currently 11 state-recognized tribes in Virginia and more than 500 federally recognized Indian tribes, many of whom navigated the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs process.
Only one other tribe in Virginia has been federally recognized — the Pamunkey in 2016, one of two tribes with land on a reservation in King William County.
A discriminatory state law and quirks of history blocked that path for other Virginia tribes.
The Racial Integrity Act of 1924, required that births in the state be registered as either “white” or “colored,” with no option available for Native Americans. The result is what historians have described as a “paper genocide” of Indian tribes.
Other key documents were lost in Civil War-era fires.
Delays also resulted from the tribes’ unique place in history: They made peace with England before the country was established and never signed formal treaties with the U.S. government.
http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2018/jan/19/6-virginia-tribes-set-federal-recognition/
