Virginia Indian tribes seek U.S. recognition

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By Gary Emerling

Wayne Adkins knows who he is, even if the federal government doesn't.

The soft-spoken assistant chief of Virginia's Chickahominy Indian Tribe can recount the history of his people — how the past 400 years have been filled with displacement and discrimination, how some say the state once tried to eradicate records of their existence and how all of this happened despite their efforts to help America's first settlers survive.

In May of 1607, Capt. John Smith landed at Jamestown. Six months later, he came to the Chickahominy hoping to trade corn.

"It was probably fortunate for him, because we were known for being great growers of corn anyway," Mr. Adkins said.

That history is a driving force behind the decade-long efforts of the Chickahominy and five other tribes to gain federal recognition through congressional legislation. The status would grant them access to millions of dollars in funding and grants that could increase educational opportunities and provide greater health benefits for tribal members.

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'A living, breathing race'

Virginia Indian tribes seek federal recognition as "a matter of pride."

But in a time of billion-dollar federal bailouts, many Virginia Indians say money isn't what their quest is about.

"It means that the struggles that we've gone through and the difficulties we've had over 400 years, it means something," said Chief Ken Adams of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, based in King William County. "We have never shied away from our responsibility to this country, and this country needs to live up to its responsibility to us — and put it on paper."

'A matter of pride'

The effort of the Chickahominy, Chickahominy Eastern Division, Nansemond, Rappahannock and Upper Mattaponi tribes, along with the Monacan Indian Nation, has been led by Rep. James P. Moran and championed by other state leaders, including Sen. Jim Webb and Gov. Tim Kaine.