Virginia Indian tribes seek U.S. recognition

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.

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.

Mr. Moran, a Democrat, initially introduced legislation granting the tribes federal recognition in 1999 but was unsuccessful then and in subsequent sessions of Congress.

Last year, a version of the legislation passed the House — the first time it had cleared a congressional chamber — but died after a September hearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, though chairman Sen. Byron Dorgan said then that he hoped the committee would “take action” early in 2009.

Progress on the bill this year has been steady so far, if not swift. Mr. Moran again introduced the legislation March 9, and the bill was heard by the House Committee on Natural Resources nine days later.

The committee unanimously voted to pass the bill April 22, clearing the way for it to be sent to the House floor.

“Frankly, it’s a matter of pride. And pride is the greatest motivator really,” Mr. Moran told The Washington Times. “You want to be recognized. It’s a legacy they want to leave for their children and grandchildren.”

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