Wednesday June 17, 2009, 9:56 am

HERE IS THE ARTICLE:

WASHINGTON – With the House of Representatives’ June 3 approval, some members of six Virginia Indian tribes say they’re hoping their federal recognition bill will become law this year.

Members of the House approved for a second time the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2009.

“I’m happy that it passed, and we can move on to devote our time to getting it passed in the Senate,” said Wayne Adkins, Chickahominy, president of the Virginia Indian Tribal Alliance for Life. “We thank Congressman Moran and his staff for their work.”

Written and introduced by Congressman Jim Moran, the bill first received approval by the House in 2007 but failed to move in the Senate.

But this time could be different. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., with co-sponsor Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced a companion bill to grant tribes federal recognition the same day the House approved it.

“I applaud Congressman Moran’s tireless work shepherding this important bill through the House,” Webb said. “It’s time for these six Virginia tribes to join our nation’s 562 other federally recognized tribes.”

Virginia Indians’ history is unique in two important ways, which is why they don’t currently have federal recognition, Moran said in his speech to the House.

Members of the six Virginia tribes are direct descendants of the Indians who enabled the English at Jamestown to survive their harsh winters in the early 1600s.

“Virginia’s tribes have waited 400 years to receive their federal recognition. We are one step closer to closing a sad chapter in our nation’s history, one that saw the exploitation and denigration of Virginia’s Indians” Moran said. “These tribes, descendants of those that greeted the first English settlers at Jamestown, deserve the same rights afforded the 562 tribes that are currently federally recognized.”

Ironically, Virginia’s tribes signed treaties with the kings of England, not the U.S. federal government.

Moran said the tribes’ documented history was nearly erased when Virginia officials for up to 50 years “waged a war” to destroy all state and courthouse records of the American Indians as a result of a 1924 Racial Integrity Act.

In actions Moran described as “Orwellian,” state officials reclassified Virginia Indians as “colored” on state and courthouse documents such as birth, marriage and death records. Those who called themselves Indian risked being jailed for up to one year, marriage licenses were denied and babies wouldn’t be released from the hospital unless the “colored” ethnicity was selected.

“We are rectifying this wrong today,” Moran told the House.

Though some critics have argued against the bill, saying the tribes would be able to open and operate gaming facilities on their land, the six tribes agreed to an amendment that would prevent them from utilizing the federal Indian gaming act. Even if the state of Virginia changes its laws in the future and allows gaming, the tribes will not be allowed to operate gaming facilities on their property.

The six Virginia tribes seeking recognition – the Chickahominy Tribe, Chickahominy Indian Tribe Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock Tribe, the Monacan Tribe, and the Nansemond Tribe – made it through the recognition bill approval process this far during the last Congressional session in 2007, and now some members say they’re ready to focus their efforts on approval by the Senate.

“I hope it means more good news for the rest of the year,” said Chief Ken Adams of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe. “I’m hoping we complete it this year. Maybe everything will go our way this year.”

Webb and members of his legislative team and staff members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs earlier this year toured the six tribes’ property.

Webb’s legislation will be reviewed and marked-up by the SCIA in a hearing before reaching the full Senate body for a final vote, according to his office.

“A good deal of staff time and resources have gone into laying the groundwork for the reintroduction of this bill to ensure a successful outcome in this Congress.”

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:01 am

MORE INFO:



H.R. 1385 would grant federal recognition to six Indian Tribes in Virginia (VA). Under the legislation, all U.S. laws, regulations and benefits applicable to Indian tribes would apply to these six tribes and their members. The bill would provide these tribes access to Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service benefits and services, including child welfare services, community development, health services, and other service programs.

The six tribes that would receive recognition under the bill are:

The Chickahominy Indian Tribe;
The Eastern Division of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe;
The Upper Mattaponi Tribe;
The Rappahannock Tribe, Inc.;
The Monacan Indian Nation; and
The Nansemond Indian Tribe.
According to CBO, these six tribes are comprised of a total membership of 4,200 people who would be eligible to receive benefits at an estimated cost of $65 million over five years. A member of the tribe would be defined as an individual that had enrolled and was recognized on a tribe's rolls on enactment of the legislation. Inclusion on the tribal roll is completely left up to the tribe.

The legislation requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take any land acquired by one of the six tribes prior to January 1, 2007, into trust and stipulates that any such land would be considered that tribe's reservation land.

H.R. 1385 stipulates that the State of Virginia is responsible for exercising jurisdiction over all criminal offenses and all civil actions that arise on lands located within Virginia that are owned by, or held in trust by the United States for these six tribes.

The bill would also prohibit any of the tribes established under this bill from participating in gambling or operating gambling facilities on any of the tribal land. The bill states that any tribal hunting, fishing, trapping, or water rights would not be affected by the legislation.

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:02 am

AND THIS:

The members of the six tribes that would be granted federal recognition by H.R. 1385 each claim an ancestry as descendants of tribes that occupied land in Virginia since English settlers arrived in the 15th Century. Though each tribe was recognized by the State of Virginia in the 1980s, each group has unsuccessfully sought federal recognition as a tribe through the standard Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) process on numerous occasions.

According to House Report 111-104, the tribes have been unable to provide the BIA with proper evidence of their Indian ancestry because many of the historical records and artifacts which associate them with the tribe were destroyed in the Civil War. The tribes also contend that the State of Virginia purposefully attempted to destroy other evidence of ancestry in the early 1900's, though the State has since recognized the tribes. In any event, the BIA has yet to approve of the tribe's recognition through the Federal Acknowledgment Process because of a lack of historical evidence. The House and Senate have introduced legislation that would congressionally recognize these tribes in the 107th, 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. None of the legislation, however, has been enacted into law.

According to the dissenting views published in the House Report by Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (R-WA), it remains unclear whether every member of these six tribes is actually of Indian Ancestry. Rep. Hastings stated that this discrepancy "leads to a related question: is every member of these tribes an Indian descendant of one of the historic tribes of Virginia? The answer to this question is unclear because the Committee has neither analyzed nor received from the Department of the Interior a reasonable analysis of the records necessary for a fully informed decision to recommend that the full House pass H.R. 1385." In addition, nothing in the legislation allows the Secretary of Interior to verify the ancestry of the tribe's members, meaning that some members with no historical connection to the Virginia tribes could receive federal Indian services if the tribe has placed them on their rolls.

Concerns have also been raised that this bill does not address the recent Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, in which the court ruled the Department of Interior (DOI) had improperly taken 31 acres of land into trust in Rhode Island for the Narragansett Indian Tribe. The Supreme Court ruled that the DOI did not have the authority to take the land into trust because the tribe was not given federal recognition until after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Some Members have expressed concerns that H.R. 1385 legislation would set a precedent for resolving issues under this decision through a congressional process. The dissenting views state, "If the solution to Carcieri is to deal with each and every post-1934 tribe's trust land application separately in Congress, then H.R. 1385 is appropriate. If the solution is to provide the Secretary of Interior with appropriate authority to acquire lands in trust, then H.R. 1385 is not appropriate."

Some Members may be concerned that H.R. 31 would grant federal recognition and benefits to approximately 4,200 members of six Virginia Indian tribes, though the tribes have not presented sufficient evidence to the BIA to receive federal recognition. Some Members may also be concerned that the legislation does not require members of the tribes to verify their Indian ancestry, thus services provided to the tribes could pay for benefits to individuals with unverified Indian heritage.

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:07 am
more good news tnanjk yyou kat

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:32 am
Awesome news Kat! thanks for sharing

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:45 am
This is wonderful Thanks Kat

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 10:51 am
This is potentially great news, but it sounds to me like there are still some bugs to work out. I hope this goes well and there is a win on all levels. Thanks for the news.

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 12:06 pm
Thanks Kat for some more wonderful news!

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 2:01 pm
GREAT NEWS KAT

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 3:54 pm
Some good news is better then no news in my home state.

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 4:03 pm
Great , thanks !!!

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 4:31 pm
THIS IS JUST THE GREATEST NEWS KAT:-)

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 4:48 pm
great news

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 6:49 pm
I would like the see the bill before wishing any congrats. I hate how Congress does not read the bills but rely on lobbyist's and handouts. Too many times have we been screwed with non related "additives" in these bills and they have the mentality of even if we owe you you will not get it for free.

It does sound good however and would love to see some real justice for the NA's. But, I really have some well founded doubts. Hell, we could not even get Bush impeached and we have millions without insurance do we really think we are going to see eons of oppression rectified in this day? Would love to see miracles happen without the voice of the masses. But, unfortunately that may be the case. They are our fellow citizens and need our support.

I wish them well Kat and hope they get what they ask.

I signed these petitions will you?
www.downsizedc.org Read the Bills Act and One Item at a Time Bill

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 7:05 pm
Kat, this is just wonderful, and I am so very happy for the tribes involved.
Every once in awhile our government does do something that's right. Hundreds of years late, but still one of the best things they've done in a very long time.

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 7:10 pm
Why,taking into consideration the history of these tribes,has it taken so long to right the wrongs held against them...and why should there yet be any hesitancy in "granting" them their "recognition" ?

Wednesday June 17, 2009, 7:20 pm
...not that they need the government to tell them who they already know they are...but still...It's a matter of respect.

Thursday June 18, 2009, 4:57 am
This is great news and it is only a pity and a deep shame, that this was taken such a long time!
The most noble thing of humanity is to admit when you have done wrong and to try to correct this in SHORT time...
Noted with thanks Kat and Alice Diane for sharing this.

Please consider signing this one too:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/280/petition-to-the-united-states-government-for-a-written-apology-for-the-genocideethnocide
Petition to the US Government for a written Apology
Target: This list will be forwarded to the United States Government along with this blog site address.

We the people from all the four directions living upon this planet believe Native Americans voice's have gone unanswered for far too long.
The time has come for humanity as a whole to acknowledge the injustices Native Americans have suffered in the past to the present!
The sad truth is these wrongs still exist, natives living in poverty, barely surviving in broken trailers with no running water, plumbing, electricity or heat. The same conditions you see on those commercials asking people to donate money to the children of third world countries. The only difference is, its happening in the United States of America to Native Americans.

ALSO SEE: http://imagesinawindow.spaces.live.com/

Thursday June 18, 2009, 12:58 pm
This is good news and I hope this helps these people

Thursday June 18, 2009, 2:53 pm
Great news! Thanks, Kat.

Thursday June 18, 2009, 3:36 pm
Thank you, Kat. It is wonderful to see these people working to be recognized as existing in their own right.

Monday December 14, 2009, 1:28 am
Four Hundred Years - Congress - Bring honor not shame. May the Great Spirit bring these Tribes forth and set them free. When you see water flowing uphill a kindness has been repaid. May the clouds of witnesses bear witness from the crimes that been committed on thier ancestors. Let this be a new beggining.

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