U.S. House votes to recognize six Virginia tribes

Virginia's Native American tribes are a step closer to being formally recognized by the nation that was founded on their soil.

Today the House of Representatives passed the "Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2009," which would provide formal status to six of the commonwealth's tribes that descend from the natives that first greeted the settlers of Jamestown 400 years ago.

Sponsored by Rep. James P. Moran, D-8th, House Resolution 1385 now heads to the U.S. Senate, where similar legislation was left in committee last year.

"We are one step closer to ending a sad chapter in our nation's history," said Moran. "These tribes . . . deserve the same rights afforded the 562 tribes that are currently federally recognized."

The tribes seeking recognition are: the Chickahominy Tribe, Chickahominy Indian Tribe Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock Tribe, the Monacan Tribe and the Nansemond Tribe.

Federal recognition could make the tribes' 3,000 members eligible for federal funds for education, housing and senior care. Moran's bill includes a provision that would forbid the tribes from using their status to seek gambling licenses on tribal land.

The House passed similar legislation in May 2007. The bill came before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last September, right before Congress adjourned.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has introduced companion legislation to be reviewed during a hearing of the Committee on Indian Affairs before reaching the full Senate for a final vote.

Earlier this year, Webb's legislative team led a tour for committee staffers of the tribal grounds of the six tribes seeking recognition.

The commonwealth recognized the six Virginia tribes in 1983. Indian tribes have been lobbying for federal recognition since 1999, but the problems surrounding recognition of Virginia's tribes date back to the 1600s, when the tribes signed peace treaties with England and the settlers before the nation was formed.

More significantly, efforts to be recognized have been hampered by a now-defunct state policy -- the Racial Integrity Act -- which between 1924 and 1964 destroyed documented evidence of their heritage.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has called the act "a monstrous injustice." Yesterday he said he will "strongly support" efforts to win passage for the legislation in the Senate and see it enacted into law.

"The Virginia Tribes are a part of us," Kaine said in a statement. "We go to school together, work together and serve our commonwealth and our nation together every day. These contributions should be acknowledged, and this federal recognition for Virginia's native peoples is long overdue."