Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 15, 2006 18:52:57 GMT -5
State Indian tribes hope for better future
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 12, 2006
They inhabited the land before the English arrived at Jamestown in 1607. Yet, on the eve of that historically important 400th anniversary, Virginia’s Indian tribes are still fighting for the federal recognition they so richly deserve.
Representatives of the state’s eight tribes -tribes that have been recognized by state government and the Virginia General Assembly - raised that point a number of times during a three-day conference last week. The conference, “Virginia Indians: 400 Years of Survival,” began in Williamsburg and ended at the Monacan Tribal Center near the foot of Bear Mountain in Amherst County.
Chief Kenneth Adams of the Upper Mattaponi tribe struck the historic note in his opening remarks, noting the conference - organized as part of the 18-month Jamestown 2007 celebration - marked a high note in Indian history.
“The eight state-recognized tribes understand the significance of this moment and the significance of this time in history,” he said. “In this room today are descendants of those standing on the shore as those ships came in.”
That’s a powerful statement, the significance of which has eluded members of the Congress who continue to erect road blocks to federal recognition of Virginia’s tribes. Six of those tribes, including the Monacans, have labored intensely to no avail for that recognition.
Federal recognition is important because it would make the people of the tribes eligible for federal grants in such areas as education, health care and other areas that could improve their livelihoods. Hundreds of other tribes around the nation have been recognized by the federal government, but the Virginia tribes have run into a seemingly insurmountable road block.
Commenting on the importance of federal recognition at the conference, Mark Tilden, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, said, “it opens the door to federal services” and can serve as a lifeline to poor tribes. “It’s one of those actions that is profound.”
During the conference, as Blair Goldstein of The News & Advance reported, representatives of the state’s tribes highlighted their past and their present role in modern society to show why they should be recognized.
Karen Wood, a member of the Monacan Nation who lives in Charles City and helped organize the three-day symposium, touched on that when she said it is important that Virginia Indians are given the opportunity to tell their own story of America’s colonization. She said that platform has been denied in the past.
“For far too long we’ve been represented by non-native people with Ph.D.s who claim to know more about our history than we do,” Wood said. “Our elders deserve a voice.”
One of the goals of last week’s conference was to educate the public about Indian concerns and ways to keep tribes relevant in a changing America. The conference accomplished that in part by taking participants to tribal centers throughout the state. Among the stops at the reservation homes of the Pamunkey, the Mattaponi, the Upper Mattaponi, Chickahominy and Monacan were museums, tribal-run enterprises, pottery and craft demonstrations and singing and dancing performances.
And the Jamestown celebration itself, while not universally popular among all the state’s tribes, should be a time to call attention to the importance of the tribes and their role in the state’s history.
Congress could do its part by granting the long sought after federal recognition by the time the Jamestown observance gets fully underway next spring.
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 12, 2006
They inhabited the land before the English arrived at Jamestown in 1607. Yet, on the eve of that historically important 400th anniversary, Virginia’s Indian tribes are still fighting for the federal recognition they so richly deserve.
Representatives of the state’s eight tribes -tribes that have been recognized by state government and the Virginia General Assembly - raised that point a number of times during a three-day conference last week. The conference, “Virginia Indians: 400 Years of Survival,” began in Williamsburg and ended at the Monacan Tribal Center near the foot of Bear Mountain in Amherst County.
Chief Kenneth Adams of the Upper Mattaponi tribe struck the historic note in his opening remarks, noting the conference - organized as part of the 18-month Jamestown 2007 celebration - marked a high note in Indian history.
“The eight state-recognized tribes understand the significance of this moment and the significance of this time in history,” he said. “In this room today are descendants of those standing on the shore as those ships came in.”
That’s a powerful statement, the significance of which has eluded members of the Congress who continue to erect road blocks to federal recognition of Virginia’s tribes. Six of those tribes, including the Monacans, have labored intensely to no avail for that recognition.
Federal recognition is important because it would make the people of the tribes eligible for federal grants in such areas as education, health care and other areas that could improve their livelihoods. Hundreds of other tribes around the nation have been recognized by the federal government, but the Virginia tribes have run into a seemingly insurmountable road block.
Commenting on the importance of federal recognition at the conference, Mark Tilden, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, said, “it opens the door to federal services” and can serve as a lifeline to poor tribes. “It’s one of those actions that is profound.”
During the conference, as Blair Goldstein of The News & Advance reported, representatives of the state’s tribes highlighted their past and their present role in modern society to show why they should be recognized.
Karen Wood, a member of the Monacan Nation who lives in Charles City and helped organize the three-day symposium, touched on that when she said it is important that Virginia Indians are given the opportunity to tell their own story of America’s colonization. She said that platform has been denied in the past.
“For far too long we’ve been represented by non-native people with Ph.D.s who claim to know more about our history than we do,” Wood said. “Our elders deserve a voice.”
One of the goals of last week’s conference was to educate the public about Indian concerns and ways to keep tribes relevant in a changing America. The conference accomplished that in part by taking participants to tribal centers throughout the state. Among the stops at the reservation homes of the Pamunkey, the Mattaponi, the Upper Mattaponi, Chickahominy and Monacan were museums, tribal-run enterprises, pottery and craft demonstrations and singing and dancing performances.
And the Jamestown celebration itself, while not universally popular among all the state’s tribes, should be a time to call attention to the importance of the tribes and their role in the state’s history.
Congress could do its part by granting the long sought after federal recognition by the time the Jamestown observance gets fully underway next spring.
