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Lawmakers Hope for More Federal Recognition for Virginia's Native American Tribes

Virginia lawmakers are redoubling their efforts to attain federal recognition for six Virginia Native American tribes. They’re more optimistic now that the Bureau of Indian Affairs granted federal recognition to the Pamunkey Tribe.

More than four hundred years ago the European settlers were greeted by Virginia tribes, yet they didn’t meet the federal government’s standard for recognition. That’s partly because in the early nineteen hundreds Walter Plecker destroyed their records. He only believed in two races: black and white, thus the tribes didn’t fit into his worldview. Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner says his state has a shameful record when it comes to the tribes. 

“For a long time, the Native American tribes in Virginia have really been discriminated against.”

In July the Bureau of Indian Affairs finally granted the Pamunkey tribe federal recognition, which now has the other Virginia tribes wondering if they should change their tactic.

“There was real concern that the federal recognition process would take forever and that’s why 6 of the tribes decided to go the legislative route. The remarkable thing is the Pamunkeys got through on the administrative proposal and the other six tribes have still been waiting for legislative approval.”

That legislative proposal needs to come from Congress and it’s hard to get floor time for the bill with lawmakers fighting over things like the Iran nuclear deal or funding for Planned Parenthood. Virginia Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott says the recognition of the Pamunkey highlights a sad truth.

“Well it… I think it shows the other tribes should have been recognized a long time ago. And so we’ll just keep pushing.”

But getting the six other tribes recognized won’t be as easy as one might think. Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says a part of the reason is that the other tribes don’t have their own reservation lands, which makes their struggle that much harder.

“Because they don’t have the reservation land the thing that made the Pamunkey easier for the purposes of meeting the VIA criteria is they got a reservation grant from the Crown of England and they can prove unbroken chain of titles since the 1670’s and the other guys don’t.”

Kaine says that makes the administrative route through the Bureau of Indian Affairs - or B-I-A - nearly impossible for the other tribes.

“So the word we get from the BIA is that it would be extremely difficult for the other tribes to get through the BIA.”

But Kaine is still optimistic. While riding the subway in the Capitol, the senator explained that the Virginia tribes have a better chance of getting Congress to recognize them.

“Ours are less controversial then some because our tribes have for sworn gambling. You know, they basically said we will not clam any sovereign right to gambling and any gambling we will agree to be bound by state law on gambling. Well some of the other tribes haven’t said that from other states so maybe there’s a way to move ours separately, maybe there’s a way to move a bunch of them together cause then you get more states interested.” 

Virginia Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly - and the rest of the state’s congressional delegation - say the six remaining tribes deserve swift congressional action.

“I think there’s a long and sorry history with how Native American tribal communities have been treated, especially in Virginia, and that sorry history has been linked to our racial past, and so we want to make sure justice ultimately is provided to long suffering communities of really our first citizens.” 

The other problem facing the tribes is that this fall’s schedule is already jam packed and next year is a presidential election, so Congress isn’t expected to be too productive. That has Virginia lawmakers and tribal leaders calling for action without many options to force action on the issue. 

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