For State's Tribes, Goal's In Sight

The long journey on the road to federal recognition of Virginia’s Indian tribes may be nearing its end.

After 10 years of legislation that has been submitted and resubmitted in Congress, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee has approved two measures that would grant six Virginia tribes the federal recognition that hundreds of other tribes around the country have enjoyed for years.

The legislation, which has been approved in the House of Representatives, would make the tribes eligible for up to $800 million in federal aid.

Federal recognition is important because it would make the people of the tribes eligible for grants in such areas as education, health care and housing that could improve their lives and livelihoods. Other tribes around the nation have been recognized and have received those benefits for years.

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As the Richmond Times Dispatch reported recently, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee endorsed legislation introduced by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., that grants recognition to the state tribes. Last June, Webb introduced companion legislation to a successful measure that Rep. James P. Moran, D-8th, guided through the House.

Ken Adams, chief of the Upper Mattaponi tribe, attended the meeting and said, “I feel like it is a very positive step toward the final resolution.”

Under the bills, Virginia tribes would be prohibited from building casinos. Given that Virginia law prohibits casino gambling, the specter of casinos on state reservations had been raised in opposition to federal recognition. None of the tribes ever said they were interested in opening a casino.

Representatives from a couple of tribes testified in the House that they didn’t even allow Bingo games on their reservations, so why would they endorse casino gambling.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who has consistently supported the tribes in their federal effort, said in a statement after the vote, “By bringing this legislation to a vote before the committee, we are closer than we have ever been to finally righting an historic wrong for Virginia and the nation.”

Kaine told lawmakers earlier this year that the identities of tribal members were stripped away by Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act, a state law that was in effect from 1924 to 1967. Racial identifications of those without white ancestry were changed to “colored” on birth certificates during that period. The state law had the effect of stripping members of Indian tribes of their rightful heritage.

The law has made federal recognition all the more difficult because one of the obstacles standing in its way was that the tribes had to prove they have been in continuous existence for at least a century. In many cases, that was not possible because of the racial injustice imposed on them by the state.

Federal recognition of Virginia’s tribes has been a long time coming. The successful Senate committee vote is a signal that the tribes should not have to wait much longer for the recognition they so richly deserve.