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“THOMASINA E. JORDAN INDIAN TRIBES OF VIRGINIA FEDERAL RECOGNITION ACT” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E754-E755 on May 23, 2013.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THOMASINA E. JORDAN INDIAN TRIBES OF VIRGINIA FEDERAL RECOGNITION ACT
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HON. JAMES P. MORAN
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act. This is the seventh time I have introduced legislation that would grant federal recognition to six Indian tribes in Virginia: the Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, the Monacan, and the Nansemond. I am joined by my Virginia colleagues, Reps. Bobby Scott, Robert Wittman and Gerry Connolly.
Similar measures passed the House and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee during the 110th and 111th Sessions of Congress. Unfortunately, both measures were ultimately defeated when the objections of a few Senators were not overridden.
The impasse in Congress and the demeaning and dysfunctional acknowledgement process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs only compound the grave injustices this legislation seeks to redress and compels me to continue this cause and reintroduce this legislation today. The injustices the Virginia tribes have experienced extend back in time for hundreds of years, back to the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown. For the Members of these tribes are the descendants of the great Powhatan Confederacy who greeted the English and provided food and assistance that ensured the settlers' early survival.
Six years ago, America celebrated the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown. But it was not a celebration for Native American descendants of Pocahontas, for they have yet to be recognized by our federal government. Unlike most Native American tribes that were officially recognized when they signed peace treaties with the federal government, Virginia's six Native American tribes made their peace with the Kings of England. Most notable among these was the Treaty of 1677 between these tribes and King Charles II. This treaty has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia every year for the past 334 years when the Governor accepts tribute from the tribes in a ceremony now celebrated at the Commonwealth Capitol. I had the honor of attending one of what I understand is the longest-celebrated treaty recognition ceremony in the United States.
The forefathers of the tribal leaders who gather on Thanksgiving in Richmond were the first to welcome the English, and during the first few years of settlement, ensured their survival. Had the tribes not assisted those early settlers, they would not have survived. Time has not been kind to the tribes, however. As was the case for most Native American tribes, as the settlement prospered and grew, the tribes suffered. Those who resisted quickly became subdued, were pushed off their historic lands, and, up through much of the 20th Century, were denied full rights as U.S. citizens. Despite their devastating loss of land and population, the Virginia tribes survived, preserving their heritage and their identity. Their story of survival spans four centuries of racial hostility and coercive state and state-sanctioned actions.
The Virginia tribes' history, however, diverges from that of most Native Americans in two unique ways. The first explains why the Virginia tribes were never recognized by the federal government; the second explains why congressional action is needed today. First, by the time the federal government was established in 1789, the Virginia tribes were in no position to seek recognition. They had already lost control of their land, withdrawn into isolated communities and been stripped of most of their rights. Lacking even the rights granted by the English Kings, and our own Bill of Rights, federal recognition was nowhere within their reach.
The second unique circumstance for the Virginia tribes is what they experienced with the destruction of their official records. From the destruction of local courthouses wrought by the Civil War to the 20th Century ``paper genocide'' perpetrated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, there are gaps in their records which could ultimately invalidate their petitions for recognition that have been filed with the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs.
With great hypocrisy, Virginia's ruling elite pushed policies that culminated with the enactment of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. This act directed Commonwealth officials, and zealots like Walter Plecker, to destroy Commonwealth and local courthouse records and reclassify in Orwellian fashion all non-whites as ``colored.'' It targeted Native Americans with a vengeance, denying Native Americans in Virginia their identity.
To call oneself a ``Native American'' in Virginia was to risk a jail sentence of up to one year. In defiance of the law, members of Virginia's tribes traveled out of state to obtain marriage licenses or to serve their country in wartime. The law remained in effect until it was struck down in federal court in 1967. In that intervening period between 1924 and 1967, Commonwealth officials waged a war to destroy all public and many private records that affirmed the existence of Native Americans in Virginia. Historians have affirmed that no other state compares to Virginia's efforts to eradicate its citizens' Indian identity.
All of Virginia's state-recognized tribes have filed petitions with the Bureau of Acknowledgment seeking federal recognition. But it is a very heavy burden the Virginia tribes will have to overcome, and one fraught with complications that officials from the bureau have acknowledged may never be resolved in their lifetime. The acknowledgment process is already expensive, subject to unreasonable delays, and lacking in dignity. Virginia's paper genocide only further complicates these tribes' quest for federal recognition, making it difficult to furnish corroborating state and official documents and aggravating the injustice already visited upon them. The Bureau of Acknowledgement officials have admitted that the Virginia petitions may not be resolved for generations.
In appreciation of the fact that the issue of gambling and its economic and moral dimensions influence many Members' perspectives on tribal recognition issues, you should be aware that the bill has carried language every year prohibiting these tribes from gaming on their federal lands. This prohibition extends indefinitely, even if Virginia were to one day change course and allow gaming. The tribes find gambling offensive to their moral beliefs. They are seeking federal recognition because it is a matter of justice.
In the name of decency, fairness and humanity, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and bring closure to the centuries of injustice Virginia's Native American tribes have experienced.
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