Extends federal recognition to the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., of Virginia. Makes the Tribe and its members eligible for all future services and benefits provided by the federal government to federally recognized tribes. Deems the Tribe's service area to be King and Queen, Caroline, and Essex, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Richmond Counties, Virginia.
Sets forth requirements for submission of a tribal membership roll and governing documents.
Requires the Secretary to take into trust for the Tribe's benefit any other land within such counties the Tribe transfers to the Secretary.
Provides that no land taken into trust for the Tribe's benefit shall be considered Indian lands for the purpose of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 106 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 106
To extend Federal recognition to the Rappahannock Tribe, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2007
Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend Federal recognition to the Rappahannock Tribe, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) During the initial months after Virginia was settled,
the Rappahannocks had 3 encounters with Captain John Smith. The
first occurred when the Rappahannock weroance (headman)
traveled to Quiyocohannock (a principal town across the James
River from Jamestown) where he met with the Englishman to
determine if Smith had been the ``great man'' who had
previously sailed into the Rappahannock River, killed a
Rappahannock weroance, and kidnapped Rappahannock people. He
determined that Smith was too short to be that ``great man''.
On a second meeting, during John Smith's captivity (December
16, 1607 until January 8, 1608), Smith was taken to the
Rappahannock principal village to show the people that Smith
was not the great man. A third meeting took place during
Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay (July 1608 until
September 1608), when Smith was prevailed upon to make peace
between the Rappahannock and the Moraughtacund Indians. The
Moraughtacunds had stolen 3 women from the Rappahannock King.
In the settlement, Smith had the 2 tribes meet on the spot of
their first fight. When it was established that both sides
wanted peace, Smith told the Rappahannock King to select which
of the 3 women he wanted; the Moraughtacund King got second
choice; Mosco, a Wighcocomoco (on the Potomac River) guide, was
given the third woman.
(2) In 1645, Captain William Claiborne tried unsuccessfully
to establish treaty relations with the Rappahannocks. The
Rappahannocks had not participated in the Pamunkey-led uprising
in 1644, and the English wanted to ``treat with the
Rappahannocks or any other Indians not in amity with
Opechancanough, concerning serving the county against the
Pamunkeys''.
(3) In April 1651, the Rappahannocks conveyed their first
tract of land to an English settler, Colonel Morre Fauntleroy.
The deed was signed by Accopatough, weroance of the
Rappahannock Indians.
(4) In September 1653, Lancaster County signed a treaty
with Rappahannock Indians. The terms of the treaty gave
Rappahannocks the rights of the Englishmen in the county court,
and it tried to make the Rappahannock more accountable to
English law.
(5) In September 1653, Lancaster County defined and marked
the bounds of its Indian settlements. According to the
Lancaster clerk of court, ``the tribe called the great
Rappahannocks lived on the Rappahannock Creek just across the
river above Tappahannock''.
(6) In September 1656, (Old) Rappahannock County (modern-
day Richmond and Essex Counties) signed a treaty with
Rappahannock Indians. The treaty mirrored the Lancaster County
treaty from 1653, and added 2 points: Rappahannocks were to be
rewarded, in Roanoke, for returning English fugitives and the
English encouraged the Rappahannocks to send their children to
live among the English as servants, who the English promised
would be treated well.
(7) In 1658, the Virginia assembly revised a 1652 Act
stating that ``there be no grants of land to any Englishman
whatsoever de futuro until the Indians be first served with the
proportion of 50 acres of land for each bowman''.
(8) In 1669, the colony conducted a census of Virginia
Indians. At that time, the majority of the Rappahannocks were
residing at their hunting village on the north side of the
Mattaponi River. At the time of the visit, census takers were
counting only the tribes along the rivers. This explains the
low number of 30 Rappahannock bowmen counted on the river. The
Rappahannocks used this hunting village on the north side of
the Mattaponi River as their primary residence until they were
removed in 1684.
(9) In May 1677, the Treaty of Middle Plantation was signed
with England. The Pamunkey Queen Cockacoeske signed on behalf
of the Rappahannocks ``who were supposed to be her
tributaries''. However, before the treaty could be ratified,
the Queen of Pamunkey complained to the Virginia Colonial
Council ``that she was having trouble with Rappahannocks and
Chickahominies, supposedly tributaries of hers''.
(10) In November 1682, the Virginia Colonial Council
established a reservation for the Rappahannock Indians of 3,474
acres ``about the town where they dwelt''. The Rappahannocks
``town'' was their hunting village on the north side of the
Mattaponi River, where they had lived throughout the 1670's.
The acreage allotment was based on the 1658 Indian land act
(seen above), which translated into a bowman population of 70,
or an approximate total Rappahannock population of 350.
(11) In 1683, following raids by Iroquoian warriors on both
Indian and English Settlements, the Virginia Colonial Council
ordered the Rappahannocks to leave their reservation and unite
with the Nanzatico Indians at Nanzatico Indian Town, which was
located across and 30 miles up the Rappahannock River.
(12) Between 1687 and 1699, the Rappahannocks migrated out
of Nanzatico, returning to the south side of the Rappahannock
River at Portobacco Indian Town.
(13) In 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieutenant Richard
Covington ``escorted'' the Portobaccos and Rappahannocks out of
Portobacco Indian Town, out of Essex County, and into King and
Queen County where they settled along the ridgeline between the
Rappahannock and Mattaponi Rivers, the site of their ancient
hunting village and Mattaponi Rivers, the site of their ancient
hunting village and 1682 reservation.
(14) During the 1760s 3 Rappahannock girls were raised on
Thomas Nelson's ``Bleak Hill'' Plantation in King William
County. One girl married a Saunders man, one married a Johnson
man, and the third had 2 children, Edmund and Carter Nelson,
fathered by Thomas Cary Nelson. In the 19th century, these
Saunders, Johnson, and Nelson families are among the core
Rappahannock families from which the modern tribe traces its
descent.
(15) In 1819 and 1820, Edward Bird, John Bird and his
unnamed wife, Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson, and Carter Spurlock
(all Rappahannock ancestors) were listed on the tax roles of
King and Queen County. They are taxed at the county poor rate.
Edmund Bird is added to the list in 1821. This is significant
documentation because the overwhelming majority of pre-1864
records for King and Queen County were destroyed by fire.
(16) Beginning in 1819, and continuing through the 1880s,
there was a solid Rappahannock presence in the membership at
Upper Essex Baptist Church. This is the first instance of
conversion to Christianity by at least some Rappahannocks.
Twenty-six identifiable and traceable Rappahannock surnames
appear on the pre-1863 membership list; 28 were listed on the
1863 membership roster; that number had declined to 12 in 1878
and had risen only slightly to 14 by 1888. One reason for the
decline: in 1870, a Methodist circuit rider, Joseph Mastin,
secured funds to purchase land and construct St. Stephens
Baptist church for the Rappahannocks living nearby in Caroline
County. Mastin documented from 1850 to 1870. St. Stephens was
the dominant tribal church until the Rappahannock Indian
Baptist Church was established in 1964. At both, the core
Rappahannock family names of Bird, Clarke, Fortune, Johnson,
Nelson, Parker, and Richardson predominate.
(17) During the early 1900s, James Mooney, noted
anthropologist, maintained correspondence with the
Rappahannocks, surveying them and instructing them on how to
formalize their tribal government.
(18) In November 1920, Speck visited the Rappahannocks and
assisted them in organizing the fight for their sovereign
rights. In 1921, the Rappahannocks were granted a charter from
the Commonwealth of Virginia formalizing their tribal
government. Speck began a professional relationship with the
Tribe that would last more than 30 years and document
Rappahannock history and traditions as never done before.
(19) In April 1921, Rappahannock Chief George Nelson asked
the Governor of Virginia, Westmoreland Davis, to forward a
proclamation to the President of the United States. A list of
tribal members and a handwritten copy of the proclamation
itself were appended. The letter concerned Indian freedom of
speech and assembly nationwide. Chief Nelson testified also
before Congress requesting acknowledgement of the Rappahannocks
civil and sovereign rights, quoting Isaiah 40:31; ``They that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their Strength; they shall mount
up with wings as Eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint''.
(20) In 1922, the Rappahannocks established a formal school
at Lloyds, Essex County, Virginia. Prior to that time,
Rappahannock children were taught by a tribal member in Central
Point, Caroline County, Virginia.
(21) In December 1923, Rappahannock Chief George Nelson
testified before the United States Congress appealing for a
$50,000 appropriation to establish an Indian school in
Virginia.
(22) In 1930, the Rappahannocks were engaged in an ongoing
dispute with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States
Census Bureau about their classification in the 1930 Federal
census. In January 1930, Rappahannock Chief Otho S. Nelson
wrote to the Chief Statistician of the United States Census
Bureau asking that the 218 enrolled Rappahannocks be listed as
Indians. In February, Leon Truesdell replied to Nelson saying
that ``special instructions'' were being given about
classifying Indians. That April, Nelson wrote to William M.
Steuart at the Census Bureau asking about the enumerators'
failure to classify his people as Indians. Nelson said that
enumerators had not asked the question about race when they
interviewed his people. In a follow-up letter to Truesdell,
Nelson reported that the enumerators were ``flatly denying''
his people's request to be listed as Indians. Furthermore, the
race question was completely avoided during interviews. The
Rappahannocks had talked with Caroline and Essex County
enumerators, and with John M.W. Green already, without success.
Nelson asked Truesdell to list people as Indian if he sent a
list of members. The matter was settled by William Steuart who
concluded that the Bureaus rule was that people of Indian
descent could only be classified as ``Indian'' if Indian
``blood'' predominated and ``Indian'' identity was accepted in
the local community. The Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau
classed all nonreservation Indians as ``negro'', and it failed
to see why ``an exception should be made'' for the
Rappahannocks. Therefore, in 1925, the Indian Rights
Association took on the Rappahannock case to assist them in
fighting for their recognition and rights as an Indian Tribe.
(23) During the World War II, the Pamunkeys, Mattaponis,
Chickahominies, and Rappahannocks fought the draft boards about
their racial identity. The Virginia Vital Statistics Bureau
insisted that certain Indian draftees be inducted into Negro
units. In the end, 3 Rappahannocks were convicted of violating
the Federal draft laws. After spending time in a Federal
prison, they were granted conscientious objector status and
served out the remainder of the war working in military
hospitals.
(24) In 1943, Frank Speck noted that there were
approximately 25 communities of Indians left in the Eastern
United States that were entitled to Indian classification. The
Rappahannocks were included in this group.
(25) In the 1940s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Statistician,
United States Bureau of the Census, listed 118 members in the
Rappahannock tribe in the Indian population of Virginia.
(26) In April 25, 1940, the United Stated Department of the
Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, included the Rappahannocks
in their list of Tribes by State and Agency.
(27) In 1948, the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report
included an article by William Harlen Gilbert titled,
``Surviving Indian Groups of the Eastern United States''. The
Rappahannock Tribe was included and described in this article.
(28) In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Rappahannocks
operated a school at Indian Neck. The State agreed to pay a
tribal teacher to teach 10 students bused by King and Queen
County to Sharon Indian School in King William County,
Virginia. In 1965, Rappahannock students entered Marriott High
School (a white public school) by Executive order of the
Governor of Virginia. In 1972, the Rappahannocks worked with
the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans to fight for Federal
recognition. In 1979, the Coalition established a pottery and
artisans company, operating with other Virginia tribes. In
1980, the Rappahannocks received funding through the
Administration for Native Americans, to develop an economic
program for the Tribe.
(29) In 1983, the Rappahannocks received State recognition.
This Bill acknowledges the perseverance of our people and their
long struggle to maintain their community, tribal culture, and
traditions, to take their rightful place in the history of the
United States.
(30) Thomasina E. Jordan is commended for her tireless
effort and work to gain federal recognition for Virginia
Indians. Thomasina E. Jordan laid the foundation to make
federal recognition a possibility. The Virginia Indians stand
on her shoulders.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act--
(1) the term ``Tribe'' means the organization possessing
the legal name Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., only and no other
tribe, subtribe, band, or splinter groups representing
themselves as Rappahannocks;
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior; and
(3) the term ``member'' means an enrolled member of the
Tribe, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, or an
individual who has been placed on the membership rolls of the
Tribe in accordance with this Act.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
(a) Federal Recognition.--Federal recognition is hereby extended to
the Tribe. All laws and regulations of the United States of general
application to Indians or nations, tribes, or bands of Indians,
including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) which are
not inconsistent with any specific provision of this Act, shall be
applicable to the Tribe and its members.
(b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
(1) In general.--The Tribe and its members shall be
eligible, on and after the date of the enactment of this Act,
for all services and benefits provided by the Federal
Government to federally recognized Indian tribes without regard
to the existence of a reservation for the Tribe or the location
of the residence of any member on or near any Indian
reservation.
(2) Service area.--For purposes of the delivery of Federal
services to enrolled members of the Tribe, the Tribe's service
area shall be deemed to be the area comprised of King and
Queen, Caroline, and Essex, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and
Richmond Counties, Virginia.
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.
The membership roll and governing documents of the Tribe shall be
the most recent membership roll and governing documents, respectively,
submitted by the Tribe to the Secretary before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. GOVERNING BODY.
The governing body of the Tribe shall be the governing body on the
date of the enactment of this Act, or any new governing body selected
under the election procedures specified in the governing documents of
the Tribe.
SEC. 6. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Tribe transfers
other land within the boundaries of King and Queen County, Essex
County, Richmond County, Caroline County, Spotsylvania County, or
Stafford County, Virginia, to the Secretary, the Secretary shall take
such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
SEC. 7. GAMING PROHIBITION.
No land taken into trust for the benefit of the tribe shall be
considered Indian lands for the purposes of the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
SEC. 8. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND WATER RIGHTS.
Nothing in this Act shall expand, reduce, or affect in any manner
any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water rights of the Tribe
and its members.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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