I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5553 

To extend Federal recognition to the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 

Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, and Ms. WEXTON) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To extend Federal recognition to the Patawomeck Indian 

Tribe of Virginia, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Patawomeck Indian 

5 Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The Patawomeck, or Patawomeke, Tribe, 

9 also referred to as the Potomac Tribe, Potomac 

10 Band, Patamacks, and White Oakers was situated in 


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1 and around Indian Point and Pasapatanzy in what 

2 are now Stafford and King George Counties, Vir3 ginia, and occupied a prominent place in the docu4 mented history of the first half-century of European 

5 contact with the Native Virginians. 

6 (2) In 1608, Captain John Smith visited the 

7 village of Patawomeke between Potomac and 

8 Accokeek Creeks. The population of the Tribe was 

9 estimated at about 800, with 160 bowmen. Around 

10 this same time, Smith also visited and recorded the 

11 Patawomeck villages at Passapatanzy, Quiyough, 

12 and other small Patawomeck hamlets in the area. 

13 (3) In 1610, Japazaw, brother of the 

14 Patawomeck weroance, related the Patawomeck cre15 ation story to Captain Samuel Argall, the only sur16 viving Virginia Algonquian creation story recorded 

17 by the English. 

18 (4) In 1642, Patawomeck weroance, 

19 Wahanganoche, and his family were baptized into 

20 the Christian faith by Father Andrew White. 

21 (5) In 1662, Wahanganoche was issued a silver 

22 badge by the King of England to wear for safety 

23 when traveling across English lands and as an ac24 knowledgement of Patawomeck sovereignty. The 

25 weroance was acquitted of charges of high treason 


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1 and murder brought against him by Captain Giles 

2 Brent at the General Assembly in James City that 

3 year, but died on his way home, or shortly after his 

4 arrival. 

5 (6) In July 1666, the General Council of Vir6 ginia declared war on the Patawomecks. Most of the 

7 men were killed and most of the women and chil8 dren, who were not already living in English fami9 lies, were captured as slaves. Others likely joined 

10 with nearby existing Indian groups such as the 

11 Doegs, Nanzaticos, and Portobagos. 

12 (7) In 1680, King Pattanochus signs the Trea13 ty of Middle Plantation of behalf of the 

14 ‘‘Nansatiocoes, Nanzemunds, and Portabacchoes’’. 

15 By this time, displaced Patawomecks are living 

16 among these groups of people. 

17 (8) In 1692, A reference to payment for Rang18 ers in Stafford County notes the presence of ‘‘two 

19 Indians belonging to Stafford’’ in the detachment, il20 lustrating the continued presence within the area of 

21 Patawomeck ancestors. 

22 (9) Through most of the 1700s the 

23 Patawomeck community lived in the Northern Neck, 

24 moving as necessary. Portions of the community setVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Sep 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5553.IH H5553

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1 tled near the area known as Indian Town in mod2 ern-day King George County. 

3 (10) In 1789, White Oak church was estab4 lished. This church, which still stands, became a sig5 nificant space that facilitated the continued inter6 action of members of the Patawomeck community 

7 who attended well into the 1900s and used the reg8 ular meeting opportunities as venues to pass down 

9 and maintain Tribal knowledge and traditions, meet 

10 suitable Patawomeck marriage partners, and con11 duct business in formal and informal ways. Genera12 tions of Patawomeck ancestors account for the vast 

13 majority of the interments in the cemetery, including 

14 members with the surnames of Newton, Green, Cur15 tis, Jett, and Monteith. 

16 (11) By the early 1800s, the majority of the 

17 Patawomeck community had again coalesced in the 

18 area of Stafford County known as White Oak, with 

19 some members living in nearby Passapatanzy, in 

20 King George County, only a few miles from the loca21 tions of their ancestral villages, dating back to the 

22 1300s. 

23 (12) In 1832, Wahanganoche’s badge was 

24 found at Camden, in Caroline County, a well-known 

25 location of coalescent Indian communities and the 


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1 likely location of a portion of the Patawomeck com2 munity in the late 1600s. 

3 (13) During the United States Civil War, van4 dalism, courthouse fires, and other disasters destroy 

5 many of the records within the Stafford and King 

6 George County courthouses, serving to reduce the 

7 archival footprint of the Patawomecks within their 

8 historic areas of habitation. 

9 (14) In the late 1910s and 1920s, the anthro10 pologist Frank Speck, visited the Patawomeck com11 munity to take photographs, conduct interviews, and 

12 collect objects related to Indigenous heritage, noting 

13 that the ‘‘northern divisions of the [Powhatan] Con14 federacy are represented by descendants on Potomac 

15 Creek in King George county . . .’’. Since this time, 

16 partnerships have existed between the Tribe and re17 searchers from institutions such as the Smithsonian 

18 Institution, the University of Pennsylvania, the Col19 lege of William and Mary, American University, the 

20 University of Mary Washington, and Santa Clara 

21 University. 

22 (15) In 1924, Virginia passed the Racial Integ23 rity Act which removed the category of Indian iden24 tity from official records. Instead, all people were re25 quired to be identified as White or colored. This law, 


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1 in addition to other aspects of the racialized society 

2 that existed in Virginia starting in the late 1600s, 

3 effectively erased Virginia Indians from the official 

4 records of the Commonwealth until the middle of the 

5 1900s, amounting to a paper genocide. 

6 (16) In the 1930s and 1940s, at least 722 

7 Patawomeck ancestors were taken from their graves 

8 under the guise of archaeological research. Many of 

9 these ancestors were discarded by the excavators. 

10 The remainder, numbering well over 200 individuals, 

11 are currently held by the Smithsonian Institution. 

12 (17) In 1954, Elizabeth Newton of the 

13 Patawomecks married O.T. Custalow, Chief of the 

14 Mattaponis. 

15 (18) In 1996, the contemporary and formal re16 organization of the Patawomeck Tribe took place 

17 with the adoption of a written constitution. 

18 (19) In 2006, in partnership with linguists the 

19 Patawomecks began to work on reconstructing their 

20 native Algonquin language and sharing it with other 

21 Tribes and fellow Virginians. Since that time the 

22 Patawomecks have taught, transcribed, greatly en23 hanced the common Algonquin dictionary, and edu24 cated hundreds of Virginians in classroom settings. 


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1 (20) In February 2010, The Patawomecks re2 ceived official recognition from the Commonwealth 

3 of Virginia after years of hard work by Tribal mem4 bers and anthropologists at the College of William 

5 and Mary. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (2) TRIBAL MEMBER.—The term ‘‘Tribal mem11 ber’’ means— 

12 (A) an individual who is an enrolled mem13 ber of the Tribe as of the date of enactment of 

14 this Act; and 

15 (B) an individual who has been placed on 

16 the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance 

17 with this title. 

18 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

19 Patawomeck Indian Tribe. 

20 SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

21 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is ex23 tended to the Tribe. 

24 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—All laws (includ25 ing regulations) of the United States of general apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Sep 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5553.IH H5553

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1 plicability to Indians or nations, Indian Tribes, or 

2 bands of Indians (including the Act of June 18, 

3 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.)) that are not incon4 sistent with this title shall be applicable to the Tribe 

5 and Tribal members. 

6 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of en8 actment of this Act, the Tribe and Tribal members 

9 shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided 

10 by the Federal Government to federally recognized 

11 Indian Tribes without to the existence of a reserva12 tion for the Tribe. 

13 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For the purpose of the de14 livery of Federal services to Tribal members, the 

15 service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be 

16 the area comprised of Stafford and King George 

17 counties. 

18 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 

19 The membership roll and governing documents of the 

20 Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov21 erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 

22 the Secretary before the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 6. GOVERNING BODY. 

24 The governing body of the Tribe shall be— 


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1 (1) the governing body of the Tribe in place as 

2 of the date of enactment of this Act; or 

3 (2) any subsequent governing body elected in 

4 accordance with the election procedures specified in 

5 the governing documents of the Tribe. 

6 SEC. 7. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of the Tribe, the 

8 Secretary of the Interior may take into trust for the ben9 efit of the Tribe any land held in fee by the Tribe, if such 

10 lands are located within the boundaries of King George 

11 County or Stafford County, Virginia. 

12 (b) DEADLINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Sec13 retary shall make a final written determination not later 

14 than 3 years of the date which the Tribe submits a request 

15 for land to be taken into trust under subsection (a)(1) and 

16 shall immediately make that determination available to the 

17 Tribe. 

18 (c) RESERVATION STATUS.—Any land taken into 

19 trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to this para20 graph shall, upon request of the Tribe, be considered part 

21 of the reservation of the Tribe. 

22 (d) GAMING.—The Tribe may not conduct gaming ac23 tivities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under 

24 the authority of any Federal law, including the Indian 

25 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under 


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1 any regulations thereunder promulgated by the Secretary 

2 or the National Indian Gaming Commission. 

3 SEC. 8. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, GATHERING, AND 

4 WATER RIGHTS. 

5 Nothing in this Act expands, reduces, or affects in 

6 any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or 

7 water rights of the Tribe and members of the Tribe. 

8 SEC. 9. EMINENT DOMAIN. 

9 Eminent domain may not be used to acquire lands 

10 for a Tribe recognized under this Act. 

Æ 


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