TITLE V—PAMUNKEY TRIBE
SEC. 501. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Pamunkey Indian Tribe and the
Pamunkey Indian people have been identified from
historical times until the present on a substantially
continuous basis as ‘‘American Indians,’’ by anthro-
pologists, historians, and other scholars.
(2) The data show that the Pamunkey Tribe
has been continuously identified as an American In-
dian tribe since earliest contact. The Federal Gov-
ernment has repeatedly recognized the Tribe and its
members in Federal censuses, reports, memos and
letters, and legislation. The Colony and Common-
wealth of Virginia have identified the Tribe since the
early 1600’s.
(3) The Tribe maintained a close relationship
with the Colony, which provided land for the Tribe
and its trustees, and sought to protect the Tribe
from settlers. The Commonwealth of Virginia took
over the same responsibility and repeatedly recog-
nized the independence of the Pamunkey Tribe, its
rights and sovereignty on its land, and sought
through legislation to continue the protection of that
land base.
(4) The year 1646 was a major turning point
in the political and social history of the Pamunkey
Tribe. In that year the Powhatan signed a treaty
with the English. The treaty made with the
Pamunkey Chief and other Powhatan subjects re-
quired the payment of an annual tribute of 20 bea-
ver skins by the Tribe to the English.
(5) Throughout the struggles of the Powhatan
Indians with the English in the 17th century, the
Pamunkeys were never dislodged from their aborigi-
nal territories. In 1649, their Chief Tottopottomoy
received title to 5,000 acres for the Tribe as a result
of the treaty of 1646. Problems with settlers on the
Pamunkey lands led the Virginia Assembly to act on
their removal in 1653.
(6) In 1658, the Tribe was again secured in the
land it had and ‘‘. . . those English which are lately
gone to seat near the Pamunkies, and Chicominyes,
on the north side of the Pamunkie river, shall be
recalled . . .’’ (Laws of the Colonial and State Gov-
ernment 1832). The same law protected the rights
of the Tribes to hunt, but limited their range.
(7) The Pamunkey Tribe suffered grievously
during Bacon’s Rebellion, although it was in no way
involved in the events which gave excuse for the at-
tacks. Early in 1676, Bacon and his supporters
threatened the Pamunkeys, causing them to flee
their village; their deserted lands were then declared
available for settlement. In June of the same year
the tribal leader Cockacoeske was called to Rich-
mond and ordered to provide guides for the militia.
Rountree describes the meeting with the Governor’s
council: (Available upon request.)
(8) On May 29, 1677, the tribes, including
Pamunkey, which had not warred against the
English, signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation.
Signing for the Pamunkey, Cockacoeske and her
son, Captain John West. According to the treaty,
the signers acknowledged that they were subjects of
the King. The Tribe continued possession of its res-
ervation, but was required to pay an annual tribute
of 20 beaver skins and 3 arrows. The Pamunkey
leader was to act as the responsible authority for all,
and the English were prohibited from settling within
3 miles of the reservation.
(9) In 1792, the Pamunkey Tribe took its
claims to Pamunkey Neck to the House of Bur-
gesses, where the claims were examined by Robert
Beverley. No action was taken on the claim. The
land ownership system of Virginia was a confusion
of conflicting claims that lead the colony, in 1662,
to impose a system of land processioning. This re-
quired that every 4 years the property boundaries of
every parcel be remarked. The law was modified in
1705 and 1710 to make its enforcement easier. The
Pamunkey were well aware of the law and its im-
port.
(10) In 1715, Queen Ann of the Pamunkeys, in
behalf of herself and her nation, protested to Gov-
ernor Spotswood against the settlers going beyond
the bounds of land the Pamunkey had sold. The pe-
tition stated that no notice of survey had been given
to them. This seemed to them manifestly unjust,
‘‘since when other people possession (sic) their
bound (as we are informed is customary once in four
years) yor Petitioners never had no notice of the
same, or ever was warned to any possessioning.’’.
(11) Rountree sums up the Tribe’s problems
and efforts as follows: ‘‘Pamunkey land holdings
were still considerable in 1706, though not all
English claims had been cleared as yet. English
claimants kept appearing, and in spite of Pamunkey
protests about encroachments, many of the claims
exhibited in Williamsburg were often found to be
good, since they dated from 1702–1704, a period in
which many legal land transfers were made in
Pamunkey Neck.’’.
(12) By 1715, when Queen Ann complained of
English buyers not notifying the Tribe of surveys to
be made, and of surveying more land than they had
bought, the Tribe made up its collective mind to sell
no more land to anyone; it would only make leases.
But problems continued with Englishmen claiming
land and clearing too much. In 1718, the matter was
finally turned over to the King William County
court, whose records are no longer extant. In 1723,
1 last purchase of land, originally made in 1687,
was ratified by the Assembly at the Pamunkeys’ re-
quest. Meanwhile, the Pamunkeys had more trouble
with an English neighbor who hindered their hunt-
ing; in 1717, the colonial council ordered him to de-
sist. (Rountree 199:163–164).
(13) In 1748, the Virginia assembly appointed
3 whites to act as tribal trustees to handle a sale of
land necessitated by expenses for food, clothing, and
medical care. The tribal request was made by 7 men
of the Tribe. In 1759, the General Assembly, at the
request of the Tribe, put a small tract of land in the
control of the trustees, the land to be leased for the
benefit of the Tribe.
(14) In 1792, the General Assembly passed leg-
islation making it illegal for whites to purchase In-
dian land, setting the penalty as a fine and loss of
the land, and defending and securing ‘‘. . . their
persons, goods and properties; and whosoever shall
defraud or take from their goods, or do hurt or in-
jury to their persons, shall make satisfaction, and be
punished for the same according to law, as if the In-
dian sufferer had been a citizen of this Common-
wealth.’’.
(15) Throughout the 18th century and into the
19th century the tribal government of the Pamunkey
consisted of an ‘‘informal council’’. As early as 1798,
this council established rules for the management of
the reservation.
(16) In 1812, the Pamunkey tribal structure
had solidified. A petition of that year regarding the
leasing of land begins as follows: ‘‘We the under-
signed headmen and Chiefs of the Pamunkey Tribe
of Indian . . .’’ It is signed by the following individ-
uals: Willis Langston, William Cooper, James
Langston, Thomas Cooke, Archibal Langston, Louis
Gunn, William Gunn, Gideon Langston, John Samp-
son, 
William 
Sampson, 
John 
Mursh, 
Louis
Langston, and Henry Sampson (Petition 1812). An
article in a local newspaper, dated September 5,
1818, provides further detail on the political struc-
ture of the Tribe.
(17) The government of the Indian town is sin-
gular and truly republican. They elect 9 gentlemen
of their neighborhood, who act as trustees and at-
tend at the passing of any of their laws. These trust-
ees are not vested with the power of proposing or
making laws for the Indian, but only of recording
their laws in a book, and objecting to such as seem
injurious to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Every
Indian, male or female, of the age of 18, has a vote
in the election of trustees, and in passing of laws.
Like their ancestors, they are governed by a Chief.
The name of the present Chief is Willis Langston,
a man of a respectable and decent character, and a
member of the Baptist Church. (Virginia Herald
1818.)
(18) The laws of the Pamunkey Indian Town
written here is September 25, 1887. The following
laws made and approved by the Chief and council
men, February 18, 1886, for the ruling of the
Pamunkey Tribe of Indian. (Available upon request.)
(19) The Indian school on the Pamunkey Res-
ervation was taught during the session of 1909–
1910 by Miss Agnes Lumsden and during 1910–
1911 by Mrs. Lucie B. Dudley. A good 1-room
schoolhouse was erected on the reservation during
the fall of 1909, the Indians themselves furnishing
the rough lumber and much of the labor. The house
is neatly painted, is provided with the latest ap-
proved system of heat and ventilation, and has slate
blackboards and good furniture. Two acres of
ground were secured and the sanitary conveniences
were carefully provided for. This school, as well as
the schools at the 2 State reformatories are under
immediate control and management of the State
Board of Education and are supervised by the sec-
retary of the Board. (Virginia School Report
1913:30.)
(20) The Attorney General was asked whether
or not the Pamunkey and Mattaponi were exempt
from all taxes. He replied: ‘‘I acknowledge reference
to this office of your letter of June 23, 1917, to Mr.
H.W. Neale, Commissioner of Revenue of King Wil-
liam County, in which you express opinion that the
Tribes of Pamunkey and Mattaponi Indians, were
exempt from all taxes, State, local, and otherwise,
and requesting me to advise you as to the correct-
ness of your opinion. I am of the opinion that you
have correctly construed the law as to these Tribes
of Indians, for so long as they follow up their pur-
suits upon the reservation, they are governed by
their own Tribal laws and are subject to taxes by the
laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As far back
as 1658 these Indians’ lands were confirmed to them
by the Governor, the Council, and the Grand
Assemblie of Virginia. (See Indian Colonial and
State laws, being E–93, U–58 in the State library.)
Upon examination, I find that the legislature of Vir-
ginia has frequently appointed trustees to lease the
surplus lands of these Tribes and empowered the
trustees to prosecute actions against persons tres-
passing thereon . . . I think it is fair to assume
from all of these various acts that the Pamunkey
and Mattaponi Indians of Virginia are wards of the
State, just as the Indians under guardianship of the
United States are wards of the nation. It has been
the policy of both State and nation not to subject
their wards to taxation.’’
(21) The Tribe continues to maintain close ties
with the county and State officials. The county sher-
iff will not come on to the reservation to make an
arrest or serve a warrant without first contacting
the Chief. The Tribe continues to take the annual
tribute to the Governor.
(22) At the Federal level, the Congress passed
legislation ratifying the agreement settling the land
dispute between the Pamunkey Tribe and the South-
ern Railway Company. While the legislation is neu-
tral on the status of the Tribe, a House committee
did find the claims of the Tribe are based in part
on the doctrine of aboriginal title and in part on sec-
tion 2116 of the Revised Statutes of the United
States (25 U.S.C. 177), and approved and ratified
the settlement (H.R. Report 1980:1–2).
(23) In 1985, the Tribe sought and received
from the Internal Revenue Service recognition of its
status as a State for the purposes of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986. This is the same status ac-
corded federally recognized tribes. In a letter from
E.L. Kennedy, Chief, Specialty Tax Branch of the
Internal Revenue Service, to Chief William H. Miles,
Kennedy stated the criteria for granting State status
to the Pamunkey Tribe based on the facts submitted
by the Pamunkey Tribe. The Tribe is now des-
ignated as a State for purposes of section 787(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, under the In-
dian Tribal Government Tax Statute Act of 1982
(title II of Public Law 97–473, 96 Stat. 2605,
2607–11, as amended by Public Law 98–21, 97
Stat. 65, 87 (1983–1C.B. 510, 511)).
(24) As of July 1998, the Pamunkey tribal
council consisted of 8 members, Chief William P.
Miles and 7 council members. The council members
were Warren Cook (Vice Chief), Ivy Bradley, Walter
Hill, 
Bobby 
Gray, 
Terry 
Langston, 
Morton
Langston, and Ray Bush. Each is elected for a 4-
year term. The election process is a traditional one.
The Chief appoints a 3-member nominating com-
mittee that has the responsibility of polling all eligi-
ble voters to determine who wishes to run for either
Chief or councilman. Once the list is readied it is
presented at a general tribal council meeting. Each
candidate is voted upon separately, and each voter
present casts a ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ vote. Prior to each
vote a member of the Tribe passes out to each voter
a kernel of corn and a pea. As an individual’s name
is presented, each voter deposits either a kernel of
corn (yes) or a pea (no) in a hat. The unused seeds
are then collected and those cast are counted. The
process continues until everybody on the nominating
list has been voted upon.
SEC. 503. 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 na-
tions, tribes, or bands of Indians, including the Act of
June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) which are not in-
consistent 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 enact-
ment of this Act, for all future services and benefits
provided by the Federal Government to federally rec-
ognized 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 res-
ervation.
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the deliv-
ery of Federal services to enrolled members of the
Tribe, the Tribe’s service area shall be deemed to be
the area comprised of 1,200 acres on the Pamunkey
River located in King William County, Virginia, and
surrounded by the Pamunkey River.
SEC. 504. MEMBERSHIP.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary
a membership roll consisting of all individuals currently
enrolled for membership in the Tribe. The qualifications
for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be
determined by the membership clauses in the Tribe’s gov-
erning document, in consultation with the Secretary. Upon
completion of the roll, the Secretary shall immediately
publish notice of such in the Federal Register. The Tribe
shall ensure that such roll is maintained and kept current.
SEC. 505. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.
(a) CONSTITUTION.—
(1) ADOPTION.—Not later than 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Tribe shall conduct, by secret ballot, an election to
adopt a constitution and bylaws for the Tribe.
(2) INTERIM
GOVERNING
DOCUMENTS.—Until
such time as a new constitution is adopted under
paragraph (1), the governing documents in effect on
the date of enactment of this Act shall be the in-
terim governing documents for the Tribe.
(b) OFFICIALS.—
(1) ELECTION.—Not later than 6 months after
the Tribe adopts a constitution and bylaws pursuant
to subsection (a), the Tribe shall conduct elections
by secret ballot for the purpose of electing officials
for the Tribe as provided in the constitution and by-
laws.
(2) INTERIM GOVERNMENT.—Until such time
as the Tribe elects new officials pursuant to para-
graph (1), the governing body of the Tribe shall be
the governing body in place on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, or any new governing body selected
under the election procedures specified in the in-
terim governing documents of the Tribe.
SEC. 506. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.
(a) LAND HELD IN TRUST BY STATE.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, if the Commonwealth
of Virginia transfers to the Secretary any land which is
held in trust by that State for the benefit of the Tribe
on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall take such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
(b) OTHER LAND.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, if the Tribe transfers any land within the
boundaries of King William County, Virginia, to the Sec-
retary, the Secretary shall take such land into trust for
the benefit of the Tribe.
SEC. 507. 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.
TITLE VI—RAPPAHANNOCK
TRIBE
SEC. 601. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(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 Eng-
lishman to determine if Smith had been the ‘‘great
man’’ who had previously sailed into the Rappahan-
nock River, killed a Rappahannock weroance, and
kidnaped Rappahannock people. He determined that
Smith was too short to be that ‘‘great man’’. On a
second meeting, during John Smith’s captivity (De-
cember 16, 1607 to 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 to September 1608),
when Smith was prevailed upon to make peace be-
tween 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 par-
ticipated 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 Pamukeys’’.
(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 Indi-
ans.
(4) In September 1653, Lancaster County
signed a treaty with Rappahannock Indians. The
terms of the treaty gave Rappahannocks the rights
of Englishmen in the county court, and it tried to
make the Rappahannocks more accountable to
English law.
(5) In September 1653, Lancaster County de-
fined and marked the bounds of its Indian settle-
ments. 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 
(see 
above), 
and 
added 
points:
Rappahannocks were to be rewarded, in Roanoke,
for returning English fugitives and the English en-
couraged the Rappahannocks to send their children
to live among the English as servants, who the
English promised would be well treated.
(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 vil-
lage 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 that 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 Planta-
tion was signed with England. The Pamunkey
Queen Cockacoeske signed on behalf of the
Rappahannocks ‘‘who were supposed to be her tribu-
taries’’. 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 Rappahan-
nock 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 translates into a bow-
man population of 70, or an approximate total Rap-
pahannock population of 350.
(11) In 1683, following raids by Iroquoian war-
riors 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 up the Rappa-
hannock River some 30 miles.
(12) 
Between 
1687 
and 
1699, 
the
Rappahannocks migrated out of Nanzatico, return-
ing to the south side of the Rappahannock River at
Portobacco Indian Town.
(13) In 1706, by order of Essex County, Lieu-
tenant 
Richard 
Covington 
‘‘escorted’’ 
the
Portobaccos and Rappahannocks out of Portobacco
Indian Town, out of Essex County, and into King
and Queen County were they settled along the
ridgeline between the Rappahannock and Mattaponi
Rivers, the site of their ancient hunting village and
1682 reservation.
(14) During the 1760’s, 3 Rappahannock girls
were raised on Thomas Nelson’s ‘‘Bleak Hill’’ Plan-
tation in King William County. One girl married a
Saunders man, 1 a Johnson man, and the third had
2 children, Edmund and Carter Nelson, fathered by
Thomas Cary Nelson. In the 19th century, these
Sauders, 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 an-
cestors) 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 over-
whelming majority of pre-1864 records for King and
Queen County were destroyed by fire.
(16) Beginning in 1819, and continuing
through the 1880’s, 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. Twen-
ty-six identifiable and traceable Rappahannock sur-
names 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 de-
cline: in 1870, a Methodist circuit rider, Joseph
Mastin, secured funds to purchase land and con-
struct 
St. 
Stephens 
Baptist 
church 
for 
the
Rappahannocks living nearby in Caroline County.
Mastin documented from 1850 to 1870, ‘‘These In-
dians, having a great need for moral and Christian
guidance’’. 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, For-
tune, Johnson, Nelson, Parker, and Richardson pre-
dominate.
(17) During the early 1900’s, James Mooney,
noted anthropologist, maintained correspondence
with the Rappahannocks, surveying them and in-
structing them on how to formalize their tribal gov-
ernment.
(18) 
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) April 1921, Rappahannock Chief George
Nelson asked the Governor of Virginia, Westmore-
land Davis, to forward a proclamation to the Presi-
dent 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.
(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 cen-
sus. 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 ‘‘spe-
cial instructions’’ were being given about classifying
Indians. That April, Nelson wrote to William M.
Steuart at the Census Bureau asking about the enu-
merators’ failure to classify his people as Indians.
Nelson said that enumerators had not asked the
question about race when they interviewed his peo-
ple. In a follow-up letter to Truesdell, Nelson re-
ported that the enumerators were ‘‘flatly denying’’
his people’s request to be listed as Indians. Further-
more, the race question was completely avoided dur-
ing 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 Bureau’s 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 commu-
nity. 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 s an Indian Tribe.
(23) During the Second World War, the
Pamunkeys, 
Mattaponis, 
Chickahominies, 
and
Rappahannocks had to fight the draft boards about
their racial identity. The Virginia Vital Statistics
Bureau insisted that certain Indian draftees be in-
ducted 
into 
Negro 
units. 
In 
the 
end, 
Rappahannocks were convicted of violating the Fed-
eral draft laws. After spending time in a Federal
prison, they were granted conscientious objector sta-
tus 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 in-
cluded in this grouping.
(25) In the 1940’s, Leon Truesdell, Chief Stat-
istician, United States Bureau of the Census, listed
118 members in the Rappahannock tribe in the In-
dian population of Virginia.
(26) April 25, 1940, the United States Depart-
ment of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs in-
cludes the Rappahannocks in their list of Tribes by
State and Agency.
(27) In 1948, the Smithsonian Institution An-
nual Report included an article by William Harlen
Gilbert entitled, ‘‘Surviving Indian Groups of the
Eastern United States’’. The Rappahannock Tribe
was included and described in this article.
(28) In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, 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 Shar-
on 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 East-
ern Native Americans to fight for Federal recogni-
tion. 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.
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this title—
(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 enact-
ment of this Act, or an individual who has been
placed on the membership rolls of the Tribe in ac-
cordance with this Act.
SEC. 603. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—Federal recognition is
hereby extended to the Tribe, which entitles the
Rappahannocks to all sovereign powers and rights as au-
tonomous Native American Nations. All laws and regula-
tions of the United States of general application to Indi-
ans or nations, tribges, 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 enact-
ment of this Act, for all future services and benefits
provided by the Federal Government to federally rec-
ognized 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 res-
ervation.
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the deliv-
ery 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 Counties, Virginia.
SEC. 604. MEMBERSHIP.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary
a membership roll consisting of all individuals currently
enrolled for membership in the Tribe. The qualifications
for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be
determined by the membership clauses in the Tribe’s gov-
erning document, in consultation with the Secretary. Upon
completion of the roll, the Secretary shall immediately
publish notice of such in the Federal Register. The Tribe
shall ensure that such roll is maintained and kept current.
SEC. 605. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.
(a) CONSTITUTION.—
(1) ADOPTION.—Not later than 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Tribe shall conduct, by secret ballot, an election to
adopt a constitution and bylaws for the Tribe.
(2) INTERIM
GOVERNING
DOCUMENTS.—Until
such time as a new constitution is adopted under
paragraph (1), the governing documents in effect on
the date of enactment of this Act shall be the in-
terim governing documents for the Tribe.
(b) OFFICIALS.—
(1) ELECTION.—Not later than 6 months after
the Tribe adopts a constitution and bylaws pursuant
to subsection (a), the Tribe shall conduct elections
by secret ballot for the purpose of electing officials
for the Tribe as provided in the constitution and by-
laws.
(2) INTERIM GOVERNMENT.—Until such time
as the Tribe elects new officials pursuant to para-
graph (1), the governing body of the Tribe shall be
the governing body in place on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, or any new governing body selected
under the election procedures specified in the in-
terim governing documents of the Tribe.
SEC. 606. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Tribe transfers the land described in subsection (b) and
any other land within the boundaries of King and Queen
County, Essex County, and Caroline County, Virginia, to
the Secretary, the Secretary shall take such land into trust
for the benefit of the Tribe.
SEC. 607. 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.
TITLE VII—MONACAN TRIBE
SEC. 701. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In 1677, the Monacan Tribe signed the
Treaty of Middle Plantation between Charles II of
England and 12 Indian ‘‘Kings and Chief Men’’.
(2) In 1722, in the Treaty of Albany, Governor
Spotswood negotiated to save the Virginia Indians
from extinction at the hands of the Iroquois. Specifi-
cally mentioned are the Monacan tribes of the
Totero (Tutelo), Saponi, Ocheneeches (Occaneechi),
Stengenocks, and Meipontskys.
(3) In 1782, the First National Census records
Benjamin Evans and Robert Johns, both ancestors
of the present Monacan community. They are listed
as white with mulatto children. Tax records also
begin for these families.
(4) In 1850, the Census records 29 families,
mostly large, with Monacan surnames, who are gene-
alogically related to the present community.
(5) In 1870, a log structure at the Bear Moun-
tain Indian Mission was built. In 1908, this struc-
ture became an Episcopal Mission and is now listed
as a National Historic Landmark.
(6) In 1920, 304 Amherst Indians are listed on
the Census.
(7) From 1930 through 1931, a flurry of letters
from Monacans to the United States Bureau of the
Census results from Dr. Walter Plecker’s (head of
State Bureau of Vital Statistics) decision not to
allow Indians to register as such for the 1930 cen-
sus. The Monacans succeed in being allowed to claim
their race, albeit with an asterisk attached to a note
from Dr. Plecker stating that there are no Indians
in Virginia.
(8) In 1947, D’Arcy McNickle, a Salish Indian,
saw some of the children at the Amherst Mission
and requested that the Cherokee Agency visit them
because they appeared to be Indian. This letter was
forwarded to the Department of the Interior, Office
of Indian Affairs, Chicago, Illinois. Chief Jarrett
Blythe of the Eastern Band of Cherokee did visit the
Mission and wrote that he ‘‘would be willing to ac-
cept these children in the Cherokee school’’.
(9) In 1979, a Federal Coalition of Eastern Na-
tive Americans grant established the Monacan Co-
operative Pottery at the Mission. Some important
pieces are produced, including one that was sold to
the Smithsonian.
(10) In 1981, the Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Mona-
can Consortium was created and since organized as
a nonprofit corporation that serves as a vehicle to
obtain funds for the tribes through the Native Amer-
ican Program of the Job Training Partnership Act
(Department of Labor).
(11) In 1989, the Monacan Tribe is officially
recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which
enables the Tribe to apply for grants and other pro-
grams. In 1993, the Tribe received tax-exempt sta-
tus as a nonprofit corporation from the Internal
Revenue Service.
SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Monacan
Tribe;
(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 enact-
ment of this Act, or an individual who has been
placed on the membership rolls of the Tribe in ac-
cordance with this Act.
SEC. 703. 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 na-
tions, tribes, or Tribes of Indians, including the Act of
June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) which are not in-
consistent 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 enact-
ment of this Act, for all future services and benefits
provided by the Federal Government to federally rec-
ognized 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 res-
ervation.
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the deliv-
ery of Federal services to enrolled members of the
Tribe, the Tribe’s service area shall be deemed to be
the area comprised of all lands within 150 miles of
the center of Amherst, Virginia.
SEC. 704. MEMBERSHIP.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary
a membership roll consisting of all individuals currently
enrolled for membership in the Tribe. The qualifications
for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be
determined by the membership clauses in the Tribe’s gov-
erning document, in consultation with the Secretary. Upon
completion of the roll, the Secretary shall immediately
publish notice of such in the Federal Register. The Tribe
shall ensure that such roll is maintained and kept current.
SEC. 705. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.
(a) CONSTITUTION.—
(1) ADOPTION.—Not later than 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Tribe shall conduct, by secret ballot, an election to
adopt a constitution and bylaws for the Tribe.
(2) INTERIM
GOVERNING
DOCUMENTS.—Until
such time as a new constitution is adopted under
paragraph (1), the governing documents in effect on
the date of enactment of this Act shall be the in-
terim governing documents for the Tribe.
(b) OFFICIALS.—
(1) ELECTION.—Not later than 6 months after
the Tribe adopts a constitution and bylaws pursuant
to subsection (a), the Tribe shall conduct elections
by secret ballot for the purpose of electing officials
for the Tribe as provided in the constitution and by-
laws.
(2) INTERIM GOVERNMENT.—Until such time
as the Tribe elects new officials pursuant to para-
graph (1), the governing body of the Tribe shall be
the governing body in place on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, or any new governing body selected
under the election procedures specified in the in-
terim governing documents of the Tribe.
SEC. 706. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Tribe transfers to the Secretary a parcel consisting of ap-
proximately 10 acres located on Kenmore Road in Am-
herst County, Virginia, and a parcel of land consisting of
approximately 110 acres located at the foot of Bear Moun-
tain in Amherst County, Virginia, the Secretary shall take
such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
SEC. 707. 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.
TITLE VIII—NANSEMOND TRIBE
SEC. 801. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) From 1607 until 1646, Nansemonds lived
about 30 miles from Jamestown; were major players
in English-Indian affairs in those years. After 1646,
there were 2 sections of the tribe, in communication
with each other: the Christianized Nansemonds in
Norfolk County lived as citizens, while the tradition-
alist Nansemonds farther west (various counties)
had a reservation.
(2) In 1638, a Norfolk County Englishman
married a Nansemond woman, according to an entry
in a 17th century sermon book still owned by the
Chief’s family. The couple are lineal ancestors of all
of the present Nansemond tribe (so are some of the
traditionalists).
(3) In 1669, the Tribe’s 2 sections appeared in
Virginia Colony’s census of Indian bowmen.
(4) In 1677, Nansemonds were signatories to
the Treaty of 1677 with the King of England.
(5) In 1700 and 1704, the Nansemonds and
other Virginia tribes were prevented by Virginia Col-
ony from making a separate peace with the Iroquois.
Virginia represented them in the final Treaty of Al-
bany, 1722.
(6) In 1711, the Nansemonds had a boy at the
Indian School at the College of William and Mary.
(7) In 1727, Norfolk County allowed to William
Bass and kinsmen the ‘‘Indian privileges’’ of clear-
ing swamp land and bearing arms (forbidden to
other nonwhites) because of their Nansemond de-
scent, which meant they were original inhabitants of
said land.
(8) In 1742, Norfolk County issued a certificate
of Nansemond descent to William Bass.
(9) From the 1740’s to the 1790’s, the tradi-
tionalist section of the Nansemond tribe, 40 miles
west, was dealing with reservation lands. The last