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 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. 
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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 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 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 as an Indian Tribe. 
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(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 vio-
lating 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 in-
cluded in this group. 
(25) In the 1940s, 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) In April 25, 1940, the United Stated De-
partment 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 An-
nual Report included an article by William Harlen 
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Gilbert titled, ‘‘Surviving Indian Groups of the East-
ern 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 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. This Bill acknowledges the perse-
verance of our people and their long struggle to 
maintain their community, tribal culture, and tradi-
tions, to take their rightful place in the history of 
the United States. 
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