I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1938
To extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chicka-
hominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the 
Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the 
Nansemond Indian Tribe. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 1, 2003
Mr. MORAN of Virginia (for himself, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. 
TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SCHROCK, and Mr. 
ABERCROMBIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian 
Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, 
the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, 
Inc., the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond 
Indian Tribe.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Thomasina E. Jordan 
Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 
2003’’.
TITLE I—CHICKAHOMINY 
INDIAN TRIBE 
SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) In 1607, when the English settlers set shore 
along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy In-
dian Tribe was 1 of about 30 tribes who received 
them. 
(2) In 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
entered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Gov-
ernor of the Jamestown Colony, agreeing to provide 
2 bushels of corn per man and send warriors to pro-
tect the English. Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return 
to allow the tribe to continue to practice their own 
tribal governance. 
(3) In 1646, a treaty was signed which forced 
the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 
around the York River in present-day King William 
County, leading to the formation of a reservation. 
(4) In 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the 
Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 
Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy. 
(5) In 1702, the Chickahominy were pushed off 
their reservation, which caused the loss of a land 
base.
(6) In 1711, the College of William and Mary 
in Williamsburg established a grammar school for 
Indians called Brafferton College. A Chickahominy 
child was one of the first Indians to attend. 
(7) In 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
started to migrate from King William County back 
to the area around the Chickahominy River in New 
Kent and Charles City Counties. 
(8) In 1793, a Baptist missionary named 
Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 
a Chickahominy woman as his wife. 
(9) In 1831, the names of the ancestors of the 
modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to 
appear in the Charles City County census records. 
(10) In 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
formed Samaria Baptist Church. 
(11) From 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men 
were assessed a tribal tax so that their children 
could receive an education. The Tribe used the pro-
ceeds from this tax to build the first Samaria Indian 
School, buy supplies, and pay a teacher’s salary.
(12) In 1919, C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public 
Accounts for Virginia, told Chickahominy Chief 
O.W. Adkins that he had instructed the Commis-
sioner of Revenue for Charles City County to record
Chickahominy tribal members on the county tax rolls 
as Indian, and not as white or colored. 
(13) During 1920–1930, various Governors of 
the Commonwealth of Virginia wrote letters of intro-
duction for Chickahominy Chiefs who had official 
business with Government agencies in Washington, 
D.C. 
(14) In 1934, Chickahominy Chief O.W. Adkins 
wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, requesting money to acquire land for the 
Chickahominy Indian Tribe’s use, to build school, 
medical, and library facilities and to buy tractors, 
implements, and seed. 
(15) In 1934, John Collier, Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, wrote to Chickahominy Chief O.W. 
Adkins, informing him that Congress had passed the 
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, but had not 
made the appropriation to fund the bill. 
(16) In 1942, Chickahominy Chief O.O. Adkins 
wrote to John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, asking for help in getting the proper racial 
designation on Selective Service records for the 
Chickahominy soldiers. 
(17) In 1943, John Collier, Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, asked Douglas S. Freeman, editor of
the Richmond (Virginia) News-Leader newspaper, to 
help Virginia Indians obtain proper racial designa-
tion on birth records. Collier states that his office 
cannot officially intervene because it has no respon-
sibility for the Virginia Indians, ‘‘as a matter largely 
of historical accident’’, but is ‘‘interested in them as 
descendants of the original inhabitants of the re-
gion’’. 
(18) In 1948, the Veterans’ Education Com-
mittee of the Virginia State Board of Education ap-
proved Samaria Indian School to provide training to 
veterans. This school was the one established and 
run by the Chickahominy Indian Tribe. 
(19) In 1950, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
purchased land and donated it to the Charles City 
County School Board, to be used to build a modern 
school for students of the Chickahominy and other 
Virginia tribes. The Samaria Indian School included 
grades 1 through 8. 
(20) In 1961, Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of 
the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Senate 
Committee on the Judiciary, requested Chicka-
hominy Chief O.O. Adkins to provide assistance in 
analyzing the status of the constitutional rights of 
Indians ‘‘in your area’’.
(21) In 1967, the Charles City County school 
board closed Samaria Indian School and converted it 
to a countywide primary school as a step toward full 
school integration. 
(22) In 1972, the Charles City County school 
board began receiving funds under title IV of the In-
dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) on behalf of Chicka-
hominy students. This continues today under title V 
of that Act. 
(23) In 1974, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
bought land and built a tribal center using monthly 
pledges from tribal members to finance the trans-
actions. 
(24) In 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
was granted recognition as an Indian tribe by the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, along with 5 other 
tribes. 
(25) In 1985, Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles 
was the special guest at an intertribal Thanksgiving 
Day dinner hosted by the Chickahominy Indian 
Tribe. 
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Chickahominy 
Indian 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 enactment of 
this Act, or an individual who has been placed on 
the membership rolls of the Tribe in accordance with 
this Act. 
SEC. 103. 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 Charles City County, Virginia. 
SEC. 104. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 105. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be the gov-
erning body in place 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. 106. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, if, not later than 25 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Tribe transfers land within 
the boundaries of the Virginia counties of Charles City, 
James City, or Henrico, to the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall take such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—No reservation or tribal lands 
or land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall 
be construed to satisfy the terms for an exception under 
section 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming 
on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit 
of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section 
20(a) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)). 
SEC. 107. 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 
II—CHICKAHOMINY 
IN-
DIAN TRIBE—EASTERN DIVI-
SION 
SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) In 1607, when the English settlers set shore 
along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy were 
one of about 30 tribes who received them. 
(2) In 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
signed a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of 
the Jamestown Colony, agreeing to provide 2 bushels 
of corn per man and send warriors to protect the
English. Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to allow 
the Tribe to continue to practice their own tribal 
governance. 
(3) In 1646, a treaty was signed which forced 
the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area 
around the York River in present-day King William 
County, leading to the formation of a reservation.
(4) In 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the 
Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle 
Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy. 
(5) In 1702, the Chickahominy were pushed off 
their reservation, which caused the loss of a land 
base. 
(6) In 1723, the College of William and Mary 
in Williamsburg established a grammar school for 
Indians called Brafferton College. A Chickahominy 
child was one of the first Indians to attend. 
(7) In 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe 
started to migrate from King William County back 
to the area around the Chickahominy River in New 
Kent and Charles City Counties. 
(8) In 1793, A Baptist missionary named 
Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took 
a Chickahominy woman as his wife.
(9) In 1831, the names of the ancestors of the 
modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to 
appear in the Charles City County census records. 
(10) In 1870, a census showed an enclave of 
Indians in New Kent County which is believed to be 
the beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-
Eastern Division. Records were destroyed when the 
New Kent County courthouse was burned. A State 
census was the only record at this time. 
(11) In 1901, the Chickahominy’s formed Sa-
maria Baptist Church. During the first few decades 
of the 20th century, Chickahominy men were as-
sessed a tribal tax so that their children could re-
ceive an education. The Tribe used the proceeds 
from this tax to build the first Samaria Indian 
School, buy supplies, and pay a teacher’s salary. 
(12) In 1910, a school was started in New Kent 
County for the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern 
Division. Grades 1 through 8 were taught in this 1-
room school. 
(13) In 1920–1921, the Chickahominy Indian 
Tribe-Eastern Division began forming their own 
tribal government. E.P. Bradby was the founder of 
the Tribe and was elected to be Chief.
(14) In 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church 
was organized. 
(15) In 1925, a certificate of incorporation was 
issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern 
Division. 
(16) In 1950, the Indian school was closed and 
students were bused to Samaria Indian School in 
Charles City County. 
(17) In 1967, both Chickahominy tribes lost 
their school to integration. 
(18) In 1982–1984, Tsena Commocko Baptist 
built a new sanctuary to accommodate church 
growth. 
(19) In 1983, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-
Eastern Division was granted State recognition 
along with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes. 
(20) In 1985, the Virginia Council on Indians 
was organized as a State agency and the Chicka-
hominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division was appointed 
to a seat on the Council. 
(21) In 1988, a nonprofit organization known 
as the United Indians of Virginia was formed. Chief
Marvin ‘‘Strongoak’’ Bradby of the Eastern Band 
of the Chickahominy presently chairs the organiza-
tion.
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Chickahominy 
Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; 
(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. 203. 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 New Kent County, Virginia. 
SEC. 204. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 205. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be the gov-
erning body in place 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. 206. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, if, not later than 25 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Tribe transfers any land 
within the boundaries of New Kent County, James City 
County, or Henrico County, Virginia, to the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall take such land into trust for the benefit 
of the Tribe.
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—No reservation or tribal lands 
or land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall 
be construed to satisfy the terms for an exception under 
section 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming 
on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit 
of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section 
20(a) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)). 
SEC. 207. 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 III—UPPER MATTAPONI 
TRIBE 
SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) From 1607 until 1646, the Chickahominies 
lived about 20 miles from Jamestown; were major 
players in English-Indian affairs in those years. 
Mattaponis, who joined them later, lived farther 
away. In 1646, the Chickahominies moved to 
Mattaponi River basin, away from the English. 
(2) In 1661, the Chickahominies sold land at 
‘‘the cliffs’’ on the Mattaponi River.
(3) In 1669, the Chickahominies appeared in 
the Virginia Colony’s census of Indian bowmen; lived 
then in ‘‘New Kent’’ County, which included the 
Mattaponi River basin at that time. 
(4) 
In 
1677, 
the 
Chickahominies 
and 
Mattaponis 
were 
subjects 
of 
the 
Queen 
of 
Pamunkey, who was a signatory to the Treaty of 
1677 with the King of England. 
(5) In 1683, the Mattaponi town was attacked 
by Senecas; the Mattaponis took refuge with the 
Chickahominies, and the history of the 2 groups was 
intertwined for many years thereafter. 
(6) In 1695, the Chickahominies/Mattaponis 
were assigned a reservation by the Virginia Colony 
and traded it for land at ‘‘the cliffs’’ they had owned 
before 1661 (now the Mattaponi Indian Reserva-
tion). 
(7) In 1711, the Chickahominies had a boy at 
the Indian School at the College of William and 
Mary. 
(8) In 1726, the Virginia Colony discontinued 
funding of interpreters for the tribes. James Adams, 
who served as an interpreter to the tribes know 
today as the Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy, 
elected to stay with the Upper Mattaponi. Today, a
majority of the Upper Mattaponi have ‘‘Adams’’ as 
their surname. 
(9) In 1787, Thomas Jefferson, in Notes on the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, mentioned Mattaponis 
on reservation in King William County and said 
Chickahominies were ‘‘blended’’ with them and near-
by Pamunkeys. 
(10) In 1850, the United States census showed 
a nucleus of about 10 families, all ancestral to mod-
ern Upper Mattaponis, living in central King Wil-
liam County about 10 miles from the reservation. 
(11) From 1853 until 1884, King William 
County marriage records listed Upper Mattaponis as 
‘‘Indian’’ when marrying reservation people. 
(12) From 1884 until the present, county mar-
riage records usually call Upper Mattaponis ‘‘Indi-
ans’’. 
(13) In 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist 
James Mooney heard about the Upper Mattaponis 
but did not visit them.
(14) In 1928, University of Pennsylvania an-
thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod-
ern Virginia Indians with a section on the Upper 
Mattaponis.
(15) From 1929 to 1930, the Tribe’s leadership 
fought against a ‘‘colored’’ designation in the 1930 
United States Census, and won a compromise in 
which their Indian ancestry was recorded but ques-
tioned. 
(16) From 1942 until 1945, the Tribe’s leader-
ship, with the help of Frank Speck and others, 
fought against the Tribe’s young men being inducted 
into ‘‘colored’’ units in the Armed Forces. A tribal 
roll was compiled. 
(17) From 1945 to 1946, negotiations to get 
some of the Tribe’s young people admitted to high 
schools for Federal Indians (especially at Cherokee); 
no high school coursework was available for Indians 
in Virginia schools. 
(18) In 1983, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe ap-
plied for and won State recognition. 
SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Upper 
Mattaponi 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. 303. 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 within 25 miles of the Tribe’s tribal center 
in King William County, Virginia.
SEC. 304. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 305. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be the gov-
erning body in place 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. 306. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, if the Tribe transfers any land within the 
boundaries of King William County to the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall take such land into trust for the benefit 
of the Tribe. 
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—No reservation or tribal lands 
or land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall 
be construed to satisfy the terms for an exception under 
section 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming 
on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit 
of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section 
20(a) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).
SEC. 307. 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 IV—RAPPAHANNOCK 
TRIBE, INC. 
SEC. 401. 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 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 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 where 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 
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 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 as 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. 402. 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. 403. 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, 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 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. 404. MEMBERSHIP; GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. 
The membership roll and governing documents of the 
Tribe shall be the most recent membership roll and gov-
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 405. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be the gov-
erning body in place 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. 406. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion 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. 
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—No reservation or tribal lands 
or land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall 
be construed to satisfy the terms for an exception under 
section 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming 
on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit 
of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section 
20(a) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)). 
SEC. 407. 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 V—MONACAN INDIAN 
NATION 
SEC. 501. 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.
erning documents, respectively, submitted by the Tribe to 
the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 505. GOVERNING BODY. 
The governing body of the Tribe shall be the gov-
erning body in place 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. 506. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, if the Tribe transfers to the Secretary a parcel 
consisting of approximately 10 acres located on Kenmore 
Road in Amherst County, Virginia, and a parcel of land 
consisting of approximately 165 acres located at the foot 
of Bear Mountain in Amherst County, Virginia, the Sec-
retary shall take such land into trust for the benefit of 
the Tribe. 
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—No reservation or tribal lands 
or land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall 
be construed to satisfy the terms for an exception under 
section 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming 
on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit 
of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section 
20(a) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).
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—NANSEMOND INDIAN 
TRIBE 
SEC. 601. 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 
surviving members of that section sold out in 1792, 
with permission of the Commonwealth of Virginia. 
(10) In 1797, Norfolk County issued a certifi-
cate stating that William Bass was of Indian and 
English descent; the Indian line of ancestry ran di-
rectly back to the early 18th century elder in a tra-
ditionalist section of Nansemonds on the reservation.
(11) In 1833, a State law passed enabling Eu-
ropean and Indian descended people to get a special 
certificate of ancestry; a bill originated from the 
county 
where 
Nansemonds 
lived, 
and 
mostly 
Nansemonds took advantage of the law (few people 
in other counties). 
(12) Around 1850, a Methodist mission was es-
tablished for Nansemonds which is now a standard 
Methodist congregation and still with Nansemond 
members. 
(13) In 1901, Smithsonian anthropologist 
James Mooney visited the Nansemonds and took a 
tribal census counting 61 households. The census 
was later published. 
(14) In 1922, Nansemonds got a special Indian 
school in Norfolk County’s segregated school system. 
The school survived only a few years. 
(15) In 1928, University of Pennsylvania an-
thropologist Frank Speck published a book on mod-
ern Virginia Indians with a section on the 
Nansemonds.
(16) In 1984, the Nansemonds were organized 
formally, with elected officers; then applied for and 
won State recognition. 
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Nansemond In-
dian 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. 603. 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 the cities of Chesapeake, 
Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suf-
folk, and Virginia Beach, 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. 
Three months after the date of the enactment of this Act 
the Secretary shall publish notice of such in the Federal 
Register. The Tribe shall ensure that such roll is main-
tained and kept current.
SEC. 605. GOVERNING DOCUMENTS AND GOVERNING BODY. 
(a) GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.—The governing docu-
ments of the Tribe in effect on the date of enactment of 
this Act shall be the interim governing documents for the 
Tribe until such documents are changed in accordance 
with the documents. 
(b) GOVERNING BODY.—The governing body of the 
Tribe shall be the governing body in place on the date 
of the enactment of this Act, or any new governing body 
selected under the election procedures specified in the gov-
erning documents of the Tribe. 
SEC. 606. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, if the Tribe transfers any land it acquires to 
the Secretary, the Secretary may take such land into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe. 
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—No reservation or tribal lands 
or land taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe shall 
be construed to satisfy the terms for an exception under 
section 20(b)(1)(B) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)) to the prohibition on gaming 
on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit 
of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, under section 
20(a) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)).
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.
Æ