RD60 - Annual Executive Summary on the Interim Activity and Work of the Virginia Council on Indians


    Executive Summary:
    I. Meetings

    During 2009, the Virginia Council on Indians held eight business meetings, in January, March, April, May, September, October, November and December. In addition, the VCI Recognition Committee, an ad-hoc committee considering the petition for state recognition of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, met once in April. The VCI Advisory Committee met five times: twice in February, twice in March, and once in December.

    II. Membership and Membership Changes

    As of July 1, 2007, the Code of Virginia section 2.2-2628 was amended to specify the voting Council members as the chiefs of all the state-recognized tribes or their designated delegates, plus two gubernatorial-appointed Indian-at-large members, each of whom is required to be enrolled in a recognized Indian tribe, and an ex-officio non-voting member appointed by the Governor from his senior staff.

    At the end of the calendar year 2009, VCI members included Nansemond delegate Assistant Chief Earl Bass (elected Chair in September); Upper Mattaponi delegate Assistant Chief Frank Adams (elected Vice Chair in September); Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson (designated Rappahannock alternate is Reeva Tilley); Chickahominy Chief Stephen Adkins (Chickahominy designated alternates are Reggie Stewart and Assistant Chief Wayne Adkins); Pamunkey Chief Kevin Brown; Mattaponi Chief Carl Custalow; Chickahominy Eastern Division delegate Joanne Howard; Monacan delegate Sharon Bryant; Sherry Munford (Sappony, Indian-at-large); and Mitchell Bush (Onondaga, Indian-at-large). The chiefs of the Monacan (Kenneth Branham), Upper Mattaponi (Kenneth Adams), Nansemond (Barry Bass) and Eastern Chickahominy (Gene Adkins) tribes are officially considered members but have designated permanent delegates to the Council. The Governor’s senior staff member was Secretary of Natural Resources Preston Bryant.

    Former Pamunkey representative and VCI Chair Chief Emeritus Bill Miles had to step down from the Council in April 2009 due to health reasons. At the November 2009 meeting, the Council voted to honor him in the near future for his service as Chair of VCI beginning with its legislative membership change in 2007.

    III. Legislative Action

    During the 2009 General Assembly, the Virginia Council on Indians did not submit any legislation for consideration or take a position on any proposed legislation, although the input of the Council members or staff was requested on occasion. The Virginia Council on Indians was not directly affected by any legislative action in 2009.

    IV. State Recognition Activity

    Since January 2008, the members of the ad hoc recognition committee considering the petition of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia have been Assistant Chief Earl Bass (Chair), Chief Anne Richardson, Arlene Milner of the Upper Mattaponi, Mitchell Bush and Helen Rountree. Consideration of the petition for state recognition by the Nottoway Tribe of Virginia, which was submitted in October 2006, continued from 2007 and 2008. By August 2008, all the recognition criteria had been voted on by the recognition committee during their meetings, and at the August 2008 VCI business meeting, VCI Chair Chief Emeritus Bill Miles asked that the recognition committee compile a written report with a summary of the votes on each criteria along with the rationale of the committee members for their votes, to be presented at the VCI business meeting in January 2009.

    A draft report on the findings of the recognition committee was distributed to the VCI members at the January 2009 meeting. The committee did not make a final recommendation in their report because their opinions were split. Copies of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia petition were distributed to the VCI members who had not previously studied it. Corrections to the draft report were made subsequent to the January meeting and at the March 2009 meeting a revised draft was distributed to the VCI members and others present who requested a copy. A letter from Lynette Allston of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia was also read during the March 2009 meeting and was subsequently incorporated into the minutes and the petition as requested.

    The ad hoc recommendation committee met a final time on April 17, 2009, at which time minor language edits were made to the draft report to finalize it. At that meeting, which was attended by 4 of the 5 members of the recognition committee, the committee indicated by a vote of 3-1 that their recommendation to the VCI was not to approve the Nottoway Tribe of Virginia for state recognition. This information and the final committee report were submitted to the VCI members at the Council’s April 21 meeting. A copy of the recognition committee’s final report is available at http://indians.vipnet.org/docs/NottowayRecComReport042109.doc. Also at the April meeting, public comment on the topic of the recognition of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia was made by three members of the public and one Council member who was not present. Those remarks were appended to the April 21 meeting minutes. The Council was asked to prepare for a vote on the group’s recognition at the May Council meeting.

    At the May meeting of the Council, public comments on the topic of the recognition process were made and incorporated into the minutes. At that meeting, a motion was made and seconded to accept the recognition committee’s recommendation not to approve the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia for state recognition. The motion passed by a vote of 6-3. Another motion was made and seconded that the Council table the petition of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia without prejudice. This motion was defeated by a vote of 4-5. Following the May meeting, notification of the results was sent to the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia and their representatives in the General Assembly, as required by Council procedure.

    The state recognition procedure followed by the Virginia Council on Indians is outlined in the Council’s Tribal Recognition Criteria document which is available on the VCI website at http://indians.vipnet.org/resources/tribalRecognitionCriteria.pdf. Copies of the minutes of the VCI meetings are available at http://indians.vipnet.org/meetings.cfm.

    V. VCI Annual Conference

    The Virginia Council on Indians held a one day conference in March 2009, which was organized by the VCI Advisory Committee and volunteers. The conference took place at the Chickahominy Tribal Center in Charles City County. The conference agenda included panels on higher education, business development, and archaeology, followed by lunch and breakout sessions. The one day format and the speakers’ willingness to volunteer their time and expertise yielded significant savings for the Virginia Council on Indians in a time of state-wide budget crisis.

    VI. Advisory Committee to the VCI

    During the calendar year of 2009, members of the Advisory Committee to the Virginia Council on Indians included chair Sidney Turner (Nottoway Tribe of Virginia), Reggie Stewart (Chickahominy), Pam Talbott (Monacan), Gerald Epps (Sappony) and Jerry Fortune (Rappahannock). The Advisory Committee met four times early in the year planning the VCI conference, and in December 2009 to begin planning for the 2010 conference. Conference planning has been assisted at these meetings by volunteers from the larger Virginia Indian community, especially Anne Adam.

    VII. Historic Highway Marker Program

    The Virginia Council on Indians continued in its support of and contributions to the creation of historic highway markers under a program sponsored by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. In 2009, marker dedication ceremonies took place for markers on the topics of the Chesapeake Indians (Virginia Beach), the Monacan town of Mowhemcho (Powhatan County), the Paspahegh chief Wowinchapuncke (James City County), and the town of Orapax (New Kent County). A marker installation also took place for the Hampton Indian Program (Hampton). Two markers approved in 2008 have yet to be installed. Additional markers on Virginia Indian and American Indian topics approved by the Virginia Council on Indians and the Board of Historic Resources in 2009 included Indians Abandoned on Tangier Island (Northumberland and Accomack Counties), Destruction of Chickahominy Indian Towns (Charles City County), First Williamsburg Gaol Inmates (Williamsburg), Pamunkey Indians Attacked by Nathaniel Bacon (King and Queen County), Punishing the Nanzattico Indians (King George County) , and Mary Kittamaquund (Stafford County).

    VIII. Other Activities

    The Council is required by Code to report on findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly biennially in odd-numbered years. The VCI’s recommendation concerning the Nottoway Tribe of Virginia’s petition was duly submitted in December 2009.

    In March 2009, the Council provided financial support to the Virginia Indian Heritage Program for the production of new educational resources, including accurate maps and graphics, for a teacher seminar, and for the enhancement and transportation of the Beyond Jamestown and Family Portraits exhibits. The Council also sent a letter in support of the 1781 Foundation’s Virginia Indian Maritime Curriculum Project as part of the Eco-Heritage Initiative.

    The Council members and staff continued to advocate for education of the general public
    regarding the Virginia Indians through activities such as promoting tribal events that increased public knowledge and awareness of our tribal communities, including activities and events of the Virginia Indian Heritage Program; public speaking; presentations for schools and organizations; consulting with state agencies and local governments; serving on advisory boards and committees for federal and state agencies as well as non-government organizations; and presenting accurate representations of Virginia Indian history.