Chickahominy people

Chickahominy

Regions with significant populations
Enrolled members: Chickahominy, Charles City County, Virginia:    840 Eastern Chickahominy, New Kent County, Virginia:    132
Languages
English, Algonquian (Historical)
Religion
Christianity, Native
Related ethnic groups
Piscataway, Yaocomico

The Chickahominy are a tribe of Virginia Indians^[1] who primarily live in Charles City County midway between Richmond and Williamsburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This area is not far from where they lived in 1600.^[2] The Eastern Chickahominy, who split from the main tribe in the 1900s, live in New Kent County, which is about 25 miles (40 km) east of Richmond. Both tribes are among the eleven officially recognized by the state.

History

The Chickahominy ("The Coarse Ground Corn People"^[3], c.f. the name was given by the Ojibwe: zhishigo'aamin (meaning, "grain cracked by grinding") were an autonomous Algonquian-speaking tribe when the first permanent English settlement was founded at Jamestown in 1607. They were led by mungai ("great men"), who were part of a council of elders and religious leaders. The Chickahominy's original territory consisted of the land along the river that was eventually named after them, the Chickahominy River, from the mouth of the river near Jamestown to what is now New Kent County.^[2]

English depiction of the negotiation of the 1614 treaty

The tribe's proximity to Jamestown meant they had early contact with the English. The tribe helped the English during the first few winters by trading food for other objects.^[2] They also helped by teaching them how to grow and preserve crops.^[4] By 1614 the tribe had signed a treaty with the colonists that said the tribe would provide 300 warriors to fight the Spanish.^[5]

Over time, the English began to expand their settlements and crowded out the Chickahominy from their homeland.^[2] Following the Anglo-Powhatan War of 1644-46, the tribe were forced to cede their land to gain a peace treaty. The tribe resettled on reservation land set aside by the treaty in the Pamunkey Neck area, alongside another Virginia Algonquian tribe, the Pamunkey, between the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers.^[2] They stayed there until 1661, when they moved to the headwaters of the Mattaponi, where their reserved holdings continued to shrink.

The people lost title to the last part of their reservation lands in 1718^[5], but apparently continued to live in the area for some time. Those who did not merge with the Pamunkey and other tribes, migrated to New Kent (who became the Eastern Chickahominy) and Charles City counties, closer to their original homeland. Descendants of these people formed the current Eastern Chickahominy and Chickahominy tribes, respectively.^[5] The migrations happened sometime before the end of the eighteenth century. Few records survive that enable defining the date of the migration.

The Powhatan paramount chiefdom

The Chickahominy were at times allied with the Chief Powhatan, and his paramount chiefdom, a confederacy of 30 or so Algonquian-speaking tribes. Some sources say the Chickahominy joined the Powhatan Confederacy in 1616.^[6] Others contend they did not become tributaries of the paramount chiefdom until 1677, when Cockacoeske signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation. The treaty acknowledged her as leader of the Chickahominy and several other tribes.^[2]

Chickahominy today

Today, the Chickahominy tribe consists of approximately 840 people who live within a five-mile (8 km) radius of each other and the tribal center, in an area known as Chickahominy Ridge.^[4] Several hundred more live in other parts of the United States^[2], including California, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Current tribal lands of about 110 acres (0.45 km²) are in the tribe's traditional territory, present-day Charles City County.^[4] The tribal center on the land is the location of an annual Powwow and Fall Festival.^[2]

Wayne Adkins, a member of the Chickahominy Tribe, representing the tribe in the UK.

The Chickahominy are led by a tribal council of twelve men and women, including a chief and two assistant chiefs. These positions are elected by members of the tribe, by vote.^[2] The current chief is Stephen Adkins. He served as Director of Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia in the administration of Governor Tim Kaine. Wayne Adkins, pictured left, is an assistant Chief, along with Glenn Canaday.

Most members of the Chickahominy Tribe are Christian, many of whom attend Samaria Baptist Church, formerly Samaria Indian Church, in Charles City County. The church was built upon tribal grounds and used to serve as a school for the children of the tribe. The church sits directly across from the tribal headquarters.

Eastern Chickahominy

The Chickahominy Tribe Eastern Division shared a history with the Chickahominy until the 1900s, when the former group decided to organize their own tribal government. The reason for the split was travel difficulties going to Charles City County for tribal meetings, according to some.^[2] Others say the split happened because of disagreements over religious practice and land use. Even so, family ties keep the two tribes intertwined.^[4]

Today, the Eastern Chickahominy have about 132 members and own about 41 acres (170,000 m²) of land. A point of pride for the tribe is that members have served in the military as far back as World War I.^[4] The tribe serves the needs of the community through being consolidated as a non-taxable organization. This is supported through contributions and from members who pay dues.^[3]

Federal recognition

The Chickahominy were recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1983, but are not federally recognized.^[7] Since the 1990s, the tribe has been seeking federal recognition through an act of Congress.

The Thomasina E Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act would grant federal recognition to six Virginia Indian tribes: the Chickahominy Tribe, Eastern Chickahominy Tribe, Nansemond, Rappahannock Tribe, Upper Mattaponi Tribe, and the Monacan Nation. In March of 2009, another draft of the bill was presented to the House Committee on Natural Resources. By June the bill had passed the Committee and the House of Representatives. A day after it was voted on in the House, a companion bill was sent to the Senate. The Senate referred this bill to their Committee on Indian Affairs, who approved the bill on October 22, 2009. On December 23, 2009 the Senate added the bill to its Legislative calendar. This is the farthest the bill has gotten in the Congressional process.^[8][9] The bill is opposed by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), citing "jurisdictional concerns." The Senator believes requests for tribal recognition should be processed through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a process the Virginia tribes cannot utilize because of The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 and the dictates of Walter Plecker, the controversial state registrar for the Bureau of Vital Statistics at the time. ^[10]

The two state-recognized tribes that still maintain reservations, the Pamunkey and Mattaponi, are not part of this bill. They are trying to gain federal recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs' administrative process.^[4]

References

1. ^ "A Guide to Writing about Virginia Indians and Virginia Indian History", Virginia Council on Indians, Commonwealth of Virginia, updated Aug 2009, accessed 16 Sep 2009
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Wood, Karenne (editor). Virginia Indian Heritage Trail, Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2007.
3. ^ ^{a b} Waugaman, Sandra F. and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Ph.D. We're Still Here: Contemporary Virginia Indians Tell Their Stories. Richmond: Palari Publishing, 2006 (revised edition).
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Kimberlain, Joanne. "We're Still Here", The Virginian-Pilot, June 7-9, 2009: Print
5. ^ ^{a b c} Egloff, Keith and Deborah Woodward. First People: The Early Indians of Virginia, Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1992.
6. ^ Rountree, Helen C. (editor). Powhatan Foreign Relations: 1500-1722. University of Virginia Press, 1993
7. ^ Virginia Tribes, Virginia Council on Indians, Commonwealth of Virginia
8. ^ "H.R. 1385, Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act", GovTrack.us
9. ^ "Statement of Governor Kaine Submitted to the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs" Official Site of Governor of Virginia
10. ^ http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5456/53/

External links

• Chickahominy information from Virginia Council on Indians
• Chickahominy Indians, Eastern Division information from Virginia Council on Indians
• Official Site of the Chickahominy Tribe