Indigenous Perspectives
On view from Dec. 5, 2023, to Aug. 17, 2024, Indigenous Perspectives examined aspects of the Library of Virginia’s collections through the lenses of the eleven federally and state-recognized Virginia tribes. Through conversations, citizens of these nations offered reflections that might upend but also enlarge our understanding of the meaning of documents in the Library’s collections.
The Library of Virginia honors the history of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited what is today the Commonwealth of Virginia for thousands of years before European colonization. The Library seeks to nurture our partnership with the eleven recognized tribes in Virginia as it continues to build and describe its collections and to offer programs to make accessible to all Virginians a complete history of the commonwealth and its residents.
Since 1823, the Library has been the commonwealth’s official record keeper, inheriting the earliest extant documents from the state’s origins in the Virginia Colony and acquiring and preserving records until today. These maps, treaties, land records, and other governing documents both documented and purported to justify the process of colonization, land dispossession, and sometimes eradication of Indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, the Library’s collections also contain records created by Indigenous peoples that represent their worldview and that challenge the accepted narrative. Tribal reflections focus on how the tribes reinterpret these materials and on issues of importance to them that shape this exhibition—sovereignty, identity, land and environment, culture, and the future.
Virginia’s Eleven Tribes Recognized by State and Federal Government
| Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia: 2010 (state) |
| Chickahominy Indian Tribe: 1983 (state), 2018 (federal) |
| Chickahominy Indian Tribe–Eastern Division: 1983 (state), 2018 (federal) |
| Mattaponi Indian Tribe: 17th century (state) |
| Monacan Indian Nation: 1989 (state), 2018 (federal) |
| Nansemond Indian Nation: 1985 (state), 2018 (federal) |
| Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia: 2010 (state) |
| Pamunkey Indian Tribe: 17th century (state), 2015 (federal) |
| Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia: 2010 (state) |
| Rappahannock Indian Tribe: 1983 (state), 2018 (federal) |
| Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe: 1983 (state), 2018 (federal) |
Traveling Exhibition
Find out if our Indigenous Perspectives panel exhibition will be at a location near you.
View ScheduleTribal Voices
In these interviews, tribal citizens offer reflections on our exhibition themes of retaining tribal culture, identity, resistance, tribal sovereignty, the land and environment, and the future of Virginia’s tribes that enlarge our understanding of documents in the Library’s collections.
Retaining Tribal Culture
Virginia’s native peoples retain their individual tribal cultures by revitalizing their languages, practicing traditional arts and engaging in tribal gatherings, which are discussed in these interview excerpts. (14:28 minutes)
Identity
Indigenous Virginians maintain their identities as native peoples despite loss of their lands, pressure from their white neighbors and the devastating impact of the 1924 Racial Integrity Act. This set of interview excerpts discusses tribal identity. (18:59 minutes)
Resistance
Indigenous Virginians fought against discrimination, hostility and economic pressures by organizing and resisting efforts to steal their land or ignore their identity. These interview excerpts describe such political engagements and ways some tribes have tried to address economic inequality. (8:33 minutes)
Tribal Sovereignty
What does sovereignty mean? As sovereign nations, Virginia’s tribes seek a government-to-government relationship with the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as the federal government. These interview excerpts center on sovereignty efforts. (11:41 minutes)
Land and Environment
Virginia’s native peoples held land in common for the benefit and sustenance of their communities, but European colonists believed in individual ownership. These conflicting ideas led to conflict and the loss of ancestral lands. These interview excerpts center on Indigenous land and the environment. (7:15 minutes)
The Future of Virginia's Tribes
Federal recognition of a tribe makes federal funds available for a wide variety of potential projects and opportunities including better health care, housing and education. These interview excerpts focus on the future of Virginia Indian tribes. (9:25 minutes)
The Library of Virginia thanks the participating tribal members: Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia; Chief Stephen Adkins, Assistant Chief Wayne Adkins, 2d Assistant Chief Reggie Stewart, Dana Adkins, and Sarah Jefferson, Chickahominy Indian Tribe; Chief Gerald A. Stewart and Tanya Stewart, Chickahominy Indian Tribe Eastern Division; Lois Custalow Carter, Mattaponi Indian Tribe; Chief Lynette Allston, Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia; Chief Robert Gray, Jennifer Dixon, and Kevin Krigsvold, Pamunkey Indian Tribe; Chief Emeritus Robert Green, Jo Ann Newton Meredith, Jennifer Newton Gallahan, Kathy Harding, Brad Hatch, and Jerry Schenemann, Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia; Chief Anne Richardson, Rappahannock Indian Tribe, and Ed Ragan, historian; Chief Frank Adams and Lou Wratchford, Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe.
Panel Discussion | The Centennial of the Passage of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924
March 20, 2024 marked the centennial of the date the Racial Integrity Act was signed into law. This legislation was designed to stop the “intermixture” of white and Black people in Virginia. The act banned interracial marriage and defined a white person as one “with no trace of the blood of another race.” For Indigenous Virginians, the Racial Integrity Act began a paper genocide that eliminated them from Virginia’s written records.
Gregory Smithers, Ph.D., professor of American history at Virginia Commonwealth University, moderated the discussion with First Assistant Chief Wayne Adkins of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, Chief Lynette Allston of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, Assistant Chief Louise “Lou” Wratchford of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Chief Robert Gray of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.
“Union Tooth and Nail”: Pamunkey Indians and the Civil War
Anthropologist Ashley Spivey, Ph.D., a citizen of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, discussed the Pamunkey engagement in the Civil War as Union veterans and supporters. Indigenous people played pivotal roles in the unfolding of Virginia’s history, engaging in the economic, political, social and cultural events that have shaped the commonwealth. Learn why the Pamunkey chose to support the Union and the various roles they played during the Civil War in Virginia. Pulling from their intimate knowledge of the riverine landscape, Pamunkey men served as pilots and scouts on Union gunboats that traversed Virginia waterways. Pamunkey women held ground on the reservation, working to aid Union soldiers who encamped near the community throughout the war.
Book Talk with Lora Chilton | 1666: A Novel
Author Lora Chilton discussed her new work of historical fiction, 1666: A Novel, the survival story of the Patawomeck tribe of Virginia. Chilton, a member of the Patawomeck through the lineage of her father, used written colonial records and tribal oral tradition to imagine the lives of the Patawomeck women who were sold into slavery and shipped to Barbados to work in the sugar fields after the massacre of the tribe’s men in the summer of 1666. Against all odds, two women survive and, with determination and bravery, make their way back to their Virginia homeland. Chilton discussed her use of Indigenous names and some of the Patawomeck language in the book, as well as her motivation for writing the novel. A book signing followed the talk.
Indigenous Perspectives Closing Celebration
The Library presented a closing celebration featuring performances and displays from Virginia tribal representatives. A drumming circle, dancing and demonstrations of traditional crafts celebrated Virginia’s 11 federally and state-recognized tribes. View photographs from the Aug. 2, 2024, closing celebration in the Library of Virginia’s flickr album.
Additional Resources
Our collections include a wide variety of documents related to Indigenous Virginians from the state’s origins as an English colony until the present. Watch our In the Gallery videos, read posts from The UncommonWealth blog, and explore some of the Library's resources to learn more about Virginia Indian history and culture.
In the Gallery Videos
Watch our In the Gallery videos on our YouTube playlist with tribal members and Library of Virginia staff discussing items on display in our gallery exhibition.
John Smith’s Map and the Recovery of Tribal Pasts
In this video, citizens of Virginia’s state-recognized tribes reflect on what Captain John Smith’s 1608 map means to them.
The UncommonWealth Blog
Visit The UncommonWealth to learn more about Virginia Indian history and culture in our exhibition-related blog posts.
Indigenous Peoples of North America Database
This database of resources regarding the history of American Indian tribes is available to Virginia residents with a Library of Virginia library card or online account.
Resource Guide on Virginia Indians
Records concerning the first Virginians are found throughout our collections including state records, local records, maps, personal papers, and church records. Learn more in our Research Guide.
For Educators
Do you teach about Virginia's Indigenous peoples? In addition to the resources on this page, we have additional classroom resources for teachers and students learning about the history and culture of Virginia Indians.
Indian Schools in Virginia
This interactive display explores sites where Virginia Indians attended school between the 17th and the 20th centuries. Colonialism, racial segregation, and other forces impinged on these efforts, yet some tribes were able to control their own schools. For many years, Virginia tribal members were denied access to public high schools and had to leave home to earn a high school diploma.
Document Bank of Virginia
Document Bank includes classroom resources about Virginia Indians throughout the history of the Commonwealth. Browse the American Indian History theme to find documents from the Library’s collections keyed to state Standards of Learning.
Shaping the Constitution
Shaping the Constitution features primary source documents from the Library of Virginia and the Library of Congress related to the creation of the U.S. Constitution, as well as subsequent amendments that have continued to shape our national history. Browse the American Indian History theme.
Virginia Changemakers
Virginia Changemakers brings together the remarkable lives of Virginians who have been honored through the Library of Virginia’s signature programs Strong Men and Women in Virginia History, Virginia Women in History, and New Virginians. Search by tribal names or Virginia Indian.
Virginia Chronicle
Virginia Chronicle provides free access to more than six million newspaper pages from the Commonwealth and beyond. These full-text searchable and digitized images give glimpses into the lives of Virginians from 1737 to 2024. Select the Help tab for tips on searching Virginia Chronicle.
