Sec. 201. Findings
574 words·~3 min read·
/bill/114/s/465/rs/section-201A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds that— in 1607, when the English settlers set shore along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was 1 of about 30 tribes that received them; in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe entered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of the Jamestown Colony, under which— the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send warriors to protect the English; and Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own tribal governance; 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; in 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy; in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base; in 1711, the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indians called Brafferton College; a Chickahominy child was 1 of the first Indians to attend Brafferton College; in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to migrate from King William County back to the area around the Chickahominy River in New Kent and Charles City Counties; in 1793, a Baptist missionary named Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took a Chickahominy woman as his wife; in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to appear in the Charles City County census records; in 1870, a census revealed an enclave of Indians in New Kent County that is believed to be the beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; other records were destroyed when the New Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a State census as the only record covering that period; in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe formed Samaria Baptist Church; from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were assessed a tribal tax so that their children could receive an education; the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, and pay a teacher’s salary; in 1910, a 1-room school covering grades 1 through 8 was established in New Kent County for the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; during the period of 1920 through 1921, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division began forming a tribal government;
E.P. Bradby, the founder of the Tribe, was elected to be Chief; in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church was organized; in 1925, a certificate of incorporation was issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division; in 1950, the 1-room Indian school in New Kent County was closed and students were bused to Samaria Indian School in Charles City County; in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division lost their schools as a result of the required integration of students; during the period of 1982 through 1984, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanctuary to accommodate church growth; in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division was granted State recognition along with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes; in 1985— the Virginia Council on Indians was organized as a State agency; and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division was granted a seat on the Council; in 1988, a nonprofit organization known as the United Indians of Virginia was formed; and Chief Marvin Strongoak Bradby of the Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs the organization.