Our First Road Trip With Sylvia

After an incredibly action-packed first few days, Jamie, Sylvia, and myself loaded up into the Nuru van for our first road trip! As a result of the generous support of a Nuru donor, we were headed to Washington DC to set up a booth for the 41^st Marine Corps Marathon Expo.

Thanks to some guidance given by one of the nurses at Mon General, we were able to get Sylvia situated pretty quickly in the vehicle. And as we pulled out of the driveway, we quickly made a discovery. It appears Sylvia really enjoys the open road. She rested peacefully as we introduced her to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. (To be fair, she had been to these places before, but this was her first time outside the womb).

As we pulled into the convention center at National Harbor a light rain that had persisted through the day began to lift. Jamie and Sylvia made their way out for a walk, and I began unloading banners, tshirts, and other cool Nuru International signage so we could make our presence known for the first time at the Expo. This year marked our fourth year having a team run for Nuru, and since Nuru’s CEO was a Force Recon Marine, it only made sense to have representation at the Expo.

The setup went fairly quick and we were able to get settled in with some good friends in the area, and we had an incredible team of volunteers join us at the booth including current USNA MIDN, and one of Jake’s old roommates from USNA as well as folks who have been part of Nuru from our earliest efforts!

Sylvia and Jamie came down to do some quality inspection of the booth, and after their approval, I knew we were prepared for the opening of the expo. It is incredible that we get to do so much of this stuff together, and I’m in awe of this young lady’s ability to travel so quickly.

Congratulations To The Pamunkey Tribe On Becoming Federally Recognized

Early this morning I read a post my friend Bill Sembello shared on Facebook announcing that the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, one of eight state recognized tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia, recently received federal recognition as an American Indian Tribe. This is an incredibly significant leap forward for the Pamunkey and potentially for other tribes who are not federally recognized.

For most people who read this blog, you might know a little bit about my heritage as a Shawnee, but that doesn't mean you know a ton about Native American law, rights, or recognition in this country. You see, there tons of different agencies that seek to define who is a member of a tribe, who is an American Indian, etc. For instance, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by a state government or agency, and each tribe has distinct criteria for recognizing members. There's some great literature on this for any who are interested, here is a good place to start--the principal chief of my tribe recommended I read that book while I was in college. Being recognized by the federal government allows a tribe to be considered a sovereign nation within a nation, or as Justice Marshall wrote in his Supreme Court Opinion on Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, "domestic dependent states." Regardless of the rights and opportunities conferred upon a tribe when it is federally recognized, there's something more at hand, particularly for the Pamunkey.

The Pamunkey were the first natives that met the English at Jamestown in 1607. Heard of Pocahontas? Her real name was Matoaka, and she is probably the most famous Pamunkey Indian in Western history, and maybe one of the most famous American Indians in the last 400 years. In 1677, the Pamunkey Reservation was formed formally by the Governor of Virginia under the Authority of the King of England. The treaty is actually still honored to this day by members of the tribe bringing a deer to the Virginia Governor's mansion on Thanksgiving Day.

The British recognized the Pamunkey as a tribe. Virginia recognized the Pamunkey as a tribe. But, the United States did not formally recognize the Pamunkey as a tribe until July 2, 2015. The Pamunkey spent decades and more than 2 million dollars fighting for this recognition. They even had to fight against a resort who viewed their sovereignty (and potential for opening a casino) as a financial threat according to a recent article.

According to NPR, Pamunkey Chief Kevin Brown called this a vindication, and remarked that different groups had used "Paper genocide to attempt to erase us from the historic record." Most famously in the Commonwealth, this happened in the early 1900s through a man named Walter Plecker who drafted the Racial Integrity Law of 1924 in Virginia. It required that all births be registered as white or colored and aside from being an incredibly racist law in its most basic form, it also sought to eliminate Virginia Indians from the historical record.

Though many won't have the same level of interest in this decision, I'm personally incredibly excited for the Pamunkey, and for what this decision could potentially mean for the other tribes in Virginia currently seeking to be recognized by the federal government. And I'm also excited for what the recognition of the Pamunkey means for eastern Native people. For many, Indian people either no longer exist, or only exist "out West." In fact, this phenomenon led members of many Virginia tribes to share their stories in this book.

I used to make an annual trip with my Chief to an annual conference hosted by the Virginia Governor's Council On Indians. The people I met there have all been really great people--hard-working, community-oriented, faith-filled, and welcoming, and on the rare occasion I find myself traveling through the Commonwealth, I love getting together and catching up with all the good that is happening in their communities.

Regardless of what it means for other tribal communities, including my own, I am incredibly excited for the 208 members of the Pamunkey tribe. For one of the first tribes to meet European explorers and settlers to have survived and maintained their traditional way of life is a huge feat in and of itself, and honestly, this recognition is long overdue.