Virginia.gov puts the spotlight on Native Americans in Virginia during the month of November in honor of national Native American Heritage month.
“Today marks the start of Native American Heritage Month, a month we have celebrated in the Commonwealth for the past 25 years. Native people were the first Virginians. To this day, many names of bodies of water and places across the Commonwealth originate from Indigenous languages. This month, we honor the peoples whose land we now call the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their stories continue today—we are proud to have 11 state-recognized tribes here in the Commonwealth, and countless other Native Americans and Indigenous people who call Virginia their home.
-Governor Ralph S. Northam
State recognition is the formal declaration of recognition by the Commonwealth of an American Indian tribe. Throughout the month of November, different state-recognized tribes of Virginia will be featured. Learn more!
The Chickahominy Tribe
The Chickahominy tribe is a state-recognized Indian tribe located on 110 acres in Charles City County, midway between Richmond and Williamsburg. Early in the twenty-first century its population numbered about 875 people living within a five-mile radius of the tribal center, with several hundred more residing in other parts of the United States.
The Upper Mattaponi Tribe
For centuries the ancestors of the Upper Mattaponi People have lived in villages along the waterways of Virginia, the land known as Tsenacomocco. They lived in union with the land, the first farmers of America, harvesting corn, beans and squash and hunting deer in ways still employed today.
The Monacan Indian Nation
The Monacan Indian Nation is a state-recognized Indian tribe whose tribal area is located near Bear Mountain in Amherst County. The original territory of the Siouan-speaking tribe and its allies comprised more than half of present-day Virginia, including almost all of the Piedmont region and parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Native American Heritage Month has evolved from its beginnings as a week-long celebration in 1986, when President Reagan proclaimed the week of November 23-30, 1986 as "American Indian Week." Every President since 1995 has issued annual proclamations designating the month of November as the time to celebrate the culture, accomplishments, and contributions of people who were the first inhabitants of the United States.
Native Americans have lived in the area now known as Virginia for thousands of years. Their histories, ancestral connections, and traditions are intertwined with the 6,000 square miles of Tidewater land the Algonquian-speaking Indians of Virginia called Tsenacomoco.
The use of Native American or native American to refer to Indigenous peoples who live in the Americas came into widespread, common use during the civil rights era of the 1960s and 1970s. This term was considered to represent historical fact more accurately (i.e., "Native" cultures predated European colonization).
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month at any of the events below
Check out the resources below to learn more about Native Americans in Virginia.
