From the Sunday Daily Press

8 VA. INDIAN TRIBES COULD GET FEDERAL RECOGNITION

Opposition to proposed legislation that would grant federal recognition to eight Virginia Indian tribes will be heard Monday in a Capitol Hill briefing, the The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Adoption of the proposed resolution, which is co- sponsored by Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Newport News, would qualify the tribes for federal aid.

The tribes include the Chickahominy Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, the Mattaponi Tribe, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Pamunkey Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe Inc., the Monacan Tribe and the Nansemond Tribe.

The Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes have reservations in King William County.

The other tribes own parcels of land across the state. Opponents fear formal recognition would allow the tribes to introduce casino gambling into Virginia, the Post reported.

Scott could not be reached for comment.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Vienna, told the Post, "Once federal recognition is granted, representatives of the tribes can be granted authority to set up legalized gambling outlets in Virginia without the approval of any Virginia state or local officials."

Leaders of both the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes have told the Daily Press in recent years that while they have been courted by commercial interests to develop gambling casinos on the reservations, the tribes were not interested, fearing that commercial gambling would corrupt the communities' Christian values.

Rep. James P. Moran Jr., D-Alexandria, who introduced the legislation and whose suburban Washington district includes no tribal land, told the Post the tribes have been victims of "a perverse race-conscious campaign" in Virginia during the early 20th century. Then, newborn Indians were by law identified as "colored," he said.

"As a result, the claims that these tribes have were not recognized, apparently because officially Indians couldn't exist in the state," Moran told the Washington newspaper.

He added, "This is a compelling situation that just cries out for justice, and to think that we are in the 21st century now and this has never been rectified is just shocking."

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I'll let you all know when I start taking chip orders <g>