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American Indians perform a ceremonial dance Friday during Welcome America I, |
BY MICHAEL ZITZ
JAMESTOWN --Hang onto your headdress for this little piece of news:
It turns out that President Bush, who will speak at the America's 400th Anniversary event today in Jamestown, is related to Pocahontas.
His eighth great-grandfather, Robert Bolling, married Jane Rolfe, who was Pocahontas' granddaughter, according to Megan Smolenyak of Ancestry.com.
The president is not a direct descendant. But it would have made for all-too-perfect historical symmetry if Bush, Pocahontas' great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-stepgrandson, had pulled a signed bill out of his pocket today granting federal recognition to the six "first contact" Virginia Indian tribes.
Those Indians' ancestors (including the president's ninth stepgreat-grandmother) saved the Jamestown colony from starvation, only to be forced to sign treaties with the English before America was even born.
Because of those documents, generation after generation of Virginia Indians have been in limbo ever since the United States declared independence, while 562 other tribes have been recognized by the U.S.
When the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Tuesday recognizing the Virginia tribes, that status seemed a possibility to a gratified Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson, who had earlier threatened to "go on the warpath" this weekend in Jamestown if the House voted the bill down.
Indian leaders are cautiously optimistic this weekend, but nothing substantive can happen when Bush visits today because Sen. John Warner and Sen. Jim Webb (both D-Va.) want to take their time and study the bill, which would grant sovereignty and open the door to federal benefits for about 2,500 members of the Chickahominy, Chickahominy Indian Tribe Eastern Division, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Monacan and Nanse- mond tribes.
With recognition, tribe members would be able to apply for education and health-care benefits. But tribal leaders say the issue is one of respect.
"Nobody expects to get rich," said Monacan tribe member Karenne Wood.
The House measure specifically bans gaming, a prohibition added to satisfy Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th). Wolf had said he was worried about a casino opening in the state.
A Webb aide said he won't be rushed into making a decision on the issue because of international media attention focused on the anniversary.
And Warner said he's concerned about lawsuits related to the question of whether that anti-gaming language restricts sovereignty.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th), who wrote the House bill, said he didn't want to include the ban on gaming, but felt it was the only way the bill could pass.
Indian leaders say a poll showing broad support among voters, as well as support from church organizations and from state newspaper editorial pages, leads them to believe Senate approval will come soon.
"We have a lot of grassroots support," said Monacan Chief Kenneth Branham, who said he hopes the Senate will pass the bill by June. "The fact the vote in the House was unanimous should give us some momentum."
"There's a groundswell," agreed Chickahominy Chief Stephen Adkins.
After years of battling Wolf, Branham said, "We've given up a lot of things that come along with federal recognition, and at this point, we hope that will satisfy everybody and get this moving in the Senate and finish this up."
Adkins said past discussions with Warner led him to the "understanding that if Frank Wolf was OK with the language [on gaming], then he could support it. And Sen. Warner is a man of integrity."
Indian leaders say their people have never wanted casinos, that the tribes decline to even have bingo nights.
"They really don't," said Wood, project coordinator for the "Beyond Jamestown" Teachers' Institute of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. "They consider gambling a vice."
"We keep hoping America will do the right thing," said Wood, a former White Oak resident who now lives in Charles City. "And I think most Americans want to."
But Wood said she believes that Indian leaders are worried, in spite of public professions of confidence.
"We've never been confident it would happen," Wood says. "Our history teaches us not to be confident, where the government is concerned."
And Branham's cool exterior cracked for a moment when asked if the tribes might lose leverage when this weekend's media focus moves on.
"Why should we need leverage?" he said. "The politicians who've been holding this up should be ashamed of themselves."
In any case, Indian leaders say, they aren't counting on being able to play the Pocahontas card with the president.
MICHAEL ZITZ: 540/374-5408