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Newton returns to back his tribe Newton talks to legislators Date published: 2/3/2010
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
RICHMOND --Long before Wayne Newton was a Las Vegas star, he was an asthmatic boy who couldn't go out and play like other kids, and whose grandfather entertained him with stories of their Indian heritage.It was that heritage that drew Newton to Virginia's General Assembly offices yesterday. The entertainer canceled his Tuesday night show in Las Vegas to fly in to testify on a bill that would grant state tribal recognition to the Patawomeck, or Potomac, Indian tribe. Based around what is now Stafford County, the tribe fed starving European colonists and was hosting Pocahontas when she was kidnapped. Newton, a native Virginian, is descended from the tribe and has family in the White Oak area of Stafford County, where many tribe members live. Tribe Chief Robert "Two Eagles" Green asked Newton to send a letter or video to the legislature on the recognition bill. Newton decided it would be more effective if he came himself. "It's a passion with me," Newton said of his heritage. "I was taught to love it. To honor it." He told the House Rules Committee that when he told his 7-year-old daughter she was part Indian, she asked if that meant she was part Indian and part human. He realized, Newton said, that he hadn't taught her enough about the meaning and value of her Indian heritage. He said maintaining the heritage of native people is important not just to the Patawomeck tribe, but to the country. "I see the teachings, I see the museums, I see the cultures that we're all descendants from, and I think it would be a great loss to America to lose that culture," Newton said in an interview before the committee meeting. Virginia officially recognizes eight Indian tribes. State tribal recognition involves a lengthy process of proving that the tribe existed in Virginia at the time Europeans made contact, that it has existed in some form ever since and that it is a distinct group, among other requirements.
stole their land, their livelihood, their identity and their pride.
It is time to shut up and do the right thing.
So how many of you naysayers have done anything big for your hometown? I haven't. The best thing I did for my hometown was to leave.
So please, get over your self righteous attitude about this wonderful effort by a long distance relative for his heritage. The Patawomeck Indians appreicate the effort he gave and all the others for the efforts they have given to this. Have a wonderful day. ;)
He has also acknowledged his Virginia roots many times over. And guess what? Not all acknowledgements have been published in the media. Imagine that! Some moments have been of a private matter and handled that way. As for his money [and it IS his, not anyone elses], that is also a private matter who he choses to take as a tax right off for charitable contributions. Do you shout from the rooftops who you assist all the time?
let's do that, get some things right. Wayne Newton is not from Fredericksburg. He is from Southwestern VA with his father's family being from Stafford County. All Fredericksburg has to do with this is the fact that Wayne & his brothers won a contest there in the early 1950s and it's next to Stafford County and more easily recalled by name.The roots are in Stafford County, not the city. So he never "left" as he never "lived" here so no "turning his back" on Stafford County was done.
Was "Fig". :-D
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