Pocahontas

Ghost Tribes

English colonists didn’t invent racism in the Americas—gold-obsessed Spaniards had a head start of nearly a century—but their early antipathy to Virginia’s Indian tribes set the tone for the following centuries.

For the Indians that survived the initial period of contact, the future was bleak. The loss of their lands was bad enough, but they had the bad luck to live in the place that would become Virginia:

Jim Crow. The Confederacy. Eugenics.

Today, Virginia's 4,000 Indians are the direct descendants of Pocahontas and her people. Despite this famous forbear, Virginia's eight surviving tribes are forced to fight for the right to call themselves Indian. They seek recognition from the Federal Government, a process that would “officially” make them Indian, as well as grant them badly needed education and health care benefits.

Though this lack of recognition is the result of a kafka-esque history, tribal leaders have united for the first time to overcome their shared legacy of racism. Next year is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America. Thanks to a truly grassroots effort—an alliance of tribes has hired a lobbyist using bake-sale proceeds—a bill is currently pending in congress that would offer recognition for six of the tribes. English colonists didn’t invent racism in the Americas—gold-obsessed Spaniards had a head start of nearly a century—but their early an... more

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