Yet one of those rights - to build and run a casino - is also proving a sticking point in the long battle for full acceptance as a distinct people. The Pamunkey push for federal recognition as a Native American tribe will unlock a slew of additional legal privileges for the group. recognition for the Pamunkey is in limbo. While acknowledged by the state of Virginia, U.S. Their 1,200-acre reservation 40 miles east of Richmond was established by the English in the 17th century.
Members of the group greeted settlers at Jamestown, and count Pocahontas as an ancestor. At the White House Tribal Nations Conference in November, representatives from the 567 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes mingled with President Barack Obama.Ĭhief Robert Gray of the Virginia-based Pamunkey tribe was among those in attendance at the annual government-sponsored meeting, which serves as a way to get issues on the Obama administration's policy radar, as well as allow officials from each tribe to meet one another.īut one thing differentiated Gray from his fellow chiefs: Bureau of Indian Affairs recognition is on hold for the Pamunkey.
