VCCS seeks new chapter in relations with Native Americans

Virginia's Community Colleges are setting out to write a new chapter in the commonwealth's long and often-troubled history with Virginia's Native American Tribes. Acknowledging that individual community colleges already may have meaningful relationships with local Indian populations, VCCS System Office personnel met with Tribal leaders March 1 with a goal that our colleges statewide will do a better job of understanding and supporting Native American students and employees.

"My objective today is not to dwell on terrible events of previous times, but we also must never turn a blind eye toward history," said VCCS Chancellor David Doré. "We can and must learn from the past and I hope we can start in our own way here today to write a better future story for all Virginians."

The gathering at Brightpoint Community College's Midlothian campus brought together VCCS academic and workforce leadership and representatives of the Chickahominy, Mattaponi and Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribes, along with a delegation from the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium (VTEC).

Doré said he hoped it would be just the first conversation in a new and ongoing dialog with Virginia Indian Tribes.

"This meeting was helpful," said Drew Allmond, project director with VTEC and a member of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe. "We're the only racial group that has to assert its existence, so it helps me to feel seen to be a part of this dialog. This doesn't fix everything, but the patience we saw and willingness to listen is an important start."

"It was a good and useful conversation," agreed Lois Morning Glory Custalow Carter, an enrolled member of Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Reservation. "It feels like something is finally happening to understand that Native Americans are here. It felt good to get together. I can see wonderful things coming for our Native American Tribes."

Indigenous identity is a complex issue, due in no small part to a deliberate effort by the State of Virginia to erase the existence of Native American heritage via the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Despite that effort, eleven tribes today are recognized by the state. Seven of those tribes also are recognized by the federal government.

The VCCS sponsored research in recent years to learn more about the students who attend our colleges. From Fall 2019 through Spring 2022, more than one thousand students identified themselves as Native American, and more than 4,000 identified as Native American and another race.

Recognition was a major issue for Indigenous students. Difficulty finding and connecting with other Native students topped the list of perceived barriers among this audience. In focus groups many of these students shared experiences of cultural insensitivity and an overall lack of awareness of Native culture, realities, and history.

To address the concerns, focus groups suggested ideas ranging from special mentoring programs, to formation of cultural groups on campus, to creating new physical and web resources for Native Americans.

Reflecting on National Native American Heritage Month last November, Chancellor Doré noted it's important to acknowledge the sacrifices and contributions made by Native Americans in shaping the character of the nation and called on community college employees to learn more about America's indigenous peoples. His November blog post includes links that may be useful in that regard.

More recently, Drew Allmond, from VTEC, offered the following resources that could help our colleges learn more:

• Native Land Digital has a searchable map that would be useful to understand locations of Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties; it's the project of an Indigenous-led non-profit in Canada, but the map is global.
• Encyclopedia Virginia is a good reference source for past and present info on tribal nations in Virginia. Virginia Humanities, which runs this site, has been working directly with individual tribes to develop and update coverage of their experience.
• The Commonwealth's State Recognized Tribes page may be useful to understand which tribal nations have government-to-government relationships with the state (and, by omission, which do not).

If your college wants to share ideas or learn more about serving students from Virginia's Native American Tribes, please email Emily Jones-Green at [email protected].

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