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The Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County witnessed a major milestone this fall in its 22-year-long pursuit of federal recognition.

A tribal news release noted that U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Southampton County, followed through Sept. 17 on a promise she had made previously to the tribe, introducing House Bill H.R. 9630, which is titled “Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act.”

If passed, the bill will federally recognize the tribe.

Having pursued federal recognition since 2002, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia, has documented ethnohistory that dates back to A.D. 900 in accordance with the Hand Site (44SN22), an archaeological dig that took place near General Thomas Highway in 1965, 1966 and 1969 in Southampton County.

On Dec. 7, 2002, the tribe submitted a letter of intent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announcing that it would be applying for federal recognition in accordance with 25 CFR 83. 

On Dec. 2, 2005, the tribe received a response letter from the director of the Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA), Lee Fleming, granting petition No. 264 to apply for federal recognition. 

One of the seven criteria to gain federal recognition via the BIA was to prove that the tribe had “tribal autotomy” as of 1900. Tribal officials noted in the release that the tribe would have been hard pressed to establish this due to the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, wherein Dr. Walter A. Plecker, the first Virginia State Registrar of Vital Statistics and a promoter of the Racial Integrity Act, initiated policy some termed “paper genocide.” Tribal officials stated that the policy negated Virginia Indians’ true identity in the state by reclassifying them as “colored,” which later reverted to “negro,” to include canceling out native communities in Virginia and tribal autonomy.

Because of this, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe opted out of submitting a complete Petition No. 264 in 2005-06 to the OFA because a denial of that packet would have canceled out other attempts to gain federal recognition via the OFA.

Instead, the tribe submitted SJR 151 to the Virginia General Assembly in 2005 to be state recognized, but the bill was struck by State Sen. L. Louise Lucas in the Senate Rules Committee on Feb. 6, 2006. 

On Sept. 25, 2006, the tribe hosted/conducted a Peace Belt and Pipe Ceremony by the banks of the Nottoway River on the grounds of the Southampton County Courthouse. Attending the ceremony were elected officials from the counties of Nottoway, Sussex, Surry, Isle of Wight and Southampton counties, all of whom shared in the tribe’s traditional ceremony of passing the peace pipe and accepting a Wampum Belt from Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown. After this, all attending county elected officials, including Board of Supervisors chairmen, presented to the tribe individual county proclamations of tribal recognition, bearing each county’s seal, signed by the respective Board of Supervisors chair.  

This recognition ceremony was a catalyst for the tribe to finally become Virginia state recognized in 2010 via SJR 127 and HJR 171.

Then, beginning in 2010, the tribe attempted for seven years to be included in the Thomasina Jordan Bill, brought before the 111th Congress (2009-10) as H.R. 1385, introduced by U.S. Rep. James P. Moran in 2010 to federally recognize six Virginia tribes. 

During the aforementioned seven years, the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe sent tribal ethnohistory documents and letters to U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman and Bobby Scott. The tribe also engaged in two hour-long conference calls with key staff members of those elected officials, requesting the tribe be added to the Thomasina Jordan Bill, but tribal officials said it was to no avail.

The Thomasina Jordan Bill continued through 2017 and was reintroduced in H.R. 984 to the 115th Congress (2017-18) by Wittman, Kaine, Warner and Scott. The bill was signed by President Donald J. Trump on Jan. 29, 2018. 

On July 2, 2022 and again on July 1, 2023, Kiggans attended the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe’s Corn Harvest powwows, held on the tribe’s 263 acres of land in Courtland, and she vowed in an open speech to tribal members and powwow visitors that she would introduce legislation in Congress to federally recognize the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia.

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, Kiggans kept her promise and introduced to the 118th Congress (2023-24) H.R. 9036 — the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act.

That same day, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.