INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly fi'om the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &ce, while others may be fi’om any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely aSect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing fi'om left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back o f the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE OTHER NAMES I HAVE BEEN CALLED; POLITICAL RESURGENCE AMONG VIRGINIA INDIANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Danielle Moretti-Langholtz Norman, Oklahoma 1998 DMI Number: 9839798 Copyright 199 8 by Moretti-Langholtz, Danielle All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9839798 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48103 © Copyright by Danielle Moretti-Langholtz 1998 All Rights Reserved. OTHER NAMES I HAVE BEEN CALLED: POLITICAL RESURGENCE AMONG VIRGINIA INDIANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY A Dissertation APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY BY /A ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The puqjose of this dissertation is to explore the much-ignored “story” of the Indians of Virginia. When Virginia Indians are remembered, it is in the context of American colonial history. Typically, Virginia Indians serve as an exotic backdrop to the portrayal of the heroic efforts of the English settlers along the James River. Most Americans can name only two Virginia Indians—Pocahontas and Powhatan— but generally fall short when it comes to describing the lifeways and traditional culture of these people. The absence of general knowledge about contemporary Virginia Indians is even more glaring since few Virginians can recite the names of Virginia’s state-recognized tribes or describe the current status of Virginia’s indigenous people. The issues of the formation and presentation of Indian identity are central to a people who were by law denied the right to acknowledge their Indian ancestry between 1924 and 1968. It was during my examination of Virginia’s legislative history, centering on racial classification, that I began to uncover the poignant story of the struggle of Virginia’s Indians to control their own history and identity. I never expected to find such as sad chronicle when I began this research. It is my hope that this dissertation will provide information about the nature and far-reaching consequences of this rarely discussed racial history and be of help to Virginia Indians as they take a more active role in recreating their forgotten legacy. Ultimately, this dissertation is for them. As with any major undertaking the help of many people along the way was necessary to complete the task. First and foremost, I would like to thank the members of my doctoral committee, Betty J. Harris, Joseph W. Whitecotton, Stephen I. Thompson, iv Richard A. Pailes, and Philip Lujan, My committee chair, Betty J. Harris, was always available to me, even while she was on leave in South Africa. This dissertation would never have been completed without Betty’s constant encouragement. Additionally, each committee member provided valuable suggestions for improving my dissertation. More fundamentally, they have guided my development as a cultural anthropologist both in an out of the classroom. Thanks also to Helen C. Rountree for encouraging me to work with Virginia Indians and for helping to smooth the way for my fieldwork. Staff at the Aldermaim Library at the University of Virginia, the Library of Virginia in Richmond, and Swem Library and the Marshall-Wythe Law Library at the College of William & Mary, provided an enormous amount of help with historical and legal documents. Within the Virginia Indian community, special thanks goes to Chairwoman Thomasina Jordan of the Virginia Council on Indians, Chief Barry Bass of the Nansemond Tribe, Chief Oliver Perry of the Nansemond Tribe, and Ms. Jamie Ware of the Powhatan Society. Special thanks also to Robert Jondreau and Michael Butler for friendship and advice. Many others will not be named here but will be thanked by me personally. The Department of Anthropology at the College of William & Mary has been supportive of my research and generous with teaching opportunities. Tomoko Hamada, Ted Reinhart, Mary Voigt and Barbara King were always enthusiastic about my research topic and were generous with their time and advice. Most of all, friends and family have made my graduate work and dissertation possible by their loving kindness and endless patience. In Norman, Oklahoma, acknowledgment for things too numerous to mention goes to Lesley Rankin-Hill, Stephanie Bums, Wanda Downs, Vicki Torsch and Emily McEwen. My husband, Harvey Langholtz, more than anyone got me through this process. Thanks also to my children Matthew, Gabrieile and Jacqueline. It was Jacqueline who helped me think about the Pocahontas story in a new way, bringing a child-like freshness to the well-worn tale. Lastly, this dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Esperanza Valdes, an exemplary teacher and an enthusiast of all things beautiful, who so much wanted me to finish my doctorate. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract: vii Chapter I: Introduction........................................................................................... 1 Chapter II : Historical Overview of the Powhatan Indians of Virginia.................. 26 Chapter HI: The Eugenics Movement in Virginia................................................ 74 Chapter IV: State Recognition and the Establishment of the Virginia Council on Indians ............................................................................................................ 150 Chapter V: Thoughts on Pocahontas: The Bridge Between Peoples.................. 290 Chapter VI: Concluding Thoughts........................................................................305 Appendix: The Racial Integrity Act of 1924....................................................... 314 References Cited: ............................................................................................... 316 List of Tables Table 1: U.S. and Virginia 1790 Census D ata ....................................... 120 Table 2: 1830 Virginia Census D ata ...................................................... 121 Table 3: Census Data For King Wm & Amherst Counties 1820-1860 . 124 Table 4: Indian Residence Locations, 1860 ............................................ 125 Table 5: Virginia’s Population by Racial Classification 1860-1990 . 134 List of Figures Figure 1: Virginia Indian Population 1860-1990 ................................... 135 Figure 2: Indian Demographic Collapse................................................ 138 vu ABSTRACT Historically, Virginia’s indigenous Indian tribes have been subsumed under non- Indian racial categories. Typically, Virginia Indians were classified as “fi’ee persons of color,” somewhat in midpoint on the bi-racial continuum. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Commonwealth of Virginia redefined its racial categories and enacted legislation which forced persons into an even more rigid black/white racial dichotomy, making it increasingly diflRcult for individuals to identify themselves as Virginia Indians. With the passage of the Racial Integrity Act in 1924, Virginia Indians were prohibited by law from identifying themselves as “Indians.” The Racial Integrity Act, sponsored by activist members of the Eugenics Movement, remained in effect until a United States Supreme Court ruling in 1968 declared it unconstitutional. This dissertation explores the political and racial landscape of Virginia between the seventeenth century and the twentieth century ,as it pertains to Virginia’s Indian population. The papers of Walter Flecker, head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics during the period of the enforcement o f the Racial Integrity Act, are discussed, revealing the links between Flecker and the Eugenics Movement. In 1983 the Commonwealth of Virginia granted state recognition to six Indian tribes, thus beginning the public process of reconstructing an Indian identity and the re-establishing of political power for Virginia’s tribes and persons of Indian descent living within the Commonwealth. Two additional tribes have received state recognition in 1985 and