Sec. 201 Findings
Congress finds that—
in 1607, when the English settlers set shore along the Virginia coastline, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe was one of about 30 tribes that received them;
in 1614, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe entered into a treaty with Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of the Jamestown Colony, under which—
the Chickahominy Indian Tribe agreed to provide 2 bushels of corn per man and send warriors to protect the English; and
Sir Thomas Dale agreed in return to allow the Tribe to continue to practice its own tribal governance;
in 1646, a treaty was signed which forced the Chickahominy from their homeland to the area around the York River in present-day King William County, leading to the formation of a reservation;
in 1677, following Bacon’s Rebellion, the Queen of Pamunkey signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation on behalf of the Chickahominy;
in 1702, the Chickahominy were forced from their reservation, which caused the loss of a land base;
in 1711, the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg established a grammar school for Indians called Brafferton College;
a Chickahominy child was one of the first Indians to attend Brafferton College;
in 1750, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to migrate from King William County back to the area around the Chickahominy River in New Kent and Charles City Counties;
in 1793, a Baptist missionary named Bradby took refuge with the Chickahominy and took a Chickahominy woman as his wife;
in 1831, the names of the ancestors of the modern-day Chickahominy Indian Tribe began to appear in the Charles City County census records;
in 1870, a census revealed an enclave of Indians in New Kent County that is believed to be the beginning of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division;
other records were destroyed when the New Kent County courthouse was burned, leaving a State census as the only record covering that period;
in 1901, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe formed Samaria Baptist Church;
from 1901 to 1935, Chickahominy men were assessed a tribal tax so that their children could receive an education;
the Tribe used the proceeds from the tax to build the first Samaria Indian School, buy supplies, and pay a teacher’s salary;
in 1910, a 1-room school covering grades 1 through 8 was established in New Kent County for the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division;
during the period of 1920 through 1921, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division began forming a tribal government;
E.P. Bradby, the founder of the Tribe, was elected to be Chief;
in 1922, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church was organized;
in 1925, a certificate of incorporation was issued to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division;
in 1950, the 1-room Indian school in New Kent County was closed and students were bused to Samaria Indian School in Charles City County;
in 1967, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe and the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division lost their schools as a result of the required integration of students;
during the period of 1982 through 1984, Tsena Commocko Baptist Church built a new sanctuary to accommodate church growth;
in 1983 the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division was granted State recognition along with 5 other Virginia Indian tribes;
in 1985—
the Virginia Council on Indians was organized as a State agency; and
the Chickahominy Indian Tribe—Eastern Division was granted a seat on the Council;
in 1988, a nonprofit organization known as the United Indians of Virginia was formed; and
Chief Marvin Strongoak Bradby of the Eastern Band of the Chickahominy presently chairs the organization.