Editorial: Reflecting on the role of indigenous people

There has long been debate about America’s celebration of Columbus Day, which commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas and has been a federal holiday since 1937. Activists, scholars and Native people argue that celebrating a European conqueror diminishes the contributions and even existence of Native Americans while glorifying imperialism.

Last year, the federal government agreed. In recognizing national Indigenous Peoples’ Day, President Joe Biden said: “We must never forget the centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation and terror wrought upon Native communities and Tribal Nations throughout our country. Today, we acknowledge the significant sacrifices made by Native peoples to this country — and recognize their many ongoing contributions to our nation.”

Monday marks national Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It’s a good time to reflect on the complicated and crucial role Native peoples have played in this country’s history — especially in Virginia, home to seven federally recognized tribes.

Early European settlers in Virginia had an uneasy relationship with the native Powhatan but survived the first winters only through their hospitality and help. That peaceful dynamic didn’t hold, however.

European contact resulted in devastating loss of life, disruption of tradition and loss of lands for indigenous peoples in the Americas, according to the National Museum of the American Indian, a Smithsonian institution. It is estimated that in the 130 years following first contact, Native America lost 95% of its population.

Many of those who survived were subjected to intense assimilation efforts. Hampton Roads shares a piece of this painful past. Between 1819 and 1969, the United States operated or supported 408 boarding schools across 37 states (or then-territories) — including one in Hampton — according to the first Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, released in May by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“This report confirms that the United States directly targeted American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children in the pursuit of a policy of cultural assimilation that coincided with Indian territorial dispossession,” it says.

In 1878, the government took a party of newly released Indian prisoners of war from Fort Marion in Florida to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia to receive an education, according to the report. These represented the first Indian students at Hampton, initiating an Indian education program that lasted until 1923.

Between 1878 and 1923, approximately 1,388 Indian students representing 65 Indian Tribes attended the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, which eventually became Hampton University.

Despite this dark past, there are efforts underway to reclaim native American culture and provide a better understanding of its people’s history.

Mattaponi Chief Lionel “Wise Spirit” Custalow recently launched Algonquin language classes for tribal members throughout the state as a way of connecting to their history. The tribe is located on a 150-acre reservation that stretches along the borders of the Mattaponi River in King William County.

“The Algonquin language here in Virginia was lost due to colonization and forced assimilation,” Chief Custalow said. “We were some of the first people on Turtle Island who encountered the first settlers and we sacrificed and lost nearly everything, including our language.”

And last year, Gov. Ralph Northam, Virginia Native American tribal chiefs and conservationists celebrated the opening of Machicomoco State Park in Gloucester County.

“It’s especially important that Virginia’s 40th state park is also our first state park dedicated to honoring and telling the story of Virginia’s first people,” Northam said.

Chickahominy Tribal Chief Stephen Adkins spoke on behalf of the 11 tribal communities in the state, addressing the importance of the park and its significance for indigenous people.

“Never, in its existence, has the commonwealth designated a site so replete with rich native history as Machicomoco,” Adkins said. “A site to be a venue for providing the public with experiential interpretations of the many historical and cultural aspects of early indigenous life.”

Monday is an opportunity for citizens to reflect on the many contributions and sacrifices made by indigenous people, both here in Virginia and across this great country.