January 30, 2018 - The United States now holds 573 distinct federally recognized tribal nations inside it's border.

Tribes in Virginia in line for big changes after gaining federal recognition

Posted: Tuesday, January 30, 2018    

 It's official -- there are now 573 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

 Some 400 years after welcoming the first settlers at Jamestown in Virginia, the Chickahominy Tribe, the Chickahominy Tribe - Eastern Division, the Monacan Nation, the Nansemond Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe and the Upper Mattaponi Tribe gained formal recognition of their status on Monday. That's when President Donald Trump signed H.R.984, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act, into law.

 “Today we celebrate a decade of hard work,” Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia), the sponsor of the House version of the bill, said in a press release on Monday. "Our ‘first contact' tribes of the Commonwealth of Virginia will finally receive the recognition they deserve."

 "Virginia’s tribes have loved and served this nation, and today our country is honoring them with the federal recognition they deserve," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), a former Democratic candidate for vice president and the sponsor of the Senate version of the measure, added in a post on Facebook.
Recognition, though, is more than symbolic, as the tribes will gain access to federal health care, education, housing, social service and other key programs. The figure could be substantial -- the Congressional Budget Office once put the cost at $78 million in the first four years of federal recognition, assuming lawmakers actually set aside the funds through the appropriations process.

 Click here for the whole story and photographs. 

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