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In January 2006, the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia sent a letter of intent to petition for State Tribal Recognition to the Virginia Council on Indians (VCI). A full petition was submitted to the VCI on October 17, 2006. The VCI named a Recognition Committee in November 2006. The Recognition Committee convened its first meeting in January 2007.
The process for State Tribal Recognition, by written criteria, was not instituted until 1989. The current written Criteria for Recognition were not ratified by the VCI until May 2006 and is now similar to the Federal Recognition Process used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The eight currently recognized Tribes in Virginia were granted state recognition prior to 1989 by resolutions in the State Legislature. They did not go through a written criteria process.
Six of the eight State Recognized Tribes, seated on the VCI, are currently seeking Federal Recognition though Congressional resolution. This would bypass the written Federal Criteria administered by the Bureau of Indian Affiars.
Please click on the section Petition Cover Letter. This October 2006 letter explains the Tribe’s position on the State Recognition Process.
The Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia is the only Tribe in Virginia which has ever submitted a fully documented petition to comply with a written criteria process through public review and scrutiny. Other Tribal entities have submitted letters of intent to petition but have not submitted any of the required genealogy, Tribal structure documents, etc.
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