Federal recognition granted to Virginia’s Pamunkey Indian tribe

NORFOLK,Va.— The Department of the Interior granted federal recognition to a Virginia Indian tribe for the first time on Thursday, more than 400 years after the first permanent English settlers encountered those Indians.

The federal designation allows the Pamunkey Indian tribe to receive certain federal benefits on medical care, housing and education, among other things. That tribe is the second recognized since President Barack Obama took office.

The recognition leaves open the possibility of the tribe seeking a casino through a separate approval process, though the 200-member tribe said it has no plans to do so.

“We’re looking at all economic opportunities, but we have nothing on the table right now,” said Bob Gray, the Pamunkey’s assistant chief.

Still, the tribe’s application was opposed by MGM Resorts, which is building a casino at the National Harbor outside the nation’s capital in Maryland. The recognition also was opposed by the Virginia Petroleum and Grocery Association, which expressed concerns about the tribe selling gas and cigarettes tax-free to non-tribal members.

The Pamunkey’s 1,200acre reservation is about 25 miles east of Richmond on the Pamunkey River in King William County.

Nationwide, there are 566 federal recognized tribes, and hundreds more want to join their ranks.

The Pamunkey was already recognized by Virginia’s government, and each Thanksgiving the tribe’s chief visits the governor of Virginia in a tribute ceremony that recalls a treaty signed in 1677 between the colony’s governor and several Indian leaders, including the Pamunkey.

The tribe was considered the most powerful in the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom, which greeted English settlers at Jamestown, and claims Pocahontas among its lineage.