Monacan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For people from Monaco (Monegasques), see Demographics of Monaco
The Monacan are an Indian tribe in Virginia, located in Amherst County, Virginia near Lynchburg, Virginia. As of 2005 there are approximately 1,400 members of the tribe. There are satellite groups in West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio.
The contemporary Monacan tribespeople claim to be descendants of an Eastern Siouan tribe of American Indians, first recorded in 1607 in Virginia, who are related to the Tutelo, Saponi and related peoples, as well as to the Catawba. Most early Monacans are believed to have fled white settlement, with a few remaining behind. There is no conclusive evidence connecting the historical Monacan tribe with the people who today claim to be their descendants.
In the early 1980s, Peter Houck, a local phsyician, published a book in which he speculated that the free people of color in the region during the antebellum era were descendants of the Monacan tribe. While this population had been claiming an Indian identity since the turn of the 20th century, this was the first instance of Monacan identification. Prior to Houck's book, most had claimed Cherokee ancestry, and many of the local families today continue to claim Cherokee instead of Monacan. In 1988, the Monacan Tribe incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and in 1989, the tribe was officially recognized by the State of Virginia. Other tribes recognized by the state include the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Nansemond, Pamunkey, Rappahannock, and Upper Mattaponi tribes. The Monacan Tribe is not recognized as an Indian tribe by the federal government.
In 1831-1833, William Johns, an ancestor of today's Monacans, purchased 452 acres of land on Bear Mountain, to be a settlement for the families related to him. In 1850, the census recorded 29 families.
In 1924, the Virginia Racial Integrity Act removed the racial designation "Indian" on legal documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates. Monacan ancestors were designated "colored" and others as "white," and were sometimes forbidden to marry on the basis of the state's miscegenation laws. Monacan ancestors in the U.S. military resisted taking the colored classificaiton.
Walter Ashby Plecker, who in 1912 became Virginia's first registrar of the Burea of Vital Statistics, altered the racial designations of Monacan ancestors without their knowledge. He continued in the post for 34 years, and figures prominently today in the history of the tribe.
The Episcopal Church ran a primary school for the Monacan ancestors, at their community center at Bear Mountain near Amherst, Virginia. There was no high school education available. In 1963, Amherst County proposed a $30,000 bond to build a school for the mission community. The proposal was voted down, and 23 students applied for transfer to public schools. In Richmond, Virginia, the state capital, the applications were approved, and the old mission schoolhouse closed.
Today the Monacan Tribe operates a yearly powwow in May, and a homecoming celebration in October. An ancient Monacan Village recreation is part of the tourist spot Natural Bridge (Virginia), in nearby Rockbridge County.
