Ani-Stohini/Unami

Ani-Stohini/Unami is a small Native American tribe located in seven counties of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and one county of North Carolina. They submitted a Petition for Federal Acknowledgment of Existence as an Indian Tribe through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the Department of the Interior in 1994^[1] but remain an unrecognized tribe. They are not recognized by the state of Virginia.^[2]

Members of the Ani-Stohini/Unami live in Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, Washington, Smyth, Patrick, and Floyd Counties in Virginia and Surry and Alleghany Counties in North Carolina.^[3]

History

The Ani-Stohini/Unami first petitioned the federal government for recognition in 1968. It renewed its effort in the 1990s after having been told that the original application materials had been destroyed during the 1971 takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) headquarters by activist members of the American Indian Movement (AIM). The tribe began the recognition process again, with a letter of intent to petition to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1994. The Ani-Stohini/Unami is officially listed as petitioner #150 of the tribes in the BAR process for federal acknowledgement and is so noted in the Federal Register. The tribe was represented at all six of the White House Conferences for non-federally recognized tribes by the Clinton Administration, helped to save the Indian Child Welfare Act, and successfully lobbied for federal protection of the Appalachian Mountain bog turtle through the Interior Department and Virginia Senator John Warner.

Most recently the tribe participated in the making of the motion picture Morning Song Way (2006).^[4] The unrated drama is in English and was directed by Charles Howard Thomas.^[5]

Language

The Ani-Stohini/Unami describe their language as Tla Wilano, which others have said is a dialect of Unami. According to Ethnologue, there are no known living fluent speakers of any Unami language; however, 308 people self-reported on the US Census that some Unami language is used at home.^[6] The International Encyclopedia of Linguistics lists Tla Wilano as an alternate name for Unami, which was formerly spoken in Oklahoma, New Jersey, and the lower Delaware Valley.^[7] The historical speakers of Unami were the Lenape, who are not documented as ever residing in Virginia or North Carolina.^[8] However, the Chisca Indians were most definitely documented as living in southwestern Virginia and it is not known what language or dialect they spoke.

Today

Today the Ani-Stohini/Unami live in mountainous rural communities. They are primarily employed in factories, agriculture, and food services. They suffer diabetes at a rate higher than in neighboring populations. Most of the people of the tribe have known each other all of their lives and live where their ancestors lived. They have never applied for state recognition but have been seeking Federal Recognition since 1968. With the recent deaths of elders Myrtle Marsh and Caroline Frank, and the most recent passing of Richard Marshal, three seats remain empty on the tribal council. The remaining occupied seats are: Tim Cowe, Mike Carrico, Maxie Davis, and Mildred Marshall(acting chairwoman).

Notes

References

• Frawley, William, ed. International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-19513-977-8.