(CNN) The Rappahannock Tribe, a Native Tribe in Virginia, has reacquired 465 acres of sacred land at Fones Cliff.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams celebrated the tribe's reacquisiton of the land Friday, according to a press release from the Department of the Interior.
"We have worked for many years to restore this sacred place to the Tribe," said Rappahannock Tribe Chief Anne Richardson, according to the Chesapeake Conservancy . "With eagles being prayer messengers, this area where they gather has always been a place of natural, cultural and spiritual importance."
Fones Cliff is the ancestral home of the tribe, located on the eastern side of the Rappahannock River in Virginia. The area, located inside the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, will be publicly accessible and placed in trust with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Tribe plans to educate the public about their history by constructing a replica 16th-century village and expand their "Return to the River" program, which trains Tribal youth in traditional river knowledge and practices.
"The Department is honored to join the Rappahannock Tribe in co-stewardship of this portion of their ancestral homeland. We look forward to drawing upon Tribal expertise and Indigenous knowledge in helping manage the area's wildlife and habitat," Secretary Haaland said in the statement. "This historic reacquisition underscores how Tribes, private landowners, and other stakeholders all play a central role in this Administration's work to ensure our conservation efforts are locally led and support communities' health and well-being."
patricksaurus on April 3rd, 2022 at 08:35 UTC »
Growing up in central Virginia, tons of stuff has Native American names, but there was essentially no Native population around to speak of. By contrast, there’s a huge amount of colonial stuff around, notably Williamsburg and Jamestown.
asianlikerice on April 3rd, 2022 at 08:09 UTC »
The land was acquired by a combination of public a private partnership: William Dodge Angle, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Walmart's Acres for America Program. If there is any question that the land is not going to be preserved and used for conservancy the land will be managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Echoeversky on April 3rd, 2022 at 05:21 UTC »
Now do half of Oklahoma.