In advance of our presentation at the November Meeting for Worship for Business, we share this information about organizations that we have thoroughly researched and propose to receive financial reparations from Richmond Friends Meeting. The suggested amounts are included.
Chief Wahunsenacawh’s (Chief Powhatan) Birthplace – $1,250.00
On the James River off Route 5 in Henrico County, this site has been documented as the birthplace village of Chief Wahunsenacawh and has been land sacred to Virginia’s Tribal Nations for millennia. County government approved a Canadian developer’s plans for a massive residential and business project on this site. Fighting this project and calling for land rematriation has galvanized Virginia tribes and garnered support from many allied organizations.
One action all of us can do immediately is to read, sign and share the petition created by the tribes
“By signing, you help defend a site that should endure—not disappear. Add your voice, share widely, and help protect a place that should never be sacrificed.”
DO NOT DONATE AT THIS WEBSITE! JUST SIGN THE PETITION AND SHARE!
Petition – https://www.change.org/p/save-the-birthplace-of-chief-powhatan-tree-hill-farm
Indigenous Conservation Council (ICC) – $1,250
The ICC is a coalition through which tribal nations from across the region can share and create resources to return to and reconnect with their ancestral landscapes. The group provides resources and infrastructure to assist tribes with rematriation of land, legal and sovereignty concerns, grant-writing, education, ecosystem restoration, and more.
The ICC serves as the fiscal sponsor for Chief Powhatan’s birthplace.
National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) – $1,500
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Quakers managed over 30 Indian schools in the US. This forced assimilation has created lasting cultural disruption, unresolved grief, and intergenerational trauma. In Virginia, the Hampton Normal & Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) was financially supported by Quakers. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is the leading national organization dedicated to advocating on behalf of Native peoples impacted by US Indian boarding school policies. They seek truth through education and research, justice through advocacy and policy, and healing through Indigenous teaching and traditional gatherings
Virginia Tribal Educational Consortium (VTEC) – $1,000
In 2019, Tribal Leaders from the Seven federally recognized Indian Nations across Virginia came together to create the Virginia Tribal Educational Consortium to “build the leadership capacity of our Tribal Nations to support academic excellence for our children, cultural awareness, and historical accuracy. VTEC is committed to the facilitation of accurate Virginia Indian history, sovereignty, self-determination, and educational opportunities.”