Virginia Briefing
Bill Advances to Recognize Tribes; Man Held in Sex Assault; Residents to Be Notified of Breach
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U.S. HOUSE
Bill Advances to Recognize 6 Tribes
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation yesterday to grant federal recognition to six Virginia Indian tribes. The voice vote came nearly two years after the House passed an identical bill to grant the tribes recognition on the 400th anniversary of the English landing at Jamestown and encounter with their ancestors.
The bill, which prohibits the tribes from setting up gambling casinos and denies them the usual sovereignty rights over legal, public safety and property matters, goes to the Senate, where it is backed by James Webb and Mark Warner, Democrats from Virginia. In 2007, despite support from Webb, the bill died in the Senate. Webb introduced companion legislation in the Senate yesterday after the House vote.
Federal recognition bills in recent years have rarely been granted. Lawmakers prefer tribes to be recognized through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) said yesterday that that process is not only "demeaning and dysfunctional" but unworkable for Virginia Indians.
The six tribes to be recognized under the House bill are the Chickahominy, Chickahominy Eastern Division, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Monacan and Nansemond. They were granted state recognition in the 1980s. Two other state-recognized tribes, the Pamunkey and Mattaponi, are seeking federal recognition through the BIA.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) called the House vote "a major step towards reconciling an historic wrong for Virginia and the nation."
-- Brigid Schulte
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
Man Held in Sex Assault at Facility
A Manassas man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 72-year-old woman who lived in the nursing home where he worked, Prince William County police said yesterday.
Homer C. Valdez, 35, a nurse's aide at a Manassas area facility, was arrested this week after authorities received a report May 27 that the woman had been assaulted. He is charged with one count of object sexual penetration and is being held without bond.
