{"id":18294,"date":"2021-11-18T17:20:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T22:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=18294"},"modified":"2021-11-18T17:28:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T22:28:55","slug":"tribal-nations-welcome-formal-consultation-policy-in-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/18\/tribal-nations-welcome-formal-consultation-policy-in-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribal nations welcome formal consultation policy in Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Governor Northam to join leaders of Tribal Nations in Virginia for a special announcement<\/p>Posted by Governor of Virginia<\/a> on Thursday, November 18, 2021<\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D): Special Announcement with Tribal Nations – November 18, 2021<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Virginia Governor Issues Tribal Consultation Executive Order;\r\nFirst In Nation To Call For Tribal Consent<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, November 18, 2021<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe following is the text of a November 18, 2021, news release from Cultural Heritage Partners<\/a>, legal counsel for six of the seven federally-recognized Indian nations in Virginia.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nRICHMOND, Virginia — Governor Ralph Northam today signed an executive order establishing a first-in-the-nation process for identifying state permits<\/a> that may be denied without tribal consent. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nExecutive Order 82<\/a> requires formal consultation with Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth of Virginia when evaluating applications for state permits that protect environmental, historic, and cultural resources. While thirteen other states have consultation requirements with Tribes, Virginia\u2019s order goes further; it mandates a process through which Tribes will recommend permits that will not be granted without their consent. The inherent right of indigenous peoples to free, prior, and informed consent is widely acknowledged outside of the United States. Governor Northam, however, is the first Governor to urge his state to live up to these basic human rights principles for Tribal Nations. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nGovernor Northam joined with the Chiefs of the seven federally acknowledged Tribal Nations indigenous to Virginia, including the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, Monacan Indian Nation, Nansemond Indian Nation, Pamunkey Indian Tribe, Rappahannock Tribe, and Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe, as well as the leadership of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Historic Resources, and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to sign this Executive Order. This Order ensures the Commonwealth of Virginia provides opportunities for meaningful and culturally appropriate, written consultation with potentially impacted Tribal Nations when evaluating certain state permit applications for activities with potential impacts to environmental, cultural, and historic resources. \r\n

<\/p>\r\nLong before the English arrived in Jamestown in 1607, The Commonwealth of Virginia was home to Tribal Nations, where Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian speaking people flourished on these lands. And while the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation promised to respect boundaries of Tribal lands, the Virginia Colony, and the Commonwealth it became, sought to displace and erase these Nations and their members. This Executive Order for consultation is consistent with the Commonwealth\u2019s continuing obligations under the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation and part of a continuing effort to undue racist and assimilationist policies of the past. \r\n

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