Category: Press

Montpelier Sparks National Backlash with Board Vote to Abandon Promise to Share Governance with Descendants of the Enslaved

MONTPELIER DESCENDANTS COMMITTEE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Greg Werkheiser, Attorney at Law Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC General Counsel to the Montpelier Descendants Committee Phone: (703)...

The Monacan Indian Nation’s Public Statement of Gratitude Upon Successful Resolution of the Fight to Save Rassawek

The Monacan Indian Nation’s Public Statement of Gratitude Upon Successful Resolution of the Fight to Save Rassawek By Kenneth Branham, Tribal Chief, and the Tribal...

Monacan Indian Nation Saves Historic Capital at Rassawek from Destruction

Media Advisory Contact: Greg Werkheiser, Attorney at Law Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC General Counsel to the Monacan Indian Nation Phone: (703) 408-2002 Email: greg@culturalheritagepartners.com Monacan...

As U.S. Supreme Court Considers Indian Child Welfare Act, Virginia Tribes Praise Attorney General’s Bold Affirmation of the Law’s Importance

Media Advisory Wednesday, January 12, 2022 Press Contact: Marion Werkheiser, Managing Partner, Attorney at Law Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC Mobile: (703) 489-6059 marion@culturalheritagepartners.com FOR IMMEDIATE...

CHP’s Tribal Nation Clients Celebrate State Budget Proposals for Ancestral Lands and Cultural Sites

Cultural Heritage Partners (CHP), legal and policy counsel to six federally recognized Tribal Nations in Virginia, joined Governor Ralph Northam, tribal chiefs, and state officials...

Executive Order Requires Consultation, Advances Tribal Sovereignty in Virginia

On November 18, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed an Executive Order that represents a major step in advancing the sovereignty of federally recognized Tribes...

Lawsuit seeks to halt Stoney from removing Richmond’s Confederate iconography; heritage group wants statues

As Confederate monuments come down in Richmond, an anonymous person is seeking to block Mayor Levar Stoney from removing the statues....

James River water study lacks transparency

The scene: A public hearing meeting at Zion Crossroads last Wednesday held by the James River Water Authority (JRWA). The topic: the proposed water intake...

Water Authority votes to move ahead on controversial Point of Fork site

Over objections of a vocal group of citizens, the James River Water Authority (JRWA) unanimously approved a motion to move forward with an application to...

Virginia Utility Proposes Pump Station on Sacred Monacan Indian Nation Site

A Virginia utility is proposing to build a raw water intake and pump station on a sacred Monacan Indian Nation heritage site. In a letter...

Monacan Nation will continue to fight

It has come to my attention that several of you are assuring your constituents that the Monacan Indian Nation will capitulate to the destruction of...

Monacans propose new water site

The Monacan Indian Nation says it wants to work with the James River Water Authority to determine if a site two miles upstream from the...

JRWA water project to go to Army Corp of Engineers

People packed the Spring Creek Clubhouse in Zion Crossroads for a meeting about the James River Water Authority’s project to bring water to Fluvanna and...

Despite opposition, JRWA still to pursue Rassawek site for water pump station

Despite 50 people speaking in opposition, the James River Water Authority will submit an application with a Monacan Indian Nation heritage site as the preferred...

Monacans Fight to Protect History and Culture

It’s been more than a decade since Louisa and Fluvanna Counties started planning a water pipeline from the James River to areas they hoped to...

Details of water authority response to alleged wrongdoing

The James River Water Authority has strongly denied allegations of improper conduct during an archeological dig near the site where Louisa County hopes to draw...

Opinion/Letter: Monacan site ought not be destroyed

The Monacan Indians have a rich and important history in Central Virginia that must be preserved. When I taught fourth grade at Stone-Robinson Elementary in...

Virginia’s Monacan tribe uses new federal status to take a stand for what could be its long-lost capital

No one doubts that layers of history lie at this spot southeast of Charlottesville where the Rivanna River flows into the James. Abandoned canal locks...