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Resolved Case

Rassawek SAVED

  • Victory — In March 2022, after a four-year battle, the Water Authority agreed to an alternate route, sparing Rassawek.

Further Resources

In 2017 JRWA, a joint initiative of Fluvanna and Louisa counties, announced without consulting the Nation that it would develop its project on and thereby destroy a site first documented by Captain John Smith in 1612 as “the chiefest town” in the Monacan territory, which covered half of what is today Virginia. Monacans occupied Rassawek through 200 generations, beginning 4,730 years ago. Beginning in the 1880s, the Smithsonian documented the important archaeological resources and extensive human burials at Rassawek.

The resulting highly contentious four-year battle drew national attention and the involvement of tens of thousands of private citizens and organizations representing millions of American Indians and historic preservationists. Soon after, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Rassawek to its annual list of the country’s 11 Most Endangered historic sites. JRWA took a pause. They consented to hire archaeologists trusted by the Nation, and the resulting investigative report showed little risk of encountering ancestral remains on the project alternative supported by the Nation.

On March 16, 2022, the Nation provided JRWA a letter officially supporting the project at the alternative site. JRWA, which for years insisted that no viable siting alternatives existed, voted unanimously to abandon their plans in favor of building on an alternative route two miles from Rassawek.

This page memorializes the details of this fight and the extensive support from across the nation that helped reach this resolution. Documents are provided as an archive and have not been kept updated.

Background
  • One page summary about the controversy, and why Rassawek is important (last updated September 23, 2020)
  • Timeline to date (last updated September 23, 2020)
  • Press release about public opposition to the James River Water Authority permit application (last June 8, 2020)
  • Most recent comments submitted about the project by the Nation with appendices (large file, last updated June 7, 2020)
  • Sworn Declaration of Eric Mai, former employee of Circa~ Cultural Resource Management, LLC, detailing archaeological misconduct at Rassawek (October 16, 2019)
  • Letter from Army Corps of Engineers to JRWA stating that the Corps will not authorize the proposed project under a nationwide permit and will now require JRWA to submit a standard individual permit application. (September 10, 2019)
  • Letter from DHR notifying JRWA that their burial permit application must include a revised research and data recovery plan. The plan must be developed by a qualified archaeological consultant and meet with approval from both DHR and the Monacan Indian Nation. (September 6, 2019)
  • This Land Speaks: Virginia Tech online exhibit about the Monacan people and the importance of Rassawek
  • Most recent comments submitted in response to the James River Water Authority individual permit application (large file, last updated June 7, 2020)
  • Letter to the JRWA requesting consideration of the Forsyth alternative route
  • Open Letter from Monacan Chief Kenneth Branham to the Fluvanna and Louisa County Boards of Supervisors (March 5, 2020)
  • Analysis of the JRWA’s flawed and selective investigation of itself (January 30, 2020)
  • Letter to the Army Corps of Engineers notifying them of documents that show that JRWA approved misconduct at Rassawek (December 16, 2019)
  • Open Letter to the Louisa and Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors Calling for an Independent Investigation of JRWA and Consultants at Rassawek (December 18, 2019)
  • Media Advisory: Rassawek Revelations Disqualify JRWA from Receiving Federal Permit (Oct. 24, 2019)
  • Letter to the Army Corps of Engineers notifying them anticipatory demolition has taken place in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Corps will be in violation of federal law if it grants a permit to JRWA. (October 21, 2019)
  • Remarks delivered at August 13, 2019 JRWA public meeting outlining the six mistakes JRWA has made to create this unfortunate situation
  • Remarks delivered at the Army Corps of Engineers consulting party meeting on August 9, 2019 detailing the multiple failures of the Corps’s permitting process to date
  • Comments of the Tribe urging the Army Corps of Engineers to require an individual permit instead of a nationwide permit, and to perform a legally required analysis of alternative locations to put the pump station (June 5, 2019)
  • Comments of the Tribe urging the Department of Historic Resources to deny the permit application from JRWA to dig up Monacan burials (July 23, 2019)
  • Letter from the National Congress of American Indians opposing issuance of the JRWA permit (June 7, 2020).
  • Resolution from the United Southern and Eastern Tribes urging preservation of Rassawek and requesting that the Corps find the project not in the public interest (June 5, 2020).
  • Letter from the Upper Mattaponi Tribe (May 7, 2020).
  • Letter from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe (May 6, 2020).
  • Board Resolution from the Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes affirming the importance of human burial places and asking the federal and state governments to ensure appropriate processes are followed (July 23, 2019).
  • Public letter of support signed by more than 3,600 individuals and organizations asking the Corps and DHR to deny permits to this project
  • Letter from the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, encouraging the Army Corps to reconsider its approach, and supporting the Monacans’ concerns (August 10, 2020)
  • Letter from the City of Richmond opposing the project (June 5, 2020).
  • Letter from Congressman Donald McEachin requesting an EIS and a public hearing (June 6, 2020).
  • Transcript of the March 11 2020 Meeting of the James River Water Authority, where around 100 people attended and dozens of Fluvanna and Louisa County residents spoke out unanimously against the project.
  • Letter from Preservation Virginia and the Southern Environmental Law Center opposing the project and requesting an EIS and a public hearing (June 4, 2020).
  • Letter from former Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Kathleen Kilpatrick (June 4, 2020).
  • Letter from the retired Director of the Louisa County Historical Society, Elaine Taylor (May 29, 2020).
  • Letter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation (May 7, 2020).
  • Letter from the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Committee on Indian Affairs (April 10, 2020).
  • Letter from the Southern Environmental Law Center and Preservation Virginia requesting an Environmental Impact Statement for the JRWA project (March 5, 2020).
  • Letter from Southern Environmental Law Center and Preservation Virginia explaining why JRWA must select another site (February 3, 2020)
  • Episcopal Resolution Requesting Reconsideration of Water Intake Site to Avoid Monacan Nation Ancestral Village and Grave Sites and to Provide Improved Protection of Graves of Native American and Enslaved People (November 16, 2019)
  • Letter from the Council of Virginia Archaeologists requesting the Corps review the project under an individual permit, incorporate archaeological peer review, and improve the Treatment Plan (September 9, 2019).
  • Letter from Preservation Virginia expressing concern with the review process for the project and with the planned agreement documents (June 5, 2019).
  • Letter from Preservation Virginia expressing concerns about the project and planned agreement documents (December 21, 2018).
  • Letter from Fluvanna Historical Society opposing the finalization of the planned agreement documents (December 14, 2018).
  • Letter from Virginia Canals & Navigation Society requesting that the Army Corps deny a permit for the JRWA project (December 21, 2018).
  • PAYWALLED

Dozens Gather to Protest Planned Use of Sacred Monacan Land, CBS-19, August 13, 2019 (no longer accessible)DEAD LINK