West Virginia has an abundance of diversity not only with its flora but also with the people that live there. In the midst of this diverse state, there exists an “invisible” population of American Indians which comprises over 11,000 members and is represented by 85 tribal lineages, with Cherokee and Shawnee being the largest. Both the Appalachian American Indians of West Virginia (AAIWV) and the National American Indian Federation (NAIF) currently have three bills in legislation (HB2779, SB377 and SB406) which would provide long overdue statutory recognition for both populations. One major issue that the two Indian communities have to deal with while seeking state recognition is the official state position, which has been accepted for many years, that West Virginia was only a “hunting ground” and that there were no Indigenous Peoples living in the area when the white settlers came. However, there is significant historical evidence to refute this idea. The history of the American Indian communities in the state pre-dates the settlers. Prior to 1830, the land claims of the Cherokee and Shawnee were divided by the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers and extended into what is present-day West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 19:00:02 +0000
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