With Good Reason Radio » VA Indian Heritage

By Definition: The Racial Integrity Act of 1924

VFHwebdev — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:02:31 +0000

Passed at the height of the eugenics movement, the Racial Integrity Act proclaimed the existence of only two racial categories in Virginia—”colored” and white. The law stripped Native Americans, and members of other groups with dark skin, of their land, voting rights, and legal identity. David Smith (Longwood University) and anthropologist Helen Rountree (Old Dominion University), discuss the Act and its legacy. Also: anthropologist Jeff Hantman (University of Virginia) explains the absurdity of the ‘one drop’ rule and its effect on Native Virginians.

Photo of Monacan Indian children at recess, Jackson Davis Collection, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Want to dig deeper? Explore Encyclopedia Virginia:

Racial Integrity Laws of the 1920s

The "Discovery" of North America

VFHwebdev — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:37:57 +0000

When the British planted a cross and their flag on territory previously unclaimed by European nations, they were, Chief Justice John Marshall would later say, exercising a right of discovery that extended back to the 15^th-century colonization by Spain and Portugal of non-Christian lands. Historian Robert J. Miller and Karenne Wood (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) explain how this “discovery doctrine” has affected American Indian nations from 1607 to today. Also: Encyclopedia Virginia is an authoritative and dynamic online resource that explores the people, places, and history of the Commonwealth. John Kneebone (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Matthew Gibson (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) discuss the how Encyclopedia Virginia provides a platform for discovering and learning about Virginia.

Middle Eastern Melodies

cms4tf — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:00:56 +0000

Most Americans are only superficially acquainted with Middle Eastern music, as presented in movie soundtracks. However, music from the Arabic speaking countries is very diverse and is integral to the spiritual life of the people who listen to it. Anne Rasmussen (The College of William and Mary) leads an ensemble of music students who perform Middle Eastern melodies. On this show, she plays traditional instruments like the ‘Ud” (an 11-stringed lute) and the ‘Riqq’ (a percussion instrument).

Also: Craig Naylor (University of Mary Washington) conducts musical concerts by contemporary Native American composers and is himself a composer who is influenced by this country’s Native culture.

Global Jamestown and the Poles

cms4tf — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 05:00:27 +0000

Patrick Griffin (University of Virginia) says Jamestown was in the vanguard of England’s participation in a growing global economy. And, says James Horn (College of William and Mary), this new venture took advantage of England’s increased economic links to other nations. The Virginia Company sought out skilled Polish craftsmen, among other nationalities, to help build the colony at Jamestown. John Radzilowski (University of St. Thomas) says the Poles not only made essential contributions to daily life in Jamestown, they were also involved in rescuing Captain John Smith from an Indian attack and became the first non-English to vote for members of the representative assembly.

This is the final episode in a series of five WGR programs–produced with special support from the Rosenstiel Foundation–devoted to “New Perspectives on Jamestown” and leading up to 2007 and the 400th anniversary of the founding of the settlement.

Endangered Languages

cms4tf — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 05:00:29 +0000

On average one language disappears every two weeks on this planet and by the end of the century, half of the world’s languages will be gone. Linguist Jack Martin (The College of William & Mary) discusses why languages disappear and what can be done to preserve these languages, particularly the dialects of Native Americans.

Also: Historian Gilmer Blackburn (University of Virginia College at Wise) says the Scots-Irish who settled much of Virginia were neither Scottish nor Irish but independent, contentious individuals whose contributions to society have gone largely unnoticed.

Jamestown: What Pocahontas Saw

cms4tf — Sat, 14 Jan 2006 05:00:37 +0000

The story of Pocahontas has been told and retold for 400 years, from Captain John Smith’s early letters to director Terrence Malick’s latest film, The New World . In a lively discussion, historians Helen Rountree (Old Dominion University) and Camilla Townsend (Colgate University) deconstruct and demystify the legend of Pocahontas and, in doing so, paint an engrossing picture of Indian life in the early 1600s.

Also: Virginia Indians reflect on Jamestown in the context of their history and tradition.

[With special support from the Rosenstiel Foundation, “With Good Reason” will devote five programs to "New Perspectives on Jamestown ," leading up to 2007 and the 400 th anniversary of the founding of the settlement.]

Jamestown: The First Americans

cms4tf — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 05:00:55 +0000

At the time of the Jamestown Colony, Powhatan had forged a complexly organized paramount chiefdom on the coastal plain of Virginia that numbered approximately thirty tribes. Today’s descendants of these tribes and their allies have strong opinions about the upcoming Jamestown quadricentennial. Chiefs Stephen Adkins (Chickahominy) and Kenneth Adams (Upper Mattaponi) discuss historical and present-day issues facing Virginia’s Indians.

Also: Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl (Christopher Newport University) will play and discuss the music of the Native American flute, used by the indigenous peoples of the Plains and Southwest.

(Support for this program comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities “We the People” initiative.)

Werowocomoco Unearthed

cms4tf — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 05:00:24 +0000

When Robert and Lynn Ripley purchased a 300-acre farm in Gloucester County, they knew that archaeologists suspected it was once the home of Powhatan, the Indian chief who reigned as the first English settlers moved into Virginia. Researchers recently confirmed that the site is indeed the former village of Werowocomoco. Scholar Martin Gallivan (William & Mary) discusses the significance of the discovery.

Also featured: What if the people of Jamestown had adopted some of the values and lifestyles of their Indian neighbors? That’s the question Margaret Holmes Williamson (Mary Washington College) asks in her new book Powhatan Lords of Life and Death: Command and Consent in Seventeenth-Century Virginia.

Lewis and Clark and Native Americans

cms4tf — Sat, 28 Dec 2002 05:00:10 +0000

The first Americans to cross the continent knew less about their destination than the first men who landed on the moon. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find a direct route from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, the expedition made diplomatic connections with Indian tribes, encountered countless new plants and animals, and persevered through the toughest wilderness. Historian Peter Onuf (University of Virginia) explains Jefferson’s views of American expansion. Historian Dan Thorp (Virginia Tech) examines the explorers’ relationship with Native Americans.

Ten Thousand Virginia Winters

cms4tf — Sat, 23 Dec 2000 05:00:55 +0000

As the air turns frigid, we offer the perfect reason to sit by the fire. Our tales of winters past in the Old Dominion may make you wonder whether it is, indeed, cold outside. Virginians of old witnessed a frozen Chesapeake Bay, snow in June and blizzards with 10-foot drifts. Anthropologist Jim Jordan (Longwood University) describes the winters for some of the state’s oldest inhabitants, the Native Americans who inhabited these lands 10,000 years ago. Archeologist Dennis Blanton (William & Mary) describes efforts to better understand Virginia’s long-term climate patterns by looking at diaries and newspapers from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Clovis: The First Americans?

cms4tf — Sat, 05 Aug 2000 05:00:49 +0000

Since the 1930s, scientists have claimed the first Americans were Asian hunters who walked across the Bering Strait on a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska . They called these people Clovis, for the site in New Mexico where archaeologists first discovered their artifacts. And they suggested these first inhabitants were direct ancestors of Native Americans. But new evidence from archeological digs in such places as Chile, Pennsylvania and even Virginia is throwing that theory into question. Archaeologist Cliff Boyd (Radford University) discusses the latest thought on the first Americans.

Also featured: A visit to Cactus Hill in Virginia, where archaeologists believe they’ve found artifacts pre-dating those of Clovis.

Monacans and Melungeons: Forgotten People in Virginia

cms4tf — Sat, 08 Jul 2000 05:00:10 +0000

Until recent years, Virginia’s Indian culture was kept invisible. But now the Monacan Indians are experiencing a cultural rebirth, aided by archeological discoveries that shed light on the lives of their ancestors thousands of years ago. Anthropologist Jeff Hantman (University of Virginia) discusses his work at a Monacan village site.

Also featured: Brent Kennedy (University of Virginia’s College at Wise) talks about the Melungeons’ search for identity and community.