At UVA, we are working as a community to engage in meaningful and reciprocal relations with sovereign Indigenous Nations and Tribal communities, especially the 11 sovereign nations of Virginia.
The Tribal Liaison position was created to serve two interconnected needs: one, to act as a resource for Tribal communities, especially the sovereign Nations, in their relationships with UVA, and second, to coordinate initiatives relating to Native American and Indigenous peoples across departments, schools, and administrative units at UVA. This includes building relationships and raising awareness in support of student, faculty, staff, and tribal community success.
Connect with the Tribal Liaison via email or phone.
Watch the Welcome to Monacan Country Video
The Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation partnered with the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection and Virginia Humanities to produce a video to acknowledge the Monacan Nation. Below is the 90-second Welcome to Monacan Country video.
If you are interested in screening this video, please email the Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation at minculturalfoundation@gmail.com. You can learn more about acknowledging indigenous custodians by visiting the Kluge-Ruhe website.
Join the Tribal Relations Mailing List
Upcoming Events
- 4/17/25/2025 2025 Virginia Indigenous Nations in Higher Education Webinar Series
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As an extension of the conversations started at the Virginia Indigenous Nations in Higher Education March 2025 Summit, the State Council of Higher Education, Virginia is kicking off this new VINHE resource offering with greetings and remarks from Virginia's Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation and an introduction to understanding sovereignty, specifically as it relates to higher education.
- 5/25 - 5/26/2025 Upper Mattaponi Pow-wow
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- 5/31 - 6/01/2025 Monacan Indian Nation Pow-wow
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Contact minpowwow@gmail.com for more information.
- 6/21/2025 Mattaponi Pow-wow
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For questions, call or email:
(804) 353-5908
powwow@mattaponi.gov
Opportunity Spotlight
Understanding Tribal Relations
- Federal and State Recognized Tribes in Virginia
To learn more about each of the federally or state-recognized tribes in Virginia, you can visit their websites for more information.
- Indian Country 101
Our team is working on assembling resources to help our community connect to our specific context. While that work is in progress we wanted to share information on a free online course related to tribal engagement from Conservation Training. If you are interested in learning more access their courses:
- IC 101 (a): Crash Course in Native History in the U.S.
- IC 101 (b): Tribal Governments Today
- IC 101 (c): Identity, Citizenship, and Culture
You can also learn more about some of the history specific to Virginia and UVA through the following:
- Library of Virginia Indigenous Perspectives - Tribal Voices
- Monacan Nation Receives Federal Recognition
- The Language Ghost: Linguistic Heritage and Collective Identity Among the Monacan Indians of Central Virginia
- UVA Morven Farm/"Indian Camp" Property
- Monacan Millennium: A Collaborative Archaeology and History of a Virginia Indian People
- Excerpt on Jefferson's Legacy and the "Doctrine of Discovery"
- Indigenous Peoples in Virginia (Virginia Encyclopedia)
- Resources for Educators
Leaders and citizens of tribal nations in Virginia have communicated an important goal of having opportunities for students in Virginia to engage with tribal histories, current tribal affairs, and the many contributions tribal nations are making toward a prosperous future for everyone in the Commonwealth.
The following resources may be of specific interest to current and future educators:
- Indigenous Studies and Education at UVA
The University of Virginia has undergraduate and graduate programs centering indigenous studies as well as several programs and centers that relate to supporting the advancement of Native American and Indigenous life at UVA.
- Indigenous Studies Minor (Undergraduate)
- Indigenous Studies Research Cluster (Graduate)
- Mellon Indigenous Art Program
- Black Indigenous Feminist Futures Institute
- Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
- Native American Student Union
- Native and Indigenous Relations Community @ UVA
- UVA Native/Indigenous Student Resources
- UVA Library American Indian and Indigenous Studies Guide
- SCHEV Virginia Indigenous Nations in Higher Education Collective
UVA is participating in a new effort through the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV). VINHE is a new collective convened by SCHEV that will serve as a conduit of communication and collaboration between higher education and the Commonwealth’s Tribal Nations. The collective is dedicated to supporting Indigenous access and equity in higher education through collaborative instruction, research, engagement, and capacity building activities. Members of the collective include representatives from tribal nations, higher education institutions, and other stakeholders and organizations.
There are currently six focus areas for the collective:
- Land and Watershed Management and Conservation
- Cultural Resources: History, Archives, Justice
- Preparation for, Access to, and Success in Higher Education
- Legal Issues, Infrastructure, and Business Development
- Embracing Tribal History in K-12 Education Standards
- Tribal Community Health
- National Native American/Indigenous Resources
- National Indian Education Association (NIEA)
- National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO)
- Southeastern Tribal Alliance for Repatriation and Reburial (STARR)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Bureau of Indian Education
- Indian Health Service
- U.S Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network
- Global Indigenous Data Alliance
- Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
- WeRNative.Org - For Native Youth, By Native Youth
- NIH Ethical Research Involving American Indian/Alaska Native Populations
Community Spotlight
State of Virginia Ombuds for Tribal Consultation
Kara Canaday, a citizen of the Chickahominy Tribe of Virginia, has accepted the 2024 inaugural role as the Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation. Kara will work directly under the Secretary of the Commonwealth- Virginia’s office that oversees government-to-government relationships between Tribal Nations and the Commonwealth, as well as facilitate ongoing consultation between the Commonwealth’s agencies for natural and historic resources with Virginia’s 4 state and 7 federally recognized tribes. Most recently, she coordinated the 347th annual Tax Tribute from the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Tribes to the Virginia Governor, Glenn Youngkin.
Prior to her current role, Kara received a master’s degree in special education from VCU and was a teacher and former CEO of the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium (VTEC). Kara says, “My personal goal, as a tribal citizen and lifelong Virginian, is to strengthen the government-to-government relationship between the tribes and the Commonwealth of Virginia. As an educator, I am uniquely positioned to help state officials understand our tribes’ rich culture, history, and way of life, fostering a deeper recognition that we too, are proud Virginians.“
You can learn more about Kara’s role from the Virginia code here under subsection B, and more about Kara’s tribe from the Chickahominy Tribe’s website.