The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing September 25 on a bill to recognize six Virginia tribes, The Washington Times reports.

The hearing on the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act comes a day before Congress adjourns before the November election. "We know we're up against pretty tall odds right now, because time is running out," Wayne Adkins, an assistant chief with the Chickahominy Tribe and president of the Virginia Indian Tribal Alliance for Life, told the paper. "Being an election year, too, it's just going to be difficult."

Key members of the committee are reluctant to pass legislative recognition bills. But Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the current chairman, and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the immediate past chairman, have acknowledged special circumstances in the Virginia case.

The tribes are in a unique position because state law and policy forbade people from identifying themselves as Indian. Records that could help the tribes build a petition if they are forced to go to the Bureau of Indian Affairs have been destroyed.

Get the Story:
Indian tribes closest yet in federal recognition bid (The Washington Times 9/15)

Recognition Bill:
Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act (H.R.1294)

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Senate urged to act on Virginia recognition bill (7/2)
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Virginia tribes gain new backing on recognition bill (10/17)
Column: Virginia recognition bill stalled in Senate (07/30)
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No rush for Virginia recognition bill in Senate (5/10)
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