The Monacan are an Indian tribe in Virginia, located in Amherst County, Virginia near Lynchburg, Virginia. As of 2005 there are approximately 1,400 members of the tribe. There are satellite groups in West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. This article is about the U.S. state. ... Amherst County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... Lynchburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The contemporary Monacan tribespeople claim to be descendants of an Eastern Siouan tribe of American Indians, first recorded in 1607 in Virginia, who are related to the Tutelo, Saponi and related peoples, as well as to the Catawba. Most early Monacans are believed to have fled white settlement, with a few remaining behind. There is no conclusive evidence connecting the historical Monacan tribe with the people who today claim to be their descendants.^{[citation needed]} Siouan is a family of related Native American languages in North America. ... Indigenous peoples in the United States are distinct groups of peoples who are indigenous to what is now states or territories of the United States of America. ... Year 1607 (MDCVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... TUTELO is a name classification referring to Indians who historically resided from the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia down to the valleys of the Mayo and Dan Rivers in North Carolina. ... Saponi is the name of one of the eastern Siouan tribes, related to the Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan and other eastern Siouan peoples, whose original homeland is in North Carolina and Virginia. ... Pre-contact distribution of the Catawba The Catawba (also known as Issa or Esaw) are a tribe of Native Americans, once considered one of the most powerful eastern Siouan tribes, that traditionally lived in the Southeast United States, along the border between North and South Carolina. ...

In the early 1980s, Peter Houck, a local phsyician, published a book in which he speculated that the free people of color in the region during the antebellum era were descendants of the Monacan tribe.^{[citation needed]} While this population had been claiming an Indian identity since the turn of the 20th century, this was the first instance of Monacan identification. Prior to Houck's book, most had claimed Cherokee ancestry, and many of the local families today continue to claim Cherokee instead of Monacan. In 1988, the Monacan Tribe incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and in 1989, the tribe was officially recognized by the State of Virginia. Other tribes recognized by the state include the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Nansemond, Pamunkey, Rappahannock, and Upper Mattaponi tribes. The Monacan Tribe is not recognized as an Indian tribe by the federal government. This article is about the U.S. state. ... This page details the status of Native American tribes living in the US state of Virginia. ...

In 1831-1833, William Johns, an ancestor of today's Monacans, purchased 452 acres of land on Bear Mountain, to be a settlement for the families related to him. In 1850, the census recorded 29 families.^{[citation needed]}

In 1924, the Virginia Racial Integrity Act required racial designations on legal documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates. Some Monacan ancestors were designated "colored" and others as "white," and were sometimes forbidden to marry on the basis of the state's miscegenation laws. Monacan ancestors in the U.S. military resisted taking the colored classificaiton.^{[citation needed]} The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 of Virginia, United States, was a law that required the racial makeup of persons to be recorded at birth, and prevented marriage between white persons and non-white persons. ...

Walter Ashby Plecker, who in 1912 became Virginia's first registrar of the Burea of Vital Statistics, altered the racial designations of Monacan ancestors without their knowledge.^{[citation needed]} He continued in the post for 34 years, and figures prominently today in the history of the tribe.

The Episcopal Church ran a primary school for the Monacan ancestors, at their community center at Bear Mountain near Amherst, Virginia. There was no high school education available. In 1963, Amherst County proposed a $30,000 bond to build a school for the mission community. The proposal was voted down, and 23 students applied for transfer to public schools. In Richmond, Virginia, the state capital, the applications were approved, and the old mission schoolhouse closed. This article is about the Episcopal Church in the United States. ... Nickname: Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars) Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: , Country State County Independent City Government  - Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (I) Area  - City 62. ...

Today the Monacan Tribe operates a yearly powwow in May, and a homecoming celebration in October. An ancient Monacan Village recreation is part of the tourist spot Natural Bridge (Virginia), in nearby Rockbridge County. This article is about a Native American gathering. ... Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County, Virginia circa 1909 Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County, Virginia is a geological formation in which Cedar Creek has carved out a gorge of the limestone mountainous terrain, forming an arch 215 ft (66 m) high with a span of 90 ft (27 m). ... Rockbridge County is a county located in the state of Virginia. ...

External links

• The Monacan Nation home page