Media Advisory Contact: Greg Werkheiser, Attorney at Law Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC General Counsel to the Monacan Indian Nation Phone: (703) 408-2002 Email:
Media Advisory Wednesday, January 12, 2022 Press Contact: Marion Werkheiser, Managing Partner, Attorney at Law Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC Mobile: (703) 489-6059 marion@culturalheritagepartners.com FOR IMMEDIATE
Cultural Heritage Partners (CHP), legal and policy counsel to six federally recognized Tribal Nations in Virginia, joined Governor Ralph Northam, tribal chiefs, and state officials
On November 18, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed an Executive Order that represents a major step in advancing the sovereignty of federally recognized Tribes
As Confederate monuments come down in Richmond, an anonymous person is seeking to block Mayor Levar Stoney from removing the statues.
The scene: A public hearing meeting at Zion Crossroads last Wednesday held by the James River Water Authority (JRWA). The topic: the proposed water intake and pumping station to be built in Fluvanna County on the site of the historical village of the Monacan Indian Nation known as Rassawek.
Over objections of a vocal group of citizens, the James River Water Authority (JRWA) unanimously approved a motion to move forward with an application to the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a water pumping station atop a site the Monacan Indian Nation believes to be the remains of their historic capital of Rassawek.
A Virginia utility is proposing to build a raw water intake and pump station on a sacred Monacan Indian Nation heritage site. In a letter to the James River Water Authority and local leaders, SELC and Preservation Virginia urged the utility to select an alternative location.
It has come to my attention that several of you are assuring your constituents that the Monacan Indian Nation will capitulate to the destruction of its historic capital at Rassawek on Point of Fork if the James River Water Authority “writes a big enough check to the Indians.”
The Monacan Indian Nation says it wants to work with the James River Water Authority to determine if a site two miles upstream from the planned pump station and water pipeline is a reasonable alternative.
People packed the Spring Creek Clubhouse in Zion Crossroads for a meeting about the James River Water Authority’s project to bring water to Fluvanna and Louisa counties on Wednesday. The James River Water Authority Board voted to move forward on its water project to bring a water supply from the James River to the Zion Crossroads area of Louisa and Fluvanna counties.
Despite 50 people speaking in opposition, the James River Water Authority will submit an application with a Monacan Indian Nation heritage site as the preferred location for a proposed raw water intake and pump station in Fluvanna County.
It’s been more than a decade since Louisa and Fluvanna Counties started planning a water pipeline from the James River to areas they hoped to develop, and Wednesday the local water authority will vote on where to build an essential pumping station.
The James River Water Authority has strongly denied allegations of improper conduct during an archeological dig near the site where Louisa County hopes to draw its future public water supply.
The Monacan Indians have a rich and important history in Central Virginia that must be preserved. When I taught fourth grade at Stone-Robinson Elementary in Albemarle County, my students were interested to know about the Monacan people, and how they lived along the Rivanna River behind our school.
No one doubts that layers of history lie at this spot southeast of Charlottesville where the Rivanna River flows into the James. Abandoned canal locks loom like castle walls; Revolution-era buildings stand in ruins nearby.
The Monacan Indian Nation is calling on the Fluvanna and Louisa Boards of Supervisors to begin a third-party, independent investigation into claims of mismanagement of the archaeological survey at Point of Fork.
The fundamental question: Will Rassawek, considered the historic site of the Monacan headquarters, be preserved; or will it be used for a planned water intake and pump station that will help supply water from the James River to the Zion Crossroads development area of Louisa and Fluvanna counties?
Firing the latest salvo in the battle over Louisa County’s future public water supply, the Monacan Indian Nation asked the Louisa and Fluvanna county boards of supervisors to hire a third party to investigate the actions of the James River Water Authority.
The Monacan Indian Nation wants elected officials in Louisa and Fluvanna counties to seek an independent investigation of consultants on a contentious water project.