>>All of American history started here in Virginia.

>>If you were ever gonna get interested in history, or take a look around Virginia, this is the year that you're gonna wanna do it.

(gentle music) >>This building was the only building in Lottsburg that supported education for the Black community.

(gentle music) >>We can't do it alone.

It's rewarding, but it's also complicated.

>>Real sovereignty, I look at it as a goal.

>>Each of the tribes has their own goals.

They are their own nation.

>>Our story here in America is so much more complex and fascinating than we ever get to learn in a classroom, and I think it's important to be curious about why that is.

(bright music) >>I'm compelled to just help out, do what I can do.

>>Our narrative is our narrative.

We wanna be the ones who tell other people what our story is.

♪ In the heartland ♪ ♪ We rely on ourselves and one another ♪ ♪ Hand in hand we must stand ♪ ♪ In the heartland ♪ >>This program was made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

And by: (song playing) >>The Pamunkey Tribe- we were the largest tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy, and we had villages on both sides of the Pamunkey and the Mattaponi.

(song continues playing) >>We've been here for 15,000 years.

The land that we're on right now was always Pamunkey land.

>>But the English first landed here in 1607 with John Smith.

He found Opechancanough, or Opechancanough found him, and captured him and took him down to Werowocomoco.

And that's where they claim the story happened where Pocahontas saved his life.

And we don't know if that actually happened, but we do know that Opechancanough took John Smith to show Powhatan.

Powhatan, he thought he monopolized the trade with the English.

And then we would become wealthy as a nation amongst the other Indian nations in the country.

His half-brother, Opechancanough, who knew about the English 'cause he spent time in Europe, but he couldn't talk Powhatan into it.

Powhatan was kind of blind.

(song playing) >>We were kind of ground zero for English colonization here in America.

There's only 500 of us left in the world.

>>At one time, there's only five families on the reservation.

It's been a long struggle.

(bright music) >>We are in our strategic planning process with some consultants.

This morning, we're having our elders breakfast.

(song playing) Kristen made an awesome biscuits and gravy.

(laughs) >>Is the pow wow still happening?

>>It's still happening, but my brother said he's not going to do it.

>>His tent's collapsed.

>>Oh, Jesus.

>>Overnight.

(laughs) ♪ Hold me, make it go away ♪ >>He wants to come help cook.

Is that okay?

♪ Hold me 'til the end of day ♪ >>My dad, his mother was born here on the reservation.

Her house is actually that house right over there.

♪ 'Til I fall asleep and eat catfish in my dreams ♪ >>I've been here for 19 years, but used to come down here to visit my grandfather.

He was born here in 1901.

Actually, when he was born here, he wasn't a US citizen because the Indians didn't get citizenship until 1924.

>>My grandfather, when he was little, his father would hook up a horse and buggy and go down and ride the ferry 'cause there was no bridges on these rivers back then.

>>We're extremely rural.

During the week, there's not a lot happening.

We're just creating space for opportunities for togetherness.

(song playing) ♪ Hold me, tell me what you see ♪ ♪ Hold me, make it go away ♪ ♪ Hold me 'til the end of day ♪ >>Being considered an elder is kind of a weird thing to be honest.

'Cause when we moved here, I was 57.

I wasn't an elder.

♪ Hold me, tell me what you see ♪ >>Then all if a sudden, there's not a whole lot of people here that are older than me.

♪ Hold me, make it go away ♪ >>We worked so hard to carry our tribe forward.

♪ Hold me 'til the end of day ♪ >>I think there's a responsibility to make sure that things get preserved.

>>In the wonderful and glorious name of Jesus You're the God that prepared that heaven for us where you tell us I have not seen nor ear heard nor has it in it in the heart of man.

And one day the Lord, we will see that beautiful heaven.

And we thank you, Lord.

Oh, Lamb of God.

In Christ's name, we pray.

Amen!

>>Amen.

(background chatter) >>The interesting thing about this tribe is even though it's one of the most historically significant tribes in American history and with the oldest reservation in the nation, they only got federal recognition in 2016.

>>We thought we were federally recognized.

We're in all the history books.

Our treaty was with England.

So our treaty was before America became a nation.

So we were here on a reservation for a hundred years before America was even founded.

We should have been the first tribe that they recognized in the country.

(background chatter) >>The tribes out west have so much infrastructure because they've been recognized for so long.

This community for the past 350 years have had to protect their own sovereignty.

The council's made up of the chief and seven council members, so there's eight total.

>>I don't spend too much time in tribal office because I try to stay out of the way.

I've never worked in an office situation.

I worked construction my whole life and they talk in the office about TOS and PTO and RFPs, and I don't know what they're talking about.

(background chatter) A lot of people think sovereignty is an invisible force field that follows Indians all over.

You know, when we step off the reservation, we have to live by the same rules everybody else does.

I look at sovereignty as a goal.

You know, they say we're a sovereign nation.

Well... Maybe in theory.

>>Seven federally recognized tribes in Virginia are new, and the Commonwealth doesn't know how to deal with the tribes.

>>We have state representatives that have no idea that they're even representing Native American tribes.

>>We are part of America.

I'm a citizen of both.

And 250 years is a long time.

But it's not as long as 10,000 years.

I have mixed feelings about celebrating 250 years of... Of what?

We really need to make our own record of history and teach it to our children.

>>Talk about the 250 anniversary of the United States.

In 2027, it's a 350-year anniversary of the Treaty of the Middle Plantation.

And so this reservation will be 350 years old next year.

>>I think people should know about the truth of our history because it's fascinating.

The Founding Fathers were inspired by the Haudenosaunee.

Learning from an Indigenous government and bringing that into this new space is a piece that's often left out.

You're not just talking about Founding Fathers who came and invented this new way of being.

They learned it.

They learned from this complex Indigenous way of governance, way of being and thinking.

(serene music) Our first natives are inspiring this incredible revolutionary way of governing.

And the next second, they're savages.

(tribal music) We're going to the Upper Mattaponi Powwow.

But first we are going to Kent's Supermarket to get gas.

We're trying to get here so early to make breakfast.

It slipped my mind.

And then of course, we're so far out.

But I think we're just going to put good energy out.

>>There's three major tribes here in King William.

You know, we all have this close history together and we all at some point in time worked really well together.

>>They got a really good crowd!

(tribal music) (background chatter) A time to be proud, be native, to see folks you may not have seen in a while.

MC: Two minute call for drum warm-up... >>As Chief, I try to, you know, go to all the powwows and the big meetings and functions.

Us and Mattaponi, we're the two tribes that have reservations in Virginia.

We were kind of isolated over the centuries from some of the other tribes.

I do my best to try to, you know, make my rounds.

>>This is being a line of our first four songs that will be part of our protocol.

And this is why we have this powwow etiquette that originated on the Plains.

But now, we have gatherings that take place like this all over the country.

What we do here is social.

This is why we can have youth visiting public come and be a part of this.

Our 37th Annual Celebration!

(tribal music) >>There's a sense of community here that is based on the land for all of the Indian tribes here.

Most of them had land and reservations and they lost them.

But now, they're all trying to come back.

They live in communities.

(instrumental music) >>When you leave here today, take that promise that was given to you by God and exercise your rights to seek life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

(song playing) >>A common refrain that came out of the federal recognition process is we are still here.

♪ I'm from Pamunkey ♪ ♪ Got no one for my own, so I came here looking for you.

♪ ♪ If you be my honey, I will be your sugar pie ♪ >>It's important.

We'll show how important our culture is, how important our history is when it comes to everyone, not just us.

>>Since our federal recognition, a lot of things have changed.

I get really frustrated With the bureaucracy of it all.

But in the long run, it's really beneficial to the tribe.

♪ I'm from Onondaga ♪ ♪ Got no one for my own ♪ (background chatter) >>We are able to direct where our future goes (song playing) >>This tribe specifically has had the endurance that it had in spite of everything.

In spite of Bacon's Rebellion, where they tried to stomp out all the Natives in Virginia.

You understand why a big part of it is preserving the sovereignty, preserving who they are as a people against all odds.

(song playing) (soft music) >>It's very popular, you know, any type of mobile exhibit.

If you can think it.

It can be made and it can be put on wheels.

Our goal is to hit every middle school in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I'm very honored, quite frankly, to be able to do this and put it on display.

This one's primarily dedicated to Southwest Virginia, but Zach and I, we take it all over the state.

The truck, trailer, everything like it sits is 75,300 pounds.

This unit has to be very, very level.

It's kind of like my workout.

I used to run four to five miles a day.

I quit that a long time ago.

This is my exercise.

This is my therapy.

It takes your mind off of everything else going on in the world.

Anything that you have going on elsewhere, because you need to be so focused on this.

You not keeping your mind on what you're doing.

It's easy to hit the wrong button.

When I turn the power on on the generator, Patrick Henry automatically starts in his speech.

>>Gentlemen may cry peace.

Peace!

But there is no peace!

>>After we get inside, I generally will cut it off.

Because I have had the pod as it was coming out or going back in to jump track on the guide.

And it'll shift it and it may hit something.

And that's what I don't want to happen.

I want it to be clean.

I want it to be presentable.

I want it looking good because I'm trying to set up an exhibit for the public to come in and tour all weekend.

See, if you don't get it just right, though, that dadgum thing won't... Do you want this all the way down?

(soft upbeat music) You know, it seems like every day I learned something by listening to the 250 commissioned folks when they come out, someone will ask them a question and you know, and it always sparks a conversation or something that you don't, maybe you had forgotten.

I've been out of school a long time, so it's a lot of it I have forgotten.

Makes me feel very proud, especially being from Virginia.

All of my family from Virginia.

When you drive across and you have all the "VA250" and "Made in Virginia" plastered all over the side of a mobile exhibit like this, it's, you know, it's very humbling.

(soft upbeat music) >>Independence is the county's seat.

It is a town of about 1400 people.

We're just very thrilled that they're here.

There's state-of-the-art museum right here in the parking lot of our county administrative offices.

>>We get to spend our days in this beautiful building.

This is our 1908 courthouse.

They were actually going to tear this down.

They thought about making this a parking lot.

(laughs) Maybe need a little bit more air in those.

>>I mean, if Tracy wants them down, I'll pop them.

>>This was courthouse till the late '70s, early '80s.

And people will come in today and they'll say, "Oh, I got married right here in this room."

And it's right now what is our historical society.

My mom was a big history person.

Loved history, loved genealogy.

And that's how I got started.

>>This is the state commission.

So of course the 13 colonies were really excited, maybe more than the rest of the country.

>>Okay, everybody, if y'all gather around, we'll go ahead and get started.

It is 12 o'clock noon precisely.

Thank you all for joining us on this beautiful spring day as we celebrate the arrival over the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience here in Independence, Virginia.

(all applauding) Okay, we'll cut the ribbon.

I'll get in the middle and be the rose among the thorns.

There we go.

All right.

All ready?

One, two, three.

(instrumental music) >>As a museum specialist, I've gotten to see all parts of Virginia and show Virginians around the Commonwealth, like, what it means to have been part of the revolution, what that means for them then and what that means for them now.

At the end of the day, it's all Virginia.

We're all hoping for something greater, something nicer, something warmer.

And that only comes from the hope we all shared.

(instrumental music) >>I can remember as a child visiting great-grandma.

I don't remember the dates, but it has to be in the '60s.

And then I came to stay 10 years ago.

My dad, my aunt, my uncle, my grandma, my great-grand went to this school.

I have roots in this school.

Imagine my ancestors, what they went through.

You know, I went to school with lights and transportation.

And can you imagine that in the winter that's dark.

And they're going to school, walking to school to get next to the potbelly stove to stay warm.

I'm like, "What?"

>>Yeah.

In here, we didn't have any indoor plumbing.

No central heat.

It had a stove in each room.

The light bulb was on a string that hung down.

We're at Holley School in Lottsburg, Virginia.

This site has been used for educating the Black people of Northumberland County since 1868.

Two ladies came down from New England.

They started a school with the newly freed slaves.

Heatsville, Kingston, Lewisetta, Cherry Point.

They all came to this school for their primary education from first grade through sixth grade.

I am the fifth generation of my family line that attended the school.

My Aunt, Margaret Holden, was my first grade teacher here.

That's her writing.

And you see, if you notice, we put plexiglass over it.

She said, "You can't call me Aunt Margaret.

So you have to call me Ms.

Holden."

So I used to call her Aunt Margaret Ms.

Holden.

(laughs) This was me in the spring of 1955 before I turned six years old.

That's a jacket with a T-shirt with stripes on it.

My mom told principal that, "He don't have the right clothes."

She said, "Bring him over here anyway.

Put what you got on him and bring him over."

My interest in this school is we need to ensure that the history and the legacy of Holley School does not get lost.

(bright music) >>Life ancestries comes from Indigent servants.

So imagine, of course, they needed education.

They wanted education.

It's freedom.

You know?

It's freedom.

It's opportunity.

It's independence.

Being independent, what?

You can name your own children.

You have the ability to see your future or plan your future.

That alone gives you the dignity.

You're a human being.

I'll get emotional, so, but I'll leave it at that because I don't want to cry in public.

(laughs) My dad, his dad, and his dad's dad was in a service up until Revolutionary War.

To William Rich, yeah.

He was a foot soldier for the Continental Army.

And that's exactly what it means, foot soldier, right?

So you're walking, and I don't even think they gave him a gun.

So to go through that, on foot.

(laughs) In the woods.

I'm scared of spiders.

Imagine.

(soft music) >>When I found out that I had ancestors who were free Blacks, I went to Mary Ball Washington Museum and they kept trying to tell me Nickens.

I think Nickens, they was always free.

I'm like, "Yeah, right."

"All my ancestors were slaves just like everybody else."

The Nickens Nine were nine brothers, cousins, father, son, team who actually served in the American Revolution.

A couple were present at Yorktown.

Battle Cowpens.

All of them came back home except one.

But to be a free Black was not like being white and free.

So-called free Blacks could not own a dog.

If you got in trouble with the law as a free Black, one of the things they could punish you with was being enslaved to somebody.

A free white man, they can't do that to you.

Of course, there was no such thing as it's equal rights for women.

And if you had a child, God forbid, that added to your time as well as a child had to serve, I think until they were 21.

Putting myself in their shoes on like, "I'm supposed to be a free Black man, but I ain't free like you free."

(song playing) These white men got the nerve to say they are slaves to England.

They don't know what a slave is.

>>For us to be here to be free.

Well... It's a beautiful thing.

♪ Oh, hard times come again no more ♪ >>With education, like they say, once you get it, they can't take it away from you.

My ancestors, they didn't want a piece of the apple pie.

They wanted the recipe.

>>They hoped for true and equal freedom.

>>It's like the school is bigger than me.

We got their history that I can teach to my children and my grandchildren to tell them where we came from and where we're going.

♪ Oh, hard times come again no more ♪ >>Where could a little kid who played in mud holes, swung on vines in the woods, end up working in the White House?

Everybody in this country is a person, is a citizen.

They need to be involved and don't rely on somebody doing something that you need to do for yourself.

And that was something I learned started here, here at Holley.

>>Being mad doesn't pay.

You know?

So if we can come to agreement to be peaceful, loving, sociable people, let's make it happen.

You know?

That's what 250 means to me.

(song playing) >>This program was made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

And by: ♪ Who belongs ♪ ♪ Is it young or is it me ♪ ♪ Who belongs ♪ ♪ Is it just the brave and free ♪ ♪ Or is it more ♪ ♪ The meek, the mild, the caged ♪ (bright music) (upbeat music)