Press Release

May 30, 2007
Contact:
                                    Karenne Wood
                                    Phone: (703)338-1652
                                    karennewoood@yahoo.com
www.virginiafoundation.org
For Immediate Release

VFH Publishes Guide to Virginia Indian Heritage Sites

Charlottesville, VA    A landmark publication created by members of the Virginia tribes and reflecting Virginia Indian perspectives on their own history and how that history is interpreted, has been published by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH).

The purpose of The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail is to encourage visitation to sites which have accurate, culturally sensitive interpretative content on Virginia Indians, and to provide an interpretive framework or context in which to understand the sites. The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail publication was developed by the Virginia Council on Indians with support from Jamestown 2007, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Virginia General Assembly, and the VFH.

The guide is the result of an unprecedented partnership between the Virginia Council on Indians, Virginia’s tribes, and the VFH.  The 80-page volume, edited by Karenne Wood (Monacan), former Chair of the Virginia Council on Indians, contains information on more than two dozen tribal and interpretive sites; the history of Virginia Indians and each of the eight state-recognized tribes; historic and contemporary photographs; lists of Virginia Indian resources and suggested readings; a guide to “Writing and Thinking about Virginia Indians” developed by the Virginia Council on Indians; a calendar of powwows, heritage festivals, and other events taking place throughout 2007, and a Foreword by Chief Kenneth Adams of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe.

Copies of the book are available free of charge at Virginia Welcome Centers, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, and other state organizations.  Copies may also be obtained through the VFH website (www.virginiafoundation.org).

In addition to publishing the guide, effective July 1, 2007, the VFH will also begin the Virginia Indian Heritage Program which includes research and a resulting database that will be housed on-line at a VFH website; summer institutes for K-12 teachers; higher education summits to promote educational opportunities for American Indians in Virginia; and a grant program to provide funds for tribes, intertribal groups, museums, and other organizations to implement or improve their interpretation of Virginia Indian history.  The Virginia Indian Heritage Program is funded in part by the Commonwealth of Virginia and by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail provides an accessible general introduction to Virginia Indian history, heritage, and contemporary life.  For further information, call us at 434-924-3296.