As a tribal member of the Patawomeck, one of the 11 state-recognized tribes in Virginia, I found the Richmond Free Press article “Local tribes celebrate culture, history on Indigenous Peoples’ Day” by Paula Phounsavath (Oct. 17  19 edition) to be a refreshing, appreciative and inclusive read regarding our native culture.

It was nice to see a well-snapped photo of Pernell Richardson, one of the many dancers I shared the powwow circle with as a one-time male traditional dancer at powwows throughout Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina in the 1990s.

Because of the ideology of Virginia’s first state registrar, Dr. Walter Plecker, a eugenicist, Virginia Indians were classified as either “white” or “black” — which made it difficult for me to connect the dots when unearthing my native ancestry, especially since my great-grandparents checked “colored” on their marriage license.

The segregation didn’t end there. As someone with “Caucasian” skin who went powwowing with others who had “darker complexions” and struggled to find their nativeness, it wasn’t easy being accepted by Virginia’s cultural communities. That’s why many of us first began our dancing in Maryland and North Carolina.

However, through folks like Pernell Richardson, as well as many others (some now deceased) who embraced our “mulatto” group of dancers around the circle, Virginia’s powwow sacred ground became more welcoming to us, too.

In closing, I reiterate my thank you to the Richmond Free Press and take this opportunity to give a shoutout to my fellow Virginia tribes for November’s Native American Heritage Month.

RICK KNIGHT

Henrico