The Pamunkey Tribe and the Mattaponi Tribe presented their annual tax tribute to Gov. Ralph Northam and the Commonwealth of Virginia during a ceremony in Richmond, the state capital, on November 21, 2018. Photo: Governor of Virginia
Evanne Armour, Capitol Bureau – RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — On Wednesday, people filled the front lawn at the Executive Mansion on Capitol Square to witness a ceremony that dates back 340 years.
Two of Virginia’s Indian tribes presented a tribute to Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
“We’re really here to celebrate what we call the original Virginians — those that were here many, many, many years ago,” said McAuliffe.
There are 11 tribes in Virginia. Wednesday, the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes delivered their traditional tax payment — an 8-point buck and a 4-point buck.
It’s part of a peace treaty from 1677. MORE
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe called for Gov. Ralph Northam to resign over a racist photo appearing in the Governor’s medical yearbook in 1984, but McAuliffe kept the tradition alive of extorting deer from Indian tribes as annual rent payment for their own land.
BELOW: Pamunkey tribe paying its annual tribute to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2012 with Gov. Bob McDonnell accepting.
FROM NBC4 WASHINGTON – Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says he used blackface at a college party in 1980, in the latest controversy to hit Democrats elected to the state’s highest offices.
Herring is second in the line of succession for the governorship. His admission comes after the publication of a racist photo in the governor’s yearbook and a sexual assault accusation against the lieutenant governor.
The attorney general released a statement Wednesday saying he wore blackface and a wig as a costume decades ago.
Herring said that as a 19-year-old college student, he and his friends dressed like rappers they listened to at the time, including Kurtis Blow, and prepared to perform a song.
