[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                WEST VIRGINIA'S NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 1999

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, West Virginia is not normally known for its 
Native American population, but former West Virginia State Senator 
Robert K. Holliday recently wrote a highly informative commentary on 
this matter in the July 19, 1999, edition of the Fayette Tribune. His 
article focuses in particular on the local Algonquin families in 
Fayette County and I submit it to be reprinted in the Congressional 
Record.

               [From the Fayette Tribune, July 19, 1999]

             Fayette County Indians Keeping Heritage Alive

                          (Robert K. Holliday)

       About eight Indian tribes (families) are formally organized 
     in West Virginia, and one such family lineage is found in 
     Fayette County. The familial group here was given a 
     certificate officially on May 13, 1997, and was given a 
     certificate of incorporation by Ken Hechler, secretary of 
     state, under the name of Algonquin People.
       Each of the family tribes in the state seek to bring about 
     an understanding of Indian culture to the world. They 
     undertake to portray the American Indian lore, musical and 
     narrative, to form a record of the songs and legends of their 
     race. Surely, such civilization of the native American 
     tradition is of great value to the history of human race as 
     well as the history of America.
       National and state history books are so wrong to show only 
     the brutal side of war when the Indians look out with 
     reference upon the world of nature, and at all times 
     invocationally to the hours of his or her birth and death, as 
     being sacrosanct. They tell of their life in reverences and 
     in symbol and ceremony. Their art is not the extravagance of 
     daily living but it took centuries to evolve.
       As in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, the Indians always 
     have had but one God. The Hindus may profess one God that is 
     supreme but the sects have 350 million other gods. It is time 
     that the forces of hate in America realize that all the 
     religions and races have codes of high, decent morality.
       Let's look a little more closely at the local Algonquin 
     families, headed by a national chief, Stanley Miller of 
     Beckwith, and Cindy Petty, sub-chief, of Oak Hill. In the 
     Fayette-based organization three members come from Ohio, 
     seven from Kentucky, six from North Carolina and eight from 
     Nevada. About 465 are from West Virginia. They have been 
     gathering together about every two months at the Fayette 4-H 
     Camp, Beckwith.
       Chief Miller reveals and contends that the Algonquins were 
     here when Moses lived, the Egyptians were building the 
     ancient pyramids and the New River was formed before the Nile 
     River, thus substantiating that in itself exposes another 
     reason why the New River was recognized by U.S. Senator Byrd 
     and others as a national river or even could be established 
     as something greater.
       Algonquins believe in one God as the creator of the world, 
     in spirit of their other spiritual angels. They pinpoint good 
     and evil. They feel the U.S. government should do more for 
     the Indians at their reservations, and more importantly in 
     education and promoting their traditional culture.
       The Algonquins love America and its Constitution. They do 
     want the government to bring together men and women of all 
     religions and races and strive to end hatred in our blessed 
     land. They deplore the calling of Indians red men or their 
     wives ``squaws.''
       To be a member of the local families' tribe, a person may 
     have as little as \1/16\ Indian blood. Some of the tribe 
     colonies are the Shawnee, Fox, Delaware, Sauk, Kickapoo, 
     Miami, Cherokee, Mingo, Mohegan, Seneca and others may be 
     adopted as well.
       Even in Fayette I am compelled to know that the Indians 
     were here a long, long time ago. With Gov. W.W. Barron and 
     other archaeologists we went to the mouth of Armstrong Creek 
     in 1963 where it was let out that perhaps about 35,000 B.C.E. 
     that aboriginal people were buried there. It was the site of 
     an Indian village of old. We even bored down into the graves 
     to examine the remains and discover other findings. Around 
     the shoulders on the mountain of Armstrong, much now 
     destroyed by surface mining, are more aptly pointed to as 
     Indian works but most often called ``mystery walls'' that 
     have run a few miles.
       It was of course not the white man that was here first. The 
     date of man's arrival in America is open to discussion, 
     though archaeological evidence from sites suggests many dates 
     before and after 14,000 years ago. Homo sapiens sapiens 
     (fully modern man) were the first to inhabit the Americas 
     during the latter part of the Ice Age. Our real forefathers 
     came over the Bering land bridge that was then formed by ice, 
     and they migrated from Siberia to this land.
       In Shawnee: Kechtalinnie.

       

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