After inhabiting Virginia land for 10,000 years, the Monacan Indian Nation finally receives federal recognition


Branch Branham, 79, never thought he’d live to see the day that the Monacan Indian Nation was a federally recognized tribe. One of the oldest living members of the tribe, he attended school at the Bear Mountain Mission School, where he is photographed, which taught Monacan children in Amherst County before they were allowed to go to public schools in 1963. Photo by Eze Amos

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