Members of the Indigenous Conservation Council board gather for a meeting in 2024. Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe Chief Frank Adams is second from right in the back row and Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson is in the center of the front row. (Photo Courtesy of Pam D’Angelo)
When Chesapeake Bay governors and other leaders gather at the National Aquarium on Tuesday to consider the next bay cleanup agreement, they’ll be joined by leaders from several federally recognized Native American tribes in Virginia.
The tribal leaders will present a symbolic gift of wild rice, to represent growing a partnership between the tribes and state and federal leaders — who are about to spend seven months determining whether the tribes can have a seat at the table as decisions are made about the bay…