Supporting Our Monocan Neighbors

As the first stewards of this land where our community and church now stands, the Monacan tribe, numbering around 10,000 people, stretched north and south along the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia in the 1700’s. Disease brought by white settlers, followed by land seizure by colonists, decimated the tribe. By the twentieth century, Monacan men, women, and children were striving with persistence and determination to keep some land and cultural traditions in the area of Bear Mountain, near Amherst, Virginia. Monacan children, because of white control of state law (and "racial integrity” laws), were denied state public education until 1963. 

In every generation for over 400 years, Monacans have lived, loved, protected the land, and contributed to the welfare of Virginia. Now the tribe is federally recognized and is building back its registration of members to over 2,000 persons. Although not significantly covered by the media or public education curricula, the Monacan people are the largest tribal nation in Virginia. The R.G. Bryant Monacan Scholarship Fund was established almost 30 years ago by tribal members and the Monacan Tribal Board, who wish to see the vision of the Monacan people and R.G. Bryant come to fruition: that tribal members would have a chance to pursue the education that was denied to generations of Monacans. In 2023, the Scholarship Fund awarded a total of 34 scholarships to students attending various universities and colleges, for a total of nearly $70,000 for tuition, books, and computers.

What does reparative justice look like for this resilient people? What do we owe our neighbors? As an act of “micro-repair,” the Westminster Session has approved an offering to support the R.G. Bryant Scholarship Fund, beginning this November. The goal is to reach $2,000, with any difference between the goal and actual offerings made up by a benevolence grant next spring.

The Monacan tribal chief, Kenneth Branham, and one of their students will present the story of their tribe and its present challenges in the Adult Formation Hour in the Library on November 9, and will be introduced in worship that Sunday. We hope you will participate in this important opportunity to get to know our Monacan neighbors.  



–Westminster’s Reparative Justice Working Group of the Peace, Justice, and Inclusion Committee