“We Are Still Here.”
by Mary Wakefield Buxton
Urbanna, Va.— It was inspirational to hear Ella Johnson from Beasley speak recently at the Middlesex Woman’s Club in Urbanna as a guest at the Christ Church Episcopal Women annual spring meeting.
She is proud of her American Indian heritage. Her mother was a full blooded Rappahannock (her father was a French Huguenot), with both maternal grandparents also Native Americans. Her family has been Anglican turned Episcopalian since the 1600s when they were first converted to Christianity when the English landed in Jamestown. “We are still here,” she told the 40 or so members of the audience who enjoyed her presentation immensely.
How did Native Americans become Episcopalians? On May 14 in 1607 some 104 Englishmen landed at Jamestown, members of the Church of England or Anglican Church. The initial meetings with Captain John Smith in command with local Indians were peaceful, but as the colonists became more desperate for food and Indians were unable to provide enough provisions to them, the situation quickly turned. Native Americans were pushed further inland and away from their tribal lands.
According to Ella, the English demanded Indians speak English and accept their ways. They traded copper for food but never allowed guns to go into native hands. Chief Powhatan had hoped for peace but appeasement with the English meant a gradual loss of all Native American rights.
The cruelest part of English colonization was the prevailing racial views of that time. They looked down on Native Americans and then later at the black slaves that started arriving into the new colony. They referred to any mixed offspring as “half-breeds” or “mulattoes” and Indians found themselves lumped in with black slaves and treated with the same disrespect.
Interracial marriage was strictly forbidden and a harsh code of discrimination reigned during the 1700-1925 period. Ella said in 1924 a racial integrity law was enacted in Virginia that legally forbade racial intermarriage and denied all but white children an education. Native Americans were forced to either try to pass as whites so their children could attend white schools or attend whatever black schools that were available.
Racial discrimination is grounded in the belief that one race is superior to other races. Every part of the world has experienced such mentality at times with various races setting themselves up as a master race in an attempt to keep power over other races. All ethnic groups have suffered racial discrimination and all ethnic groups have been guilty of racial discrimination against others.
The racial integrity law in Virginia was inspired by the idea any offspring of mixed marriage would carry innate defective genes that would be “tainted” forever. The civil rights legislation in 1964 brought a welcome end to such discriminatory laws in Virginia and elsewhere.
Since that time 11 Native American tribes have gained official tribal recognition in the Commonwealth. They are Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Rappahannock, Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi, Pamunkey, Eastern Nottoway, Cheroenhaka, Nansemond, Monacan and Patawomeck.
Ella and her husband Ralph are raising money to help restore old St. Mark’s Church in Beasley, which was built in 1921 for Indian Episcopalians. The church is a 21-by-31-foot, one-room structure. It never served more than 48 members and was eventually taken over by Baptists. Over the years many additions were added to the original structure. Ella’s group wants to remove the additions and turn the building into a cultural center honoring Rappahannock Indians.
“I can’t speak of my mother without feeling great emotion,” Ella told the audience. Ella said there was such an outcry when her mother and father married they were forced to leave their home and move to Scottsdale. Ella’s mother suppressed her Indian heritage and passed as white so her children would never feel the discrimination she had suffered. Ella did not learn of her Indian heritage until she was an adult.
Ella asked for help in restoring the old church. Since most of the labor will come from area volunteer tradesmen, their need for cash is under $35,000. She can be reached at .
For those interested in learning more about Virginian Indian tribes she recommended three books: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia, The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail, and We Are Still Here.
I hope all area churches will help with the St. Mark’s Church restoration plan, especially the Anglican and Episcopal churches. As an Episcopalian I am deeply proud of our early Native American roots. It is good to remember that all humans evolved from the same source. We are all literally (and not just figuratively) brothers and sisters with our fellow man.
