Rassawek

and the Rivanna River, pictured 2018 The site is located near the community of Columbia, in Fluvanna County, near where the Rivanna River flows into the James River. This area is also known as the "Point of Fork". It is located approximately west of the state capital of Richmond, which is roughly a 1-hour drive from the city. According to a 1930 article by historian David I. Bushnell Jr., the exact location of the village was unknown, though it was likely been situated on the right bank of the Rivanna, near the river mouth, at the confluence of the two rivers. In the 1880s, archaeological excavations at the location by researchers from the Smithsonian Institution uncovered burial grounds and evidence of buildings, and further digs in the 1980s unearthed several Native American artifacts at the site. == History ==

Early history . The establishment was first recorded by British colonists during a May 1607 expedition that started at Jamestown and followed the James River to the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line, at what is today the city of Richmond. Based on descriptions from Powhatan's son, Captain John Smith created a map, published in 1612, showing what is now Central and Western Virginia, including the location of five Monacan villages. The Monacans were a large Native American tribe with a population of roughly 10,000 that at the time inhabited a large swath of modern-day Virginia, which was described as being a roughly 1.5-day march from present-day Richmond. According to Bushnell, a common alternative spelling of the village is "Russawmeake". At the time of Smith's expedition, the village was home to roughly 1,500 people and was a major center for regional trade and commerce, and was a central meeting point of the Monacan tribe, which is estimated to have had around 15,000 people, according to Scottsville Museum. The village was home to a longhouse and a minimum of a dozen roundhouses. Radiocarbon dating shows evidence of human occupation of the site dating back 5,340 years from 2019, Colonial era through the 19th century area During the European colonization of the Americas, the Monacans were dispersed from their traditional homeland and resettled in other locations, including modern-day North Carolina and Tennessee. According to several historians, the discoveries confirmed the location of Rassawek, similar to how, in 1977, the site of the Powhatan capital of Werowocomoco was discovered in Gloucester County. announced plans to construct a water pumping station on the supposed site of Rassawek. According to reporting from The Washington Post, the JRWA had "kept the tribe informed" regarding the project, but the Monacans "had no official seat at the table". United States President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that extended federal recognition to the Monacan Indian Nation, Initially, the tribe had been seeking financial compensation to assist with the reclamation of any artifacts and the reburial of any Monacan corpses discovered during the station's construction, but after getting more involved in the permit process, the tribe discovered that there were several other possible locations that the JRWA could choose for the station and began to push against any construction on the Rassawek site. According to Langan, Tyrer lacked the appropriate academic credentials to perform the review and, as a result, the department would not issue a permit to JRWA until a new archaeologist had performed a survey of the site. The department also stated that the water authority had failed to properly gain the permission of local landowners to access property as part of the project. Additionally, the Corps of Engineers rescinded their prior permit, In a letter submitted by the employee to VDHR, they alleged that Tyrer and her firm, Circa, had engaged in "illegal, unethical, unprofessional and unscientific practices by Circa in its work generally and at Point of Fork specifically", further stating, By December 2019, the water authority was seeking an appeal on the VDHR's decision from the circuit court in Fluvanna County. In January 2020, an attorney for the JRWA announced that the authority had conducted an investigation and found no credible evidence for the claims made by Mai against Tyrer, though the Monacans remained adamant about having the county governments of Fluvanna and Louisa conduct an independent investigation into the matter. The following month, the water authority announced that, after considering several alternative locations, they would continue to pursue the Rassawek site for the pumping station. Continued developments in 2020 In May 2020, the statewide historic preservation nonprofit group Preservation Virginia announced that the Rassawek site would be added the organization's annual list of "Most Endangered Historic Places" in the state, with the group's CEO Elizabeth Kostelny saying, "Rassawek is important to the Monacan nation. It’s a sacred site. It’s an archaeological site. There are likely burials there. This is history that has not been forgotten by the tribe itself but forgotten about the greater community". The following month, a petition signed by 130 people associated with the University of Virginia sent to Corps of Engineers urging against development of the Rassawek site. By August, roughly 12,000 individuals or organizations had commented their opposition to the project to the Corps of Engineers, The following month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation added the site to its annual list of 11 of America's Most Endangered Places. In October, the JRWA stated that they were analyzing an alternate location roughly upstream of the confluence, Following the announcement, the Monacan Indian Nation sent a letter to the water authority expressing their support for the new location and offering to collaborate with the JRWA , provided that the Nation was able to review the plan and that digs on the site did not expose any Monacan burials. The following month, the site survey of the alternative location was completed, with archaeologists unearthing an arrowhead, several shards of pottery, and some additional evidence of human settlement, but notably did not discover any human remains or burial sites. In a statement on the findings, Werkheiser stated that the tribe would give their blessing for development at the new site. with the decision being finalized in a vote by members of the water authority on March 16. In addition, the JRWA agreed to transfer the parcel of land they owned to the Monacan Indian Nation. and several members of the Southern Environmental Law Center. Speaking of the significance of the preservation of the Rassawek site, Hantman said in a 2024 interview that "it was the first time that federal recognition came to the fore and the power of federal recognition, because the Monacans were able to use federal law to say, 'This will not happen. This is a sacred site, the ancestors are buried here, it was the chiefest [sic] of our towns, and it should not be disturbed'". According to Werkheiser, following the water authority's decision, the tribe would begin discussions with other landowners of the site regarding "tribal access, stewardship and eventual ownership", per a 2022 article in The Washington Post. == Notes ==