By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Over 12,000 individuals and organizations have submitted public comments to the Army Corps
of Engineers in opposition to building a water pumping station at a site many experts believe is
the site of the historic Monacan village of Rassawek, the tribe’s legal representatives said in a
press release on June 8.
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) is considering an application that would allow the James
River Water Authority (JRWA) to move forward on the site. The public was invited to comment
on the issue from April 7 to June 7. Comments came from historic preservation groups, religious
groups, environmental groups, political and municipal leaders, and the majority of the 574
federally recognized Native American tribes.
“By contrast,” said Cultural Heritage Partners in its release, “not a single organization or
citizen has made public comments supporting JRWA’s plans other than the JRWA.”
The multi-million-dollar James River Water Project would carry water from the proposed site
near Point of Fork in Fluvanna to the Ferncliff water treatment plant in Louisa. A stable water
supply would promote development at Zion Crossroads and other parts of Louisa.
Critics charge that the JRWA knew as early as 2015 that the proposed location for the pumping
station might sit atop an important archaeological site. Surveys dating back to the 1880s
indicated this was once the site of Rassawek, a thriving Monacan settlement at the time of the
English arrival in Virginia in 1607.
A May 2018 archaeological survey conducted as part of the permitting process found artifacts
dating as far back as 1200 BCE. Last year, a whistleblower who had worked on the site between
2017-2018 said that lead archaeologist Carol Tyrer used unqualified and untrained staff, lied to
state investigators, misrepresented staff credentials, and minimized significant archaeological
discoveries.
Tyrer was later disqualified by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) for not
having the academic credentials required by law to perform work under state law. VDHR denied
the JRWA needed anticipatory burial permits and the ACOE decided that the authority would
have to submit to a more stringent permitting process.
In March 2020, after a contentious public comment period where at least 50 people spoke out in
opposition, the JRWA voted unanimously to push forward with obtaining a permit for the site.
This came after dismissing a request by the tribe to look at what they call the “Forsyth
Alternative,” a property approximately two miles upstream that has been offered by its owners,
Richard and Julia Rose, for the pumping station. The JRWA said it would add $10 million or
more to the project to develop.
“Increased costs have been cited as reasons for not locating the water facilities in places that do
not damage Monacan sites,” commented Susan Marcus of the Quaker’s Indian Affairs
Committee. “Monetary cost-savings and anticipated benefits to people who live at some distance
from the location of the facilities does not help those most affected by the damage the project
brings. What are the costs of unknown history, lost forever?”
“Let us be clear: JRWA is asking the Corps for permission to destroy the Monacan Indian
Nation’s historic capital of Rassawek, documented by Captain John Smith in his 1612 Map of
Virginia,” said Cultural Heritage Partners in their own 1124-page comment. “JRWA seeks
permission to disinter Monacan ancestors and to subject tribal citizens to the trauma of reburial
over their objections.”
Preservation Virginia, which just added Rassawek to its “most endangered” list, commented that
“beyond resources associated with the site’s Native American history, the Rassawek/Point of
Fork area contains historic resources from the Revolutionary War and Civil War periods that are
listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks
Register. Additionally, the proposed project will intersect with the area’s important navigational
history, since the project would cross both the Rivanna Canal Navigation Historic District and
the James River and Kanawha Canal and Railroad, which are both listed in the Virginia
Landmarks Register and are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.”
The Monacans want the ACOE to deny the JRWA permit. If the permit is approved, “the Corps
must choose an alternative site for the Project that does not require the disinterment of Monacan
ancestors and the destruction of the Nation’s cultural heritage.”
It is not clear how soon the Corps will issue their decision.
“In the middle of a global pandemic and nationwide protests against oppression of black and
brown people, so many institutions and individuals acted to protect native culture and American
history,” said Kenneth Branham, Chief of the Monacan Indian Nation, in a statement. “It is
beautiful and powerful.”
