Virginia Indian Advisory Board

Purpose

The Secretary of the Commonwealth may establish a Virginia Indian advisory board to assist the Secretary in reviewing applications seeking recognition as a Virginia Indian tribe and to make recommendations to the Secretary, the Governor, and the General Assembly on such applications and other matters relating to recognition as follows

1. The members of any such board shall be composed of no more than seven members to be appointed by the Secretary as follows: at least three of the members shall be members of Virginia recognized tribes to represent the Virginia Indian community, and one nonlegislative citizen member shall represent the Commonwealth's scholarly community. The Librarian of Virginia, the Director of the Department of Historic Resources, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or their designees, shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of any such board shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Ex officio members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. All members may be reappointed. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall appoint a chairperson from among the members for a two-year term. Members shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.
2. Any such board shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Establish guidance for documentation required to meet the criteria for full recognition of the Virginia Indian tribes that is consistent with the principles and requirements of federal tribal recognition;
   1. Establish a process for accepting and reviewing all applications for full tribal recognition;
   2. Appoint and establish a workgroup on tribal recognition composed of nonlegislative citizens at large who have knowledge of Virginia Indian history and current status. Such workgroup (i) may be activated in any year in which an application for full tribal recognition has been submitted and in other years as deemed appropriate by any such board and (ii) shall include at a minimum a genealogist and at least two scholars with recognized familiarity with Virginia Indian tribes. No member of the workgroup shall be associated in any way with the applicant.

Term

No term information available

Composition

The members of any such board shall be composed of no more than seven members to be appointed by the Secretary as follows: at least three of the members shall be members of Virginia recognized tribes to represent the Virginia Indian community, and one nonlegislative citizen member shall represent the Commonwealth's scholarly community. The Librarian of Virginia, the Director of the Department of Historic Resources, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or their designees, shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of any such board shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Ex officio members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. All members may be reappointed. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall appoint a chairperson from among the members for a two-year term. Members shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.

Vacant Seats

No seats are available at this time. If you are interested in joining this board in the future, please submit an application here.

Current Board Members

Brandon Custalow

Virginia Indian Tribe Membership expires on 8/24/2026

Dr. Ashley Spivey

Virginia Indian Tribe Membership expires on 8/24/2026

Walt Brown

Virginia Indian Tribe Membership expires on 8/24/2026

Jana McKeag

Non-legislative Citizen Member Membership expires on 8/24/2026

Emily Anne Gullickson

Superintendent of Public Instruction Membership expires on 8/24/2026

Julie Langan

Director of the Department of Historical Resources Membership expires on 8/24/2026

Dennis Clark

Librarian of Virginia Membership expires on 8/24/2026