Department of Interior returns hundreds of acres of Virginia land to Rappahannock Tribe

The United States Department of the Interior gave back almost 500 acres of land to the Rappahannock Tribe, which regards the land as its ancestral home.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is also the first Native American to serve in a cabinet position, announced the reacquisition of 465 acres of land at Fones Cliffs, Virginia. The site is part of Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge and will still be available to the public but will be owned by the Rappahannock Tribe.

“This historic reacquisition underscores how Tribes, private landowners, and other stakeholders all play a central role in this Administration’s work to ensure our conservation efforts are locally led and support communities’ health and well-being,” said Haaland in a statement.

The tribe was forcibly removed from the land in the early 1600s after English explorer John Smith arrived in the region to colonize the land.