Point of Fork, Fluvanna County. View this site from the Columbia Boat Ramp by the James River off of Columbia Road. Look across the river to the landmass opposite it.
Rassawek is the historic capital of the Monacan Indian Nation. The Monacan have occupied this site for over 4,000 years.
The Nation once covered half of Virginia, and its tributaries gathered here to pay annual tribute. The Smithsonian Institute began documenting the site’s extensive burial grounds in the 1880s. Today, with over 2600 tribal members, the Monacan Indian Nation is the largest of Virginia’s recognized tribes.
In 2015, the James River Water Authority (JRWA), a joint project of Louisa and Fluvanna counties, obtained a state permit to withdraw water from this site. JRWA sought to build a pump station and pipeline here to deliver water to support development at Zion Crossroads twenty miles away. The project’s site in Rassawek drew immediate criticism from the Nation, who officials did not consult.
The Monacan engaged citizens and organizations across the nation in its battle. As a result of this mobilization, the Army Corps of Engineers received more than 12,000 objections against the project site. As well, in 2018, Congress granted the Nation federal recognition. That designation includes the right for the Nation to consult on federal policies and projects that impact them, and the Nation used that leverage against JRWA’s project.
In 2020, Virginia disqualified JRWA’s archeologist, and the Nation filed extensive legal documentation with the Army Corps of Engineers as to why the project should not proceed. Meanwhile, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Rassawek to its annual list of the country’s most endangered historic sites. After these developments, JRWA agreed to hire archeologists approved by the Nation, who produced reports showing a nearby alternative location that posed little risk of disturbing ancestral remains, despite JRWA’s insistence that an alternative site did not exist. The Nation provided JRWA with a letter officially supporting the alternative site located two miles away, and the JRWA voted unanimously on March 15, 2022 to abandon its plans at Rassawek in favor of the alternate site.
The Nation issued a Public Statement of Gratitude to thank the large, diverse coalition it built to preserve Rassawek. Tribal chief Kenneth Branham noted: “This rare victory for the preservation of tribal sacred places comes after more than four years of determined public advocacy by the Nation and our many allies across Indian Country and the United States. Our ancestors may now rest in peace. This outcome is a triumph for Native people, but also for all Virginians and Americans who seek to understand our shared human history and culture.”
To learn more:
- “Rassawek Saved from Destruction.” Monacan Indian Nation Press Release. March 16, 2022. http://www.culturalheritagepartners.com/saverassawek/
- Vogelsong, Sarah. “Water Authority Abandons Plans to Site Pump Station at Rassawek.” Virginia Mercury, March 16, 2022.