Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
March 2026
Contact:
Ivy Tan
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.tan@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445
—The marker focuses on Indigenous peoples’ struggle against a 1924 Virginia law that led state officials to omit them from official documents—
—Text of marker reproduced below—
PLEASE NOTE: DHR creates markers not to “honor” their subjects but rather to educate and inform the public about a person, place, or event of regional, state, or national importance. In this regard, erected markers are not memorials.
RICHMOND – The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has announced that a state historical marker approved by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources will be dedicated in King William County this weekend. The marker, entitled “Racial Integrity” and the Tribes of King William, highlights the perseverance of Virginia’s Indigenous peoples who struggled against a 20th-century state law that obstructed their tribes’ efforts to gain state and federal recognition.
The marker dedication will be held Saturday, April 4, starting at 2 p.m., at the site of the marker, located south of the county’s historic courthouse at 227 Courthouse Lane in King William (23086). Guests may park along Courthouse Lane or behind the historic courthouse at 180 Horse Landing Road. This event is free and open to members of the public.
The dedication ceremony will begin with welcome and introductory remarks from Dave Brown, Ph.D., president of the King William County Historical Society. The ceremony will also feature remarks from the following individuals: Chief Kevin Brown of the Pamunkey; Chief Mark Custalow of the Mattaponi; Chief Frank Adams of the Upper Mattaponi; and DHR representative Ashley Spivey, Ph.D., a member of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources and a Pamunkey citizen. At the ceremony’s conclusion, attendees are invited to gather at the King William County Historical Museum—located within a short walking distance from the marker site—where Hungry Hungry Arrow, a local Indigenous woman–owned food truck, will cater fry-bread entrées.
Adopted in 1924 to protect White “purity,” Virginia’s “Act to Preserve Racial Integrity” harbored centuries of racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples, including the Mattaponi, Pamunkey, and Upper Mattaponi of King William County. State officials used the law to effectively define Virginians as either “White” or “Colored,” which resulted in most Native people losing their right to identify as “Indian” on official state documents. This erasure was known as a “paper genocide” and hindered tribes’ efforts to gain state and federal recognition. It also led many tribal members to leave the Commonwealth. The tribes protested these policies and continued to practice cultural traditions. In 1967 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the act unconstitutional.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources, which is authorized to designate new state historical markers, approved the manufacture and installation of the historical marker for “Racial Integrity” and the Tribes of King William in June 2025. The manufacturing cost of the marker was covered by DHR. King William County Historical Society, which organized the dedication, covered the cost of the consultant, Kenah Consulting. Kenah coordinated tribal engagement and drafted the marker text.
Virginia’s historical highway marker program began in 1927 with installation of the first markers along U.S. Route 1. It is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 state markers, mostly maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.
Full Text of Marker:
“Racial Integrity” and the Tribes of King William
Virginia’s “Act to Preserve Racial Integrity,” adopted in 1924 to protect White “purity,” reinforced centuries of racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples, including the Mattaponi, Pamunkey, and Upper Mattaponi of King William Co. State officials used the law to effectively define Virginians as “White” or “Colored,” denying most Native people the right to identify as “Indian” on official documents. Referred to as a “paper genocide,” this erasure hindered tribes’ efforts to gain state and federal recognition and led many tribal members to leave VA. The tribes protested these policies and continued to practice cultural traditions. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the act unconstitutional in 1967.
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