US Route 29 name: its time to do the right thing

Today is the Columbus Day holiday. Christopher Columbus an Italian sailed under the Spanish flag to discover a "new world" which was already inhabited by native people.

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See News & Advance story of October 9 regarding the future of Route 29 in the Lynchburg area.

Why in 2005 is Route 29 from Danville to Warrenton officially designated by the state of Virginia as the "Seminole Trail?" The Seminole Tribe is NOT native to this area of the United States. For whatever reason, the Virginia General Assembly in 1928 chose to name Route 29 as the "Seminole Trail." Perhaps at least in part it was a commercial ploy to direct tourists down south. However, all states south of Virginia have long since dropped the archaic designation.

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The 1920's was also a time in Virginia when no native "American Indians" were legally born in Virginia. The state legally erased their identity as if they were not here. It was the prime time of racial integrity laws. In the largest sense, it was a time known as the era of Eugenics. In May 2002 Virginia Governor Mark Warner issued the first in the nation, state apology for the Commonwealths involvement in Eugenics.

In 2007, Virginia will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the first English speaking settlement on the North American continent at Jamestown in 1607. However, 42 years earlier in 1565, Spanish speaking Europeans actually established the first settlement of non natives on the North American continent at St. Augustine, Florida. The Seminole Tribe is native to Florida.

If Virginia in 2007 is to truly celebrate the diversity of its heritage then it is time to correct this inaccurate naming of Route 29. The name should be changed to the "Monacan Trail" in recognition of the tribe which is native to the Route 29 area which runs through the heart of Virginia. The first step was taken when the bridge on the Route 29 bypass over the James River between Lynchburg and Madison Heights was named the "Monacan Bridge" by an act of the Virginia General Assembly (House Bill 1182) in 2004 in recognition of the Monacan tribe.

It is time prior to the 2007 statewide celebration for state legislators and/or the Commonwealth Transportation Board to take the next step forward for the future and rename Route 29 as the "Monacan Trail." It is simply the right thing to do to recognize the state's diverse heritage which includes its native people.

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Finally, what would candidates for Governor - Tim Kaine (D) and Jerry Kilgore (R) do if elected to correct this historical inaccuracy in the naming of Route 29 through the heart of Virginia?

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Also see previous blog post "Route 29 bypass: Thomas Jefferson points to 'right thing' to do"

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Footnote: The Seminole tribe in 2005 remains the only native tribe that has never formally surrendered to the US federal government.