Due to inclement weather, the Nottoway Indian Tribe powwow was relocated to the Surry Recreation Center. When the sun returned–appropriately–on Sunday, the event returned to its outdoor venue. As the ceremonies commenced, the arena director, Leroy Hardy, welcomed the crowd. Hardy was followed by John “Blackfeather” Jeffries. As Master of Ceremonies, Jeffries delivered the opening statement, followed by a procession of color guards — arayed in multi-hued traditional dress — led by the Nottoway chief, Lynette Allston of Capron.

Previous to the dawn of the 17th century, the Nottoway — an Iroquoian language-speaking native people — lived quietly along the Virginia-North Carolina coastal plain, and relatively isolated from the Jamestown colony which was settled in 1607. Once visited by the English explorer, Edward Bland, the Nottoway were subject to encroachments upon their land by Europeans.

Following a rebellion of frontiersmen led by Nathaniel Bacon against the colonial governor in 1676-77, the settlers and natives signed the Treaty of Middle Plantation. Later, the Spotswood Treaty, formally establishing the relationship between the Virginia colony and the Nottoway tribe, was agreed to. Times being what they were, the Nottoway peoples were subsequently restricted to a 44,000-acre parcel on what are now the towns of Courtland, Sabrell and Capron.

The weekend’s PowWow represents an annual tradition that includes inter-tribal dancing, storytelling, educational displays, arts and crafts, Native American cooking and information for the greater community. Drums play a central role in the rituals surrounding each powwow and this year’s drummers were from the Yough-Ta-Nund and Na-Ma-Wo-Chi tribes. In keeping with this broader native American theme, Aztec dancers from Mexico were also part of the program.

While the PowWow remains a highlight of the Nottoway year, the tribe keeps busy in other ways, as well. One example is environmental stewardship. As active participants in the Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Program’s Clean Rivers Day, tribal members cleaned and beautified the banks of their namesake, ancestral river, the Nottoway. This program has been recognized by the National Wildlife Federation.

Meanwhile, Chief Lynette Allston and other leaders continue to educate the community about Nottoway history and traditions through appearances at university forums as well as public and private schools throughout the region. Other avenues to promote a larger awareness of the Nottoway tribe is publishing. The Virginia Nottoway Circle and Square Foundation makes two books available to the public. The first volume of “DoTraTung”–New Moon is an academic history of the Nottoway tribe. The second book, Untchore (meaning “to eat”), focuses on the food, agriculture, hospitality and place of women in Nottoway culture.

The Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia received formal state recognition on February 26, 2010. The Commonwealth adopted criteria for recognition very similar to the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. Of the eight recognized tribes, the Nottoway is alone in having submitted a fully documented petition, along with an exhaustive set of supporting documents. Recognition allows tribal representatives a say in the Virginia Council on Indians.

Hosting the PowWow was the Surry Recreation Center. As part of the Surry County Department of Parks and Recreation, the facility is available to all county residents for various events and activities on the condition of proper registration. Space and times are reserved on a first come, first served basis. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the center is fully accessible, offering abundant parking and restroom facilities to users. It serves as the regular setting for the Nottoway PowWow, providing adequate space whether inside or out of doors. Next year’s gathering is already in the planning stage.

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In the United States, hunting and hunting rifles are hot-button issues that seemingly no legislator on either side of the aisle wants to touch. Unfortunately, hot-button issues rarely lead to good legislation. When people are emotionally distraught or scared of speaking up, they tend not to think about the long-term consequences of enacting new laws or repealing unfair rulings.

Such is the case with the qualifications that still exist around the Sunday hunting ban in Virginia. When people are able to hunt on Sundays, they are inundated with restrictive rules and policies that make getting time to relax difficult. For hunting enthusiasts, it is unclear what such legislation accomplishes for anyone.

Undoubtedly, the hysteria around gun control is partially to blame for Virginia’s tunnel vision on this issue. In the wake of mass shootings around the country, anyone who owns a gun is deemed suspect. Hoping to score political points, politicians routinely talk about rounding up gun owners and taking away their hunting rifles. Even when it is pointed out that the Founding Fathers owned guns and deemed gun ownership so important a right that it was protected under the Constitution, no amount of reasoning seems to put the minds of gun critics at ease.

In many ways, this is because the dialogue around gun ownership is really a control issue. The same people who try to prevent the overturning of legislation on hunting and gun ownership are the people who try to mandate what all Americans can or can’t do with their lives. Rather than treating people like adults, these political activists try to treat everyone like a child. In their mind, a responsible adult with a gun is no better than a psychopathic monster on the loose.

In countries like the United Kingdom, this mentality has provoked a crisis of epic proportions. Despite the fact that the UK has become a de facto nanny state with draconian gun laws, criminals have taken to using any weapon that they can get their hands on to perpetrate violence on others, and regular knife and acid attacks have become national crises in many areas of England and Scotland. The UK has even proposed a kitchen knife ban in recent years!

What people who demonize gun owners clearly do not understand is that a person’s character is not determined by whether they own a gun or not. A gun in the hands of a responsible, well-trained citizen is no more dangerous than a car being driven by a responsible, well-trained citizen. In the hands of a deranged killer, both objects can become killing machines. And yet no politician would be taken seriously if they advocated for the banning of motor vehicles.

Yet hunters continue to bear the brunt of legislation around issues such as gun ownership. Hunting in Virginia has a history that goes back to the earliest days of the state’s founding. Among Virginia’s first settlers, gun ownership and hunting went hand in hand with survival.

To many gun owners, hunting is a tradition that unites the present with past ways of life. Maintaining limits on hunting time simply does not sit right with those of us who view the responsible use of guns as a cultural value that is worth remembering and maintaining. When we forget our history, in other words, we forget what made Virginia such a remarkable state to begin with.

For these reasons, repealing the existing restrictions on Sunday hunting is a win-win situation for everyone involved. For hunters, having the time and space to pursue an important hobby will be a life-changing experience. For legislators, it will be an important moment in empathizing with those who value Virginia’s greatest traditions. Truly, that is lawmaking at its best!

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Robert Steward Grizzard of Ivor passed away on July 7 back in 2011. Grizzard was 64 years of age, and he passed away at the Sentara Obici Hospital.

This is a great hospital that has saved countless people’s lives, but on that day, those who loved Grizzard had to say goodbye to him. He was predeceased by his father and brother. The man was born in Richmond a long time ago to Norfleet T. and his mother.

Grizzard had a good childhood that he spent with his family and friends. Robert was a lot of things in his life beyond being a friend, a son, and a good brother. Grizzard was a cherished member of several groups and organizations while he was alive. The man was also a retired bleach plant operator. Being active in the community when he was retired is something that rings true to anyone who knew him well. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to help others, and this does make sense since he was a US Air Force member, a Virginia Air National Guard, and a Vietnam veteran.

Grizzard was also a Junior Vice Commander for the VFW Post 4411 though that was some time ago. Some also knew him as the president and lieutenant a while back. There is no doubt that this man lived a full life that allowed him to affect many people positively. Even as a retired person, he still decided to become a volunteer for the local fire department among many others.

It is easy to see how selfless Robert S. Grizzard was in 64 years of life. The man was very much involved with the people that lived around him. He got to know them and even stepped into the Board of Directors of the Tidewater EMS Council on behalf of the people.

Some were lucky enough to learn under him because he was an instructor for the Southampton County Fire and Rescue Association. It was there where he was able to mold the minds of the next generation of fire and rescue personnel. It should be pointed out that he was also the governor of Zone 2 as well as the lieutenant governor.

The people left behind to think about him and miss him are his wife. Her name is Sue Neave; she was married to the man for 20 years. His mother, Kathleen Riegel is still living and lives in Drewryville. Grizzard was also able to have a few kids before he passed, and those kids look up to him as a father and a citizen of this country and county. His son, Richard S. or “Ricky” as most people call him. His daughter was also quite heartbroken; she lives in Windsor, and her name is Meg Holland.

Grizzard also left behind two step sons, Rusty and Ben Holland, who are both going to miss their step father. His brother, William Todd was devastated, but the family left can support each other during these hard times. Grizzard was also a grandfather to eight grandchildren, who are going to miss seeing their grandfather.

Robert’s funeral took place on July 10 in 2011. This happened at 2 in the afternoon at the Wright Funeral Home located in Franklin. Of course, the funeral did have military honors to show everyone how much this man gave to his country and to his community. Grizzard was taken to Drewryville Cemetery soon after the funeral.

Life can be harsh at times, but it also gave Grizzard the opportunity to follow his heart and to help. He might have passed away, but the memories of him and his legacy will continue to live on.

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Karl Rove, a Republican Strategist, listed a number of reasons he did not think President Barack Obama would be successful in the 2012 Presidential election. The list of factors noted by Rove in his compelling case against the reelection of Obama includes a sour economy that Rove felt was unlikely to improve before the election, a dissatisfied Democratic base, multiple blunders by the president, and less support from seniors and independent voters.

The analysis from Rove did not include a number of other problems that plagued the first four years of the Obama presidency. These problems include what many see as poor handling of problems in the Middle East, the high price of gas in America, and declining approval rates.

But despite all the things that are seemingly working against President Obama, there was one major advantage in his favor: The path to his renomination was without obstacle.

It has been noted for some time that candidates who face minimal opposition in party primaries have a much easier path to reelection. Those who face stiffer challenges in primary elections often do not fare as well in November.

Fortunately, no such challenges for Obama exist. If it did, it would be quite a challenge for him to win reelection. The question has been often asked how a president could successfully reach out to independents voters from across the aisle in the fall when they cannot unite their own party in the primaries. For the most part, the evidence has shown they cannot.

A major challenge in the primary represents a debilitating exercise for a president in search of reelection. Fighting off these challenges are expensive. They demand the attention of the White House, and they open the incumbent up to months of challenges from within his or her own party.

Five incumbent presidents have lost their bid for reelection since the American political system turned to the party primary system a year ago. This list includes William Taft, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford, and George H.W. Bush. Each of them lost elections after facing significant challenges in the primary elections.

Hoover is perhaps the only one of the five who would have lost their bid for reelection even without a significant threat from a primary challenger. The Great Depression was underway when Hoover sought reelection and the American people seemed to place a lot of the blame for the economic state of the country on Hoover.

The other four had a good chance to gain reelection if not for the fights they endured from primary challengers. The first of the four, William Taft, ran for reelection in 1912. Despite running in an era that saw Republicans do very well, Taft found himself in a tough primary fight against Theodore Roosevelt. This led to a weakened position for Taft in the fall after surviving the war with Roosevelt.

In 1972, Gerald R. Ford suffered the misfortune of being too closely linked with Richard Nixon. Ford was the vice-president when Nixon was forced to resign. He was appointed to the position of president and had not been elected. Due to the way he gained office, he did not have the full support of the party. He narrowly escaped with a primary win against Ronald Reagan but was unable to gain presidential reelection.

Four years later, Jimmy Carter ran for reelection while dealing with a number of problems. After a long and tough primary victory against Sen. Edward Kennedy, Jimmy Carter lost out on the opportunity to enjoy a second term in the White House to George H.W. Bush.

Bush was the last of the president’s to fail in a bid for reelection. He received a modest primary challenge from Pat Buchannan but seemed unable to recover from going back on his famous ‘no new taxes’ campaign promise. Independent Ross Perot sealed Bush’s fate when he entered the race and split the Republican vote. Bush lost his reelection bid to Bill Clinton.

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