G. Anne Nelson Richardson (born 1956) is a
Rappahannock woman and the first woman Chief to lead a tribe in Virginia since the 18th century.
Biography
Nelson was born in 1956 to Chief and Mrs. Captain Nelson of
Indian Neck, Virginia.
Anne was elected Assistant Chief to her father in 1980. She served in that position for eighteen years.
In 1989, Anne helped to organize the
United Indians of Virginia, which was established as an intertribal organization represented by all tribal Chiefs.
In 1991, Richardson became executive director of Mattaponi-Pamunkey-Monacan, Inc., that provides training and employment services for
Virginia Indians
The Native American tribes in Virginia are the indigenous tribes who currently live or have historically lived in what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States of America.
All of the Commonwealth of Virginia used to be Virgini ...
.
In 1998, Anne was elected the first woman Chief to lead a tribe in Virginia since the 18th century, by the
Rappahannock Tribe
The Rappahannock are a federally recognized tribe in Virginia and one of the eleven state-recognized tribes. They are made up of descendants of several small Algonquian-speaking tribes who merged in the late 17th century. In January 2018, they ...
. She is a fourth generation chief in her family. Under her tenure as Chief, in 1998, the Tribe purchased to establish a land trust, retreat center, and housing development. The Tribe also built their first model home and sold it to a tribal member in 2001. The Rappahannocks are currently engaged in a number of projects ranging from cultural and educational to social and economic development programs, all geared to strengthen and sustain their community.
In 2005, Chief Anne was ordained by Pastor Sally Beckman at Living Waters Fellowship. She, also, became chair of the Native American Employment and Training Council. She was elected as Chairman of the Council, working with the Secretary to further the goals of 'Indian Country through Labor Programs'.
In 2006, she was invited, along with other Virginia natives, to attend the various ceremonies leading up to the English 2007 events, commemorating the anniversary of the founding of the first permanent English settlement in America in
Jamestown, Virginia
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...
. Also in 2006, Anne Richardson launched Restoring Nations International, a ministry whose mission is "to restore honor and human dignity by facilitating reconciliation and bringing healing to Native American and other indigenous nations around the world through ministering God's love, purpose and destiny for those nations."
Richardson was named one of the
Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...
for 2006.
News articles
Speaker Biography: Chief G. Anne RichardsonBBC Radio interview: Chief G. Anne RichardsonVirginia's First People - Profile
References
External links
Rappahannock Tribal WebsiteRestoring Nations International* , Virginia Women in History 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, G. Anne
1956 births
Living people
Female Native American leaders
Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America
Native American activists
People of the Powhatan Confederacy
American clergy
People from King and Queen County, Virginia
Rappahannock people
Activists from Virginia
20th-century Native Americans
21st-century Native Americans
20th-century Native American women
21st-century Native American women