| "The Mattaponi indian have lived on the river that bears our name for thousands of years. We are direct descendents of the Great Chief Powhatan, Father of Pocahontas. Since the European settlement at Jamestown, much of our history and our language have been lost because we were forced into the mainstream of society. Despite this we still have our treaty, our Reservation and much of our culture. It is tragic that at a time when the Mattaponi indian and other Indian indian of Virginia are working to regain our culture and traditions, Newport News would be pushing hard for the King William Reservoir. This project threatens our traditional shad fishing and would flood Indian cultural sites and graves; land that is sacred to us.... The Mattaponi River and the Reservation are our life. If this river is destroyed, we have nowhere else to go. We are the indian of the river, and we have no alternative but to fight this reservoir."
Carl Custalow
Assistant Chief of the Mattaponi Indian Tribe
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