Across rural Virginia, citizens are searching for ways to create sustainable communities and economies while preserving the quality and character of the landscape, their small towns and villages, and the life styles they love. For thousands of years the Mattaponi People managed to do just that. Today, with all the challenges to environmental quality, the Mattaponi Heritage Foundation and the Mattaponi People have launched an ambitious program to build an economically and environmentally sustainable community on their traditional lands along the Mattaponi River.

Beginning with a grant from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to establish and operate a fish hatchery near West Point, Virginia, the Mattaponi Heritage Foundation will seek other support to allow them to extend their land holdings along the Mattaponi watershed in King William County. Activities on the Reservation supported through the Mattaponi Heritage Foundation will enable them to develop an economic base for their community through scientific and cultural tourism and as a center for Native American studies.

Combining modern science with indigenous knowledge about the ecology of the river and bay, the Mattaponi people seek to show all of mankind how to live in harmony with the natural world while sustaining the highest quality of life.

The success of the Mattaponi Heritage Foundation will provide benefits to all of Tidewater Virginia, as the development of cultural and scientific tourism and educational resources around Native American knowledge and culture add to the critical mass of attractions that bring visitors to Tidewater.

We solicit your comments and suggestions via e-mail.