Va. Governor receives 348th tribute (deer) from Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes

Youngkin honors his last Thanksgiving Tribute Ceremony as governor


The event in its 348th year honors the relationship between Virginia and its indigenous tribes, and it also highlights the more solemn Thanksgiving holiday Virginia celebrated before the Pilgrims.

The long-running tradition brings members of Virginia’s indigenous Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes to the Governor’s Mansion, where a tribute is given. It’s part of the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation, which granted the tribes land in exchange for the symbolic tax.

Creech said the early Virginia colonists, who had just landed at Berkley Plantation near modern-day Charles City, likely had oysters as their food supplies were running low.

But at the Governor’s Mansion, the chiefs of the two tribes presented Youngkin with two deer. That meat will be donated to needy families.


https://www.wvtf.org/news/2025-11-26/youngkin-honors-his-last-thanksgiving-tribute-ceremony-as-governor

20-25 years ago I was working downtown and I saw a pickup with two deer in the back tied up in the bed - there’s a pic at the link. I thought “Whaaaa…” and then I realized it was the tribes going to see the Governor