Mattaponi Tribe
Honoring Our Ancestors and Culture
Reclaiming Self-Determination and Sovereignty
Message from Chief Lionel "Wise Spirit" Custalow
July 20, 2025
Dear Mattaponi Tribal Descendants and Members,
The Mattaponi tribal government elected on March 26, 2022, remains true to its founding core values of transparency, equality and unity. After years of members calling for transparency in tribal funds of previous tribal leaders, equality of rights and privileges among tribal members and unity in reuniting descendants from the historic tribal families, the social movement resulted in the election in 2022. Since then those who have openly insisted on upholding these values have been targeted in retaliation by the previous administration in an effort to silence their opposition. However, we have not been deterred. In fact, our core values resonate and continue to grow stronger.
On July 17, 2025, in the monthly council meeting council woman Tonda Simmons-Lovelace, the great-great granddaughter of Chief Elston Major, made a motion to expand tribal membership enrollment criteria. It is with a full and joyous heart that I report to you, on July 17, 2025, the elected council unanimously voted to expand tribal membership criteria to include documents from 1800 to the present, providing a pathway for historic descendants to enroll in the tribe. Our tribal constitution ratified on March 26, 2022, defines tribal membership criteria as any descendant who can trace their lineage to the 1868 or 1910 tribal rolls. However, since then an enormous amount of documentation has emerged in the records identifying additional historic families that predate those census or were dated after the census and the descendants lived off reservation.
We seek to unify the Mattaponi descendants. Guided by our constitution which ensures the equality of all members, it requires that amendments to the constitution be voted on by members at-large. Therefore, with assurances from the council, all members will be receiving a ballot either electronically or by mail. The ballots will be sent out this week with voting details.
The council remains committed to welcoming Mattaponi descendants. If the vote is affirmed by a majority vote of eligible members, then the constitution shall be amended. May we strengthen our tribal circle by reuniting all of the descendants.
Respectfully,
Chief Lionel Wise Spirit Custalow
For far too long, Mattaponi tribal descendants have been denied membership, shunned and rejected by the past tribal leadership. In 2021, the Mattaponi Tribal Citizens for Change organized and changed the course of history for the tribe by holding the first open and fair election in 2022, the first in nearly 40 years. The previous tribal administrations were self-appointed and NOT elected by the tribal people. Consequently, their desire to retain total control of the tribal entity and land resulted in cutting off ties with tribal descendants, except for their own immediate families, in order to maintain their control.
Under the new leadership of Chief Lionel Custalow and Assistant Chief Gloria Custalow and their Council, the Mattaponi tribal descendants are coming home to the tribe again. ALL TRIBAL DESCENDANTS ARE WELCOME IN THE MATTAPONI TRIBE. The time has come for us to expand our circle to include all of the tribal people, honor our ancestors, grow our community, preserve our lands and celebrate our culture again. Our tribe has many gifted keepers of our traditions. These traditions are meant to be shared with all, especially the next generations.
Mattaponi people come home and reclaim your place within the tribal family. We will work together to move forward from the devastating past by building a strong foundation for the future. The Mattaponi Tribe will prosper and flourish again. Download and read our first ratified tribal constitution, where it protects members from discrimination, while it provides a balance of power to ALL members.
From left: red-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, killdeer, Steller’s jay (top), varied thrush, red-shouldered hawk, northern spotted owl, turkey vulture, turkey, golden eagle, bald eagle, great blue heron, white pelican, American crow, great horned owl, Cooper’s hawk, scrub jay (top), sapsucker, meadowlark (small pair), red-shafted flicker (top), American kestrel (brown & black), acorn woodpecker (black & white), barn owl. (Photo by Todd Pickering)