"The Mattaponi Lie: Part 3"

The Duplicity of George F. Custalow and the Collusion of the Gatekeepers

By the mid 1880s, the Federal Government, specifically the Smithsonian, became interested in documenting remnant indigenous populations before they disappeared forever. They sent a circular out to various courthouses and prominent people throughout Virginia. The circulars consisted of a serious of questions related to local Native people and Native descendants. One of the circulars was returned from Dragonville in King and Queen County identifying Elston Major as chief. This allows us to somewhat date when Elston Major died.

Anthropologists from the Smithsonian arranged to visit the identified tribes at later dates. Unfortunately, unaware of what had happened at Mattaponi, by the time that later date arrived, George Custalow was in possession of the reservation. He was assigned tribal gatekeeper; he designated who on the reservation was 'Indian' and who was 'Negro'. He made the 'legal' tribal roll, including and excluding tribal members. On one roll, he excluded his own brother. Austin Key was also excluded. By 1910, the Custalow family was in full possession of the reservation and the gatekeepers deferred to them for tribal membership recognition. This is why they don't want anyone researching the tribe prior to this date.

Over the years, historical families have been forced to go through this family to get back on their own tribal roll and are uniformly rejected. If a descendant made enough noise and/or threatened to sue, older leadership was discovered to have had issued fake tribal cards to that particular descendant to keep them quiet, but they were never actually placed on tribal roll. With the change in the Allmond/Custalow families racial status came the change in the available selection of marriage partners. In attempts to distance themselves from their rumored origins, tribal leadership began to perform verbal, and very public, anti-black racial posturing, both in public and in the press. Some whites, who would have never considered them for spouses before, viewed them differently now, and married in bringing their own anti-black biases. This reinforced the lock out of historical families.

All the way around, this tribe was failed by the gatekeepers and continues to be failed by them. Remember the question asked at the beginning of Part 1? Why hadn't the tribe tried to get Federal Recognition? Because they know, or suspect, that they are not the legitimate Mattaponi and want to avoid having their genealogies scrutinized. They have tried every trick to tie themselves to the 1868 Tribal Roll, including insisting that 'Key' family were really 'King' family, or that Eliza was merely overlooked. The simple fact of the matter is that the list was made BECAUSE of Thornton, Sr. and Eliza, but it doesn't seem to matter to them.

This reservation, and the status of the people who lived on, it held an economically valuable position throughout history to different generations of this family. Beginning with Thornton Allmond, Sr taking their timber and manure, and coveting the riverfront wharf, through George's self-dealing with the Chesapeake Corporation, up until today with the diversion of grant money...this family got PAID, while denying legitimate descendants the RIGHT to be on their own tribal roll. Tribal history was rewritten and recounted by erasing the actual tribe.

Everything you have read, and seen, on this blog is nothing new, or unknown. The governmental and academic gatekeepers have always been aware.... but the gatekeeping continues, as do the lies. It will be interesting how the BIA treats this petition, as the ENTIRE tribe descends from one woman of dubious origins, Eliza 'Major' Allmond.

As you read in a previous blog, the Custalow family is currently split. One chief, Mark Custalow, wants to continue the status quo and if the tribe burns down.... oh well. It appears he really doesn't have the ENTIRE tribe's best interest at heart. The other chief, Lonnie Custalow, wants to allow in all the descendants, resolve the differences, and restructure tribal leadership. The ENTIRE tribe should come together and build a way forward.

We understand that the historical descendants are just praying that the gatekeepers at the BIA doesn't fail them, as well. Before any petition can be considered this tribe should be unified, and the gatekeepers should do their jobs for the first time in almost 200 years.

The most unfortunate part of this story is that many current tribal members are not even aware of this history. The lies have been so thick, and have lasted so long, that not only has the public been fooled, but their own tribal members have also been kept in the dark. Whispers of the truth have been around for generations but discounted by tribal leadership. Older generations secretly wondered if they were true.

You can read the petition for yourself here Petition #408: Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Reservation, VA | Indian Affairs. While you are there, browse some of the other petitions, both accepted and rejected, and look at the reasons. The comment period on this petition closes on May 13, 2025, so if you have any comments get them in or have them postmarked by that date and send them here:

Department of the Interior

Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs

Attn: Office of Federal Acknowledgment

1849 C Street, NW

Washington, DC 20240

This blog dedicated to all of the tribal members, past and present, who were removed, threatened, silenced, and erased, not only by the 'tribe', but by the gatekeepers.