Chief Anne Richardson
Chief Anne Richardson is the fourth consecutive generation of her family to lead the Rappahannock Tribe, the “people who live where the water rises and falls,” and one of 11 such entities to be officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. During the pre-contact and early-colonial eras, the Rappahannock Tribe was among those affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy. For more than three centuries, the Rappahannock people have been centered geographically in the Indian Neck area of King and Queene County, about three miles from the Rappahannock River, as the crow flies. During her interview, Chief Anne discussed her people’s spiritual relationship with the river, their physical connection to places like Fones Cliffs, and their feelings concerning recent conservation efforts, such as the removal of the Embrey Dam, near Fredericksburg.
