NORFOLK, Va. (AP) _ The Department of Interior has granted federal recognition to the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, the first in Virginia to receive the designation. The designation allows federal spending on medical care, housing and education. It also could lead to the tribe seeking a casino through a separate approval process, although the Pamunkey have say they have no plans to do so. Still, the tribe’s application was opposed by MGM Resorts, which is building a casino at the National Harbor outside the nation’s capital in Maryland. Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus also opposed recognition, saying the tribe had a history of banning interracial marriages with blacks. The tribe’s 200-acre rural reservation is about 25 miles east of Richmond. It has about 200 members.
