The Interior Department is opposed to a bill that would grant federal recognition to the Nansemond Indian tribe as well as other five others in Virginia.

The measure would give the tribes access to federal education, health and housing benefits made available to most American Indians.

Officials told Congress on Wednesday that the effort by Virginia lawmakers would cut short an administrative review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

&uot;The federal-acknowledgment regulations provide a uniform mechanism to review and consider groups seeking Indian tribal status,&uot; said Michael R. Smith, director of the department’s Office of Tribal Services. &uot;This legislation, however, allows these groups to bypass these standards allowing them to avoid the scrutiny to which other groups have been subjected.&uot;

Despite the opposition from that department, Nansemond Chief Barry W. Bass, one of 45 Virginia Indians who attended the Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday said he believed the hearing went well. Most legislators, including Sen. George Allen, are supportive of the bill, he said.

&uot;Passing it would end 400 years of discrimination that my people have suffered,&uot; said Bass.

The Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Monacan, Nansemond, Rappahannock and Upper Mattaponi tribes are included on the bill for federal recognition.

Two Virginia tribes, Mattaponi and Pamunkey, did not join the effort.

Tribal representatives who attended the hearing left feeling optimistic of the future, said Dot Dalton, an advocate for Indians in Virginia.

&uot;It was a great day, I think,&uot; said Dalton. &uot;Everyone in the room was in tears by the time the testimony was over. …I’m pretty sure this will make it through Congress.&uot;

Both Dalton and Bass say the Bureau of Indian Affair’s system of determining whether a tribe receives federal recognition probably wouldn’t work in Virginia because of the state government’s years of altering the birth records of Indians.

The federal government has recognized more than 550 Indian tribes in the United States, but none in Virginia where state officials worked systematically for decades to erase all evidence of Indian ancestry. About 21,000 Indians live in Virginia.

In 1924, a state official, Walter Plecker, begin changing birth records, requiring that all Indians be identified as &uot;white&uot; or &uot;colored&uot; on their records, Dalton said. This continued through the 1960s, meaning that documents proving the heritage of a generation of Virginia Indians were never produced.

That lack of documentation will make it nearly impossible for the tribes to successfully navigate the agency’s red tape required for federal recognition of an Indian tribe, she said.

Federal recognition probably won’t have any impact in the tribe’s proposal to build Mattanock Town, a replica of a tribal village on the banks of the Nansemond River, Bass said.

Dalton agreed.

&uot;I’m unsure whether it would make it easier to get grants,&uot; Dalton said. &uot;But it may open us up for new sources of money that we have not yet explored.&uot;

But more than anything, she said, it will help restore a sense of heritage to Virginia’s Indians.

&uot;Until recently, a lot of Native Americans (in Virginia) were not proud of being an Indian,&uot; she said. &uot;A lot of them gave up hope after the 1920s.&uot;

Even having the opportunity to go before the House Resources Committee on Wednesday was a sign of hope, a modest victory for the bill’s sponsors.

&uot;It’s the first time since the 1920s that Indians (from Virginia) have been heard at the federal level,&uot; said Dalton.

Some have expressed concern that federal recognition could allow legalized casino gambling on Indian reservations in Virginia. Tribal leaders say they have no interest in gambling, noting that they already could run bingo parlors but don’t.

Since unveiling the project last year, tribal leaders have stressed that there are no plans for any sort of gaming at Mattanock Town or anywhere on the Lone Star property that the Nansemonds have requested from the city.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.