HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Wolf Creek Cherokee Indian tribe has always lived in Virginia and remains in Virginia.

“We know that we come from the areas around the Southwest of Virginia,” explained Annette Price, who is the curator at a museum dedicated to the tribe’s heritage in Henrico County.The tribe’s history is also widely publicized on state and county tourism sites.

The Wolf Creek Cherokee Indians’ history in Virginia dates back some 12,000 years.

“So, if you are going to be promoting your Virginia tourism through the Wolfe Creek Cherokee Tribe of Virginia you must acknowledge these are people alive here in the State of Virginia,” Price said.

But the tribe can’t get the state to recognize them as an official Virginia Indian Tribe.

They were close last year, but then the General Assembly passed a bill creating an Indian Advisory Council to make recommendations about who gets recognized and who doesn’t.

The Wolf Creek Cherokees don’t think that’s fair, and they feel they’re being singled out.

“We do have 11 recognized tribes in Virginia that have never gone through this process,” says Jeffrey Ladd, who is a council member of Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribe.

He also adds that recently, the tribe felt snubbed at a memorial groundbreaking for all native Americans.

“We were left out at a certain point when it came to recognizing Chief Price and our tribe,” Ladd said.

The tribe members say the history and artifacts are clear, they just want the recognition for their future.

“We have Jamestown, we have all these things and you’re telling me out of all this long history there’s not room for my ancestors, my kids?” Ladd said.

8News spoke with the Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson. She said the state really had no criteria or process for granting recognition and that is why the advisory council was created. That council is still in its early stages. They haven’t even met yet.

We’re told there is nothing preventing a lawmaker from entering legislation to get the tribe state recognition. There is no cost to the state or tax break for tribes that are recognized.

This is a developing story. Stay with 8News online and on air for the latest updates.

Never miss another Facebook post from 8News

Find 8News on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; send your news tips to iReport8@wric.com.