The Representative of Bong County electoral district #6, Mioma Briggs-Mensah, has proclaimed to seek to uncover and rebuild connection with the Vai tribe of Liberia to their heritage of the Vai tribe ancestry in Virginia, United States of America.
According to Representative Mensah, her move was prompted by the acceptance and passage of the dual citizenship bill, which was passed in to law on July 22, 2022 and allows Liberians of negro decent born in diaspora countries to obtain Liberian citizenship.
The Bong County lawmaker made the proclamation on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at a press conference held at the Capitol Building in Monrovia.
“We have prepared a proclamation endorsing and uncovering further connections of Liberians or native Black Americans wishing to reconnect with their heritage and historical family members,” she added.
She indicated that the Quiyoughcohannocks of the Powhatan Confederacy, in the greater Surry County, Virginia communities, and support their appeal to the United States of America for federal assistance also known as federal acknowledgment as Native American indigenous peoples.
“In the spirit of our collective ancestors, we support a sovereign nation status for Quiyoughcohannock sister tribe in the country of Liberia, known as the Vai tribe, who contributed to the survival, life and times of native Americans and native American Black of the 1800s from the United States until today in the forming of the Country Liberia,” Representative Mensah explained.
She urged the immediate declaration of a provision of citizenship in Liberia for United States emigrant families, both native Americans and native American Blacks, who remain in America and are the ancestors and descendants of the Vai tribe in Liberia.
According to her, the creation of Liberia came in part from the efforts of some American citizens, including the American Colonization Society (ACS), originally known as the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of free African Americans to the continent of Africa.
She asserted that the Quiyoughcohannovks and Vai pledged to help enhance a more tolerant society based on the understanding of the society’s diverse culture and individualism, as Quiyoughcohanncks and Vai tribal members seek seats at the United Nations international table and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Representative Mensah emphasized that, when the 54th Legislature returns from its break, she will proffer a bill seeking dual citizenship for the Via tribe in Liberia and Vai tribe in Virginia, United States of America, known as Quiyoughcohannock, to foster trade link among their tribes.
Meanwhile, Bishop Dr. Otis B. Young of the City of Light Harvest International said the connection of the descendants of the Vai tribe in Virginia have done several researches linking their root to the Vai tribe in Liberia.
Bishop Young stated that the proclamation endorsing and uncovering further connections of Liberians will go a long way to benefit Liberia in many aspects in its developmental drive.
He noted that descendants of the Vai ancestors in Virginia have been engaging in research through scientific methods to discover their origin in Africa over the years.