Prior to 1800 the area now known as Southwest Virginia was the sacred hunting grounds to the Cherokee, Shawnee and Saura as well as others. With the influx of the Europeans in the early 1800's many Native Americans migrated west or were physically removed from the area. Some were even killed while others married in with the new immigrants. Today, there is no federal or state recognized tribe in Southwest Virginia but there are still people here that carry the blood and DNA of our Native American ancestors.