AMHERST COUNTY, Va. – Virginia is getting its first Indian health service clinic.
It will be in Amherst County along Business 29, which is where the Monacan Indian Nation gathered Wednesday morning for the groundbreaking. Construction is slated to start on Nov. 9.
The clinic is for Native Americans only, but it’s expected to bring more than 30 paying jobs to Madison Heights.
The Monacan Indian Nation is one of seven Native American tribes recognized in the Commonwealth.
“A lot of our elders grew up here with the racism and the prejudice,” Chief Kenneth Branham said. “They didn’t feel very comfortable going to someone they didn’t know. In the next 10 years, maybe everybody working in this clinic could be Monacan people.”
The clinic is expected to be up and running by the end of next year.