RICHMOND -- A bit of Las Vegas glitz will come to Virginia's General Assembly today.

That's when entertainer Wayne Newton, who lived and performed in Roanoke when he was a child, is scheduled to testify in support of legislation that would extend state recognition to a Native American tribe -- the Patawomeck Indians -- of which he is a member.

If adopted, the measure sponsored by House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, would add the tribe also know as the Potomac to the eight other native tribes acknowledged by the state.

Newton, a Virginia native, is a descendant of the Stafford County-based tribe, according to Howell.

Patawomeck Chief Robert "Two Eagles" Green is Newton's cousin. He helped arrange Newton's appearance, and was surprised to learn Monday that it had become public.

"We were trying to keep it low-key," Green said.

-- The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot