This essay argues that Amherst County citizens and policy makers treated Monacan children differently than white, black, and even other Indian students in Virginia and were determined to keep this particular group of children out of "their" schools and out of "their" community. Even despite federal mandates to do otherwise, discriminatory attitudes and policies persisted in Amherst County supported by Virginia's miscegenation laws designed to control the activities and particularly the education of nonwhites. The miscegenation laws had their origins in labyrinthine "color codes" and are an important element of the story of Monacan education in Amherst County. This essay shows how Virginia's miscegenation laws and Racial Integrity Acts were components of the social construction of race on state and local levels. On the one hand, they are absurd codifications of artificially derived definitions. On the other, they had far-reaching consequences that profoundly affected the Monacans' lives, particularly their education. The story of Monacan education provides lessons about the power of conflict and consensus in a large and diverse nation, and on the local level with the Monacans' perspective of their tribal identity and place in history. A better understanding of the historical background of the treatment and education of Monacan students in rural Amherst County is important in a broader examination of those who make educational policies, for whom the policies apply, and for what purpose. (Contains 114 footnotes.)