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VIRGINIA INDIAN HERITAGE EVENTS
American Indian Intertribal Cultural Festival
Hampton Coliseum (Hampton, Virginia) -- Interstate 64, Exit 263
Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22, 2007
Daily 10 am to 6 pm
FREE Admission
Schedule of Events
Hosted by the eight state-recognized tribes of Virginia, the festival will include a wide variety of cultural experiences, including dancing, craft demonstrations, storytelling and children's activities. Vendors will offer Native foods, art, jewelry and crafts. A series of exhibits will showcase the history of Virginia tribes and guest speakers will discuss issues facing American Indians today. Visiting tribes from around the country will participate in dances and cultural demonstrations, highlighting the similarities and differences among American Indian nations.
Confirmed visiting tribes include Jemez Pueblo (New Mexico), Lumbee (North Carolina), The Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara - North Dakota), Nez Perce (Idaho), Osage (Oklahoma), Sault Ste Marie Chippewa (Michigan) and Seminole (Florida). Members of the visiting tribes will participate in dance demonstrations and will also have exhibit booths in the vendor hall.
Dance demonstrations begin each day at 10 a.m., with the Grand Entry of all dancers at 12 noon. Dancers are welcome to participate during Intertribal dances, but will need to register at the event and be attired in proper regalia.
Confirmed Drums include the Virginia Indian Intertribal Drum, Fox Tail, Kautah-Noh Jr., Bahweting Singers, and White Shield.
Childrens' activities will take place in the Hampton Room of the Coliseum and will include hands-on crafts demonstrations, storytelling, and a scavenger hunt.
The Hampton Coliseum is conveniently located just off Interstate 64 at exit 263.
From Richmond/Williamsburg:
Take I-64 East, take Exit 263 to Mercury Boulevard, turn right at first traffic light on to Coliseum Drive.
From Virginia Beach/Norfolk:
Take I-64 West, take Exit 263B to Mercury Boulevard, turn right at first traffic light on to Coliseum Drive.
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400 Years of Survival - Virginia Indian Symposium
Williamsburg Lodge (Williamsburg, Virginia)
October 5 -7, 2006
David Wilkins
Professor
University of Minnesota |
Dr. Robert Duncan
President, Bacone College |
Gene Nichol
President
College of William & Mary |
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The “Virginia Indians: 400 Years of Survival” conference featured representatives from Virginia’s eight-state recognized tribes as well as nationally known speakers and dignitaries. The conference included panel discussions on “Indian Law and Culture Through History,” “Government Policy as it Relates to American Indians,” and “Preserving History and Culture.”
Speakers included Arlinda Locklear, a Lumbee Attorney and the first Native American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and David Wilkins, a professor of American Indian Studies, Political Science and Law at the University of Minnesota. During lunch, Robert Duncan, the president of Bacone College in Oklahoma addressed attendees. Many Virginia Indians attended Bacone during the “Plecker era,” when segregation barred them from attending public schools. Mark Tilden, a member of the Navajo Nation and a staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, spoke at a banquet dinner that evening.
Attendees visited Virginia Indian tribal centers during a guided bus tour on Friday. The tour included the Pamunkey Indian Museum and the Mattaponi Shad Hatchery as well as cultural demonstrations and talks by each of the tribal chiefs with participation from 8-10 members of each tribe. Also on the Mattaponi Reservation, participants met artisans and toured the museum. Special events were planned at the Upper Mattaponi and Rappahannock Tribal Centers. The tour concluded with a dinner at the Chickahominy Tribal Center, followed by a program of traditional music and dancing.
Participants traveled to the Monacan Indian Nation in Amherst County for their annual Homecoming on Saturday.
Kenneth Adams, chief of the Upper Mattaponi tribe, said the symposium gave the Virginia Indian tribes “an opportunity to educate the public on parts of our culture and history. We have never before had an opportunity to tell our own story in our own words on such a comprehensive level.”
Schedule of Events |
Maggie Paul
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Jim Pepper Henry
Assistant Director of Community Services
National Museum of the American Indian |
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E. Randolph Turner
Chief Archaeologist for
the Werowocomoco Project |
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Rodney Smolla
Dean and Professor of Law
University of Richmond |
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Mark Tilden
Attorney
Native American
Rights Fund | |
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