Berryville VA -- NBC On-Air Reporter for WHAG-TV/Your4State NBC affiliate Merris Badcock, Winchester Star newspaper print Maggie and Photographer Jeff Taylor covered the frybread and three sisters event at Boyd's Nest Family Restaurant today.

    Local Native American Indians shared their personal frybread recipes with Boyd’s Nest Restaurant owner Kim Ragland Monday, May 4 as part of a preview event for “The Gathering.”

     Kim’s hand at frybread is expected to be a huge success since Kim is a hobby “food anthropologist.” Kim is also developing a “Three Sister’s Stew” to help feed the dancers and drummers participating in the “Harvest Dance” or pow-wow like event that takes place during “The Gathering” this fall Oct. 30 - Nov. 1.
     As a matter of fact, Kim is planting the seed, to grow the food, to make the stew, to feed the people. 
     “The Gathering” event planners are preparing for 200-300 dancers in Native American regalia and 4,000-6,000 people to attend what could be an annual multicultural 3-day event at the Clarke County Fairgrounds.

We are not seeking to recapture the spirit of the first Thanksgiving. That was then. This is now. Hope you can jin us for Thanksgiving Oct. 30 - Nov. 1.

Three Sisters Stew
Preparation time: 30-40 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8 people

Ingredients:
3 cups pinto or kidney beans
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2-3 cups winter squash, cut in chunks
14-oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn
8-10 tablespoons grated cheese, as garnish

Steps:
1. In large pot, quickly dry-toast oregano, cumin seeds, and cinnamon for about seconds.
2. Add oil, onion, salt, and garlic. Sauté until onions are soft.
3. Add squash, tomatoes, and chile powder and cook about 20 minutes, until squash is soft. Add some water if mixture seems dry.
4. Add cooked beans and corn; simmer until corn is tender. Season to taste.
5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Kindergarten

K.1 The student will recognize that history describes events and people of other times and places by   a) identifying examples of past events in legends, stories, and historical accounts of Powhatan, Pocahontas, George Washington, Betsy Ross, and Abraham Lincoln; Grade Two

2.2 The student will compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present with emphasis on the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, the Lakota of the Plains, and the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest.
2.4 The student will develop map skills by   c) locating the regions of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians on United States maps;   d) understanding the relationship between the environment and the culture of the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Indians. Virginia Studies

VS.2 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the physical geography and native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by   d) locating three American Indian language groups (the Algonquian, the Siouan, and the Iroquoian) on a map of Virginia;   e) describing how American Indians related to the climate and their environment to secure food, clothing, and shelter.   f) describing how archaeologists have recovered new material evidence at sites including Werowocomoco and Jamestown;   g) identifying and locating the current state-recognized tribes. * The Essential Understandings, Knowledge, and Skills for Virginia Studies VS.2: Virginia's Native Peoples, Past and Present are listed below. From History and Social Science Standards of Learning Enhanced Scope and Sequence: Virginia Studies

VS.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by   g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the native peoples, including the contributions of Powhatan to the survival of the settlers.
VS.4 The student will demonstrate knowledge of life in the Virginia colony by   b) describing how the culture of colonial Virginia reflected the origins of European (English, Scots-Irish, German) immigrants, Africans, and American Indians; United States History to 1865

USI.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of how early cultures developed in North America by   a) describing how archaeologists have recovered material evidence of ancient settlements, including Cactus Hill in Virginia   b) locating where the American Indians lived, with emphasis on Arctic (Inuit), Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plains (Lakota), Southwest (Pueblo), and Eastern Woodlands (Iroquois).   c) describing how the American Indians used the resources in their environment.
USI.4 The student will demonstrate knowledge of European exploration in North America and West Africa by   b) describing cultural and economic interactions between Europeans and American Indians that led to cooperation and conflict with emphasis on the American Indian concept of land.; World History and Geography: 1500 A.D. (C.E.) to the Present

WHII.4 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the impact of the European Age of Discovery and expansion into the Americas, Africa, and Asia by   d) describing the Columbian Exchange, including its impact on native populations; Virginia and United States History

VUS.2 The student will describe how early European exploration and colonization resulted in cultural interactions among Europeans, Africans, and American Indians.
VUS.6 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major events from the last decade of the eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century by   b) identifying the economic, political, and geographic factors that led to territorial expansion and its impact on the American Indians; Virginia Studies VS.2: Virginia's Native Peoples, Past and Present

Essential Understandings, Knowledge, and Skills

Skills (to be incorporated into instruction throughout the academic year)

• Identify and interpret artifacts and primary and secondary source documents to understand events in history.
• Determine cause-and-effect relationships.
• Compare and contrast historical events.
• Draw conclusions and make generalizations.
• Make connections between past and present.
• Sequence events in Virginia history.
• Interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives.
• Evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing.
• Analyze and interpret maps to explain relationships among landforms, water features, climatic characteristics, and historical events.

Content

• Know that American Indians were the first people who lived in Virginia.
• Know that American Indians lived in all areas of the state.
• Identify that there were three major language groups in Virginia.
• Know that Christopher Columbus called the people he found in the lands he explored “Indians” because he thought he was in the Indies (near China).
• Know that artifacts such as arrowheads, pottery, and other tools that have been found tell a lot about the people who lived in Virginia.
• Identify the following three major language groups of Virginia:
  • Algonquian languages were spoken primarily in the Tidewater region; the Powhatan were part of this group.
  • Siouan languages were spoken primarily in the Piedmont region; the Monacan were part of this group.
  • Iroquoian languages were spoken in Southwestern Virginia and in Southern Virginia near what is today North Carolina; the Cherokee were part of this group.
• Know that the climate in Virginia is relatively mild with distinct seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter—resulting in a variety of vegetation.
• Know that forests, which have a variety of trees, cover most of the land. Virginia’s Indians are referred to as Eastern Woodland Indians.
• Describe how Virginia’s American Indians worked with the climate and the environment to meet their basic needs.
• Know that Virginia Indian cultures have changed over time.
• Describe the American Indians’ environmental connections by explaining how the kinds of food they ate, the clothing they wore, and the shelters they had depended upon the seasons. Use the following information as a guide:
  • Foods changed with the seasons.
    • In winter, they hunted birds and other animals and lived on stored foods from the previous fall.
    • In spring, they hunted, fished, and picked berries.
    • In summer, they grew crops (e.g., beans, corn, squash).
• In fall, they harvested crops and hunted for foods to preserve and keep for the winter.
• Animal skins (deerskin) were used for clothing.
• Shelter was made from materials found around them.
• Know that native peoples of the past farmed, hunted, and fished. They made homes, using natural resources. They used animal skins for clothing.
• Know that today, most native peoples live like other Americans. Their cultures have changed over time.
• Know that archaeology is another way to help people understand the past.
• Understand that archaeologists study all kinds of material evidence left by people from the past.
• Understand how recent archaeological digs have recovered new material evidence about Werowocomoco and historic Jamestown.
• Know that Werowocomoco was a large Indian town use by Indian leaders for several hundred years before the English settlers came. It was the headquarters of the leader Powhatan in 1607.
• Know that Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in North America.
• Know that archaeologists have discovered the site of the original fort and that the recovered artifacts give archaeologists clues about the interactions of the English, Africans, and Indians in early Virginia.
  Know that American Indian people have lived in Virginia for thousands of years.
• Know that American Indians, who trace their family histories back to well before 1607, continue to live in all parts of Virginia today.
• Know that today, eleven American Indian tribes in Virginia are recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The  2010 Virginia General Assembly gave state recognition to three tribes:  the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Tribe, the Nottoway Tribe, and the Patawomeck Tribe.
  
  

By Jamie K. Oxendine, Lumbee/Creek
Editor, PowWows.com
Director, Black Swamp InterTribal Foundation

     Long before White Contact to the “New World” the Native Americans had many kinds of celebrations for the four seasons.  One of the most celebrated for the Eastern Woodland Culture was that of Harvest Time.  This festival was mainly indigenous to the Eastern Woodlands because of their strong agricultural base. Of course these celebrations took place in Autumn but their actual time varied from place to place and was mainly dependent on the window of harvest time before the last hard killing frost.
      In the North East and Great Lakes the Harvest Time began in what is now late August and lasted up to October and November. In the South East the Harvest Time began in August and could last into December.
     This was a glorious time of harvesting and gathering such things as:

     And yes many of the “food stuffs” in this list are actually indigenous to the New World and only grew in the New World. Many were taken back to Europe, Asia and Africa by the White Man after contact and over time became staples for those Continents.
     As much food as possible was sun dried and smoked dried and hung in lodges as well as buried in food stores for the coming long winter.
     These times also included work on villages and homes getting them prepared for the coming winter.  This was the perfect time to do any repair work on wigwams and longhouses. The last bit of warm weather was a good time to collect any samplings still full of tree sap that could be very pliable for repairing sections of lodges and for bending to shape for future use.  Pond grass, cattails and bark was heavily harvested and stored in lodges to be worked on during the cold winter months. Cattails, plant down, feather down and moss were collected for insulation in both lodges and clothing. 
     During the height of harvesting and gathering there would be great celebrations of thanks with music, song, dance, gifting and feasting. The general celebrations varied but often lasted anywhere from 4 to 7 days and maybe even longer. The rest of the time was used working hard and long to prepare for the coming winter.
     Afterwards, the people of the North East and Great Lakes drew in for a long hard and often bitter winter.  Only the Tribes in the South East had more celebrations that coincided with the warmer climate.  They could count on certain food stuffs and other needed natural materials to still be collectable throughout the winter months with their milder winter.

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Berryville VA -- A local Shawnee Indian and Nanticoke/Lenape Indian are sharing their personal frybread recipes with Boyd’s Nest Restaurant owner Kim Ragland Monday, May 4 at 12:00 noon as part of a preview event for “The Gathering.”
     Kim’s hand at frybread is expected to be a huge success since Kim is a “food anthropologist.” Kim is also developing a “Three Sister’s Stew” to help feed the dancers and drummers participating in the “Harvest Dance” or pow-wow like event that takes place during “The Gathering” this fall.
     As a matter of fact, Kim is planting the seed, to grow the food, to make the stew, to feed the people. 
     “The Gathering” event planners are preparing for 200-300 dancers in Native American regalia and 4,000-6,000 people to attend what could be an annual multicultural 3-day event at the Clarke County Fairgrounds.

     Kim plans to develop, test and preview her own frybread recipe during the Berryville Farmer’s Market before selecting a favorite to serve during “The Gathering.”
      “I think everyone will be hooked on Kim’s frybread and stew and are invited to taste more at “The Gathering,” said René White executive director for “The Gathering” and local Lumbee Indian.

FRIEND-RAISING.
     “With this frybread effort we’re ‘Friend-Raising’ during the Farmer’s Market and “The Gathering” instead of ‘fund-raising,’” said Sue Peoples co-director education committee for “The Gathering” describing her vision for several educational celebrations of agri-culture partnered within the community this spring, summer and fall.

FRYBREAD. 
     Frybread varies not only by region, but also by family. While most cultures around the world have a version of fried dough – sopapillas, beignets, fritters, doughnuts and so forth, none is as versatile as Indian frybread. You can dip it in stew or berry gravy, smother it with honey butter or powdered sugar, or serve it as an Indian taco.  

LOCATION & TIME for the Frybread event:
Monday, May 4, 2015 at 12:00 noon at 32 W. Main Street, Berryville, VA 22611

CONTACT INFORMATION for REPORTERS:
News reporters interested in covering this event, please let us know. René White Sanctuary on the Trail™ 540-554-8730 [email protected]  or Kim at Boyd’s’ Nest 540-535-5252.

THE GATHERING. 
      “We’re inviting everyone for Thanksgiving dinner this fall and we need to know how much seed to plant,” said René. “As for those visiting the Farmer’s Market in Berryville, we believe events and activities like this can help gage the state of community within our community. Because when we share our Native American Indian culture whether through a “Farmer’s Market” or “The Gathering” we transmit this beautiful way of life to our communities, our children and our grandchildren. We hope everyone can join us for Thanksgiving this Fall at the fairgrounds.”
     The Gathering is scheduled for the Clarke County Fairgrounds Fri.-Sun., Oct. 30-Nov. 1. More is available online at these web sites:

www.HarvestGathering.org
www.vlgs.org
www.SanctuaryontheTrail.org

PARTICIPANTS in the Frybread Event are:
Kim Ragland – Boyd’s Nest Family Restaurant Owner; Sheila Hansen – Shawnee Indian (Fauquier County and “The Gathering” Elder and Co-Director Harvest Dance); Lenny Harmon – Nanticoke and Lenape Indian (Loudoun County); René White – Lumbee Indian (President Sanctuary on the Trail™ and “The Gathering” Executive Director); Sue Peoples – Nice Peoples™ “The Gathering” Elder and Co-Director Educational Committee; and with support from Tracey Pitcock – Clarke County Parks and Recreation, “The Gathering” Elder and Co-Director Educational Committee.

“The Harvest Basket” holds “possibilities” that take place during “The Gathering.” As possibilities reveal themselves, we throw them in “The Basket” for you - a kind of checklist of things for you to do, see and experience.

Save the date. As we grow closer to Friday Oct. 30, Saturday Oct. 31 and Sunday Nov. 1, you’ll want to be part of this all exciting “seed of possibilities” in Thanksgiving and humanity.