Thank you Ken and Julia for your $5,000 contribution to this educational Native American Harvest festival where we plan to honor our veterans and first responders and help reconnect our youth to the land.

Seeking Donations of Natural Materials donated or borrowed.

Do you have a field with grasses, flower heads or seed pods, woods filled with interesting tree stumps or logs, dried hydrangea blossoms?  

We are collecting these and other natural materials to make the Clarke County Fairgrounds beautiful for our Native American fall celebration.

These materials will supplement the pumpkins, gourds, hay bales and corn stalks to make the grounds complement our vision of celebrating the harvest.

For the first  Gathering we received wonderful complements on the all-natural decorations with sprays of evergreen boughs, arrangements of dried flowers arranged in bark baskets, twists of honeysuckle vines intertwined with sumac and teasel...

We are very grateful to our decorating committee headed by Anne Rose a cadre of volunteers.  Join us?

​     As a member of the “Apsaalooke Nation”, Supaman makes his home on the Crow reservation in Montana. “Supaman” Is Christian Takes Gun Parrish, a Native American dancer and innovative hip hop artist who has dedicated his life to empowering and spreading a message of hope through culture and music.
     He has been the recipient of the Nammy “Native American Music Award”, “North American Indigenous Image Award”, and  7 “Tunney Awards”. He recently was awarded  The Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award in Canada for best video and was voted MTV’s new Artist of the Week!
     His latest video’s titled “Prayer Loop Song” and “Why” both have gone viral and have received over 2 million views on youtube and facebook which has put him in high demand touring extensively throughout the U.S.A and internationally.
     He has performed for Google at the Google headquarters in San Francisco and got to dance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. He recently was asked to audition for America’s Got Talent and the Broadway play Hamilton.  
     Christian’s presentation combines Native American culture and urban hip hop culture which dazzles audiences and captivates listeners. For this he has gained the respect of his culture and generation. The communicative talent along with the compassion that exudes from his music allows him to connect with people from all walks of life.
​     His uncanny ability to motivate, encourage, and inspire through dance, and hip hop music keeps him at the forefront among his contemporaries. 
  

BERRYVILLE VA - Members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina are showing up in solidarity for this new movement in humanity, called "The Gathering" held in Northern Virginia. The executive director, arena director, drum singers, several dancers, and a few special guests originate from North Carolina's Lumbee Tribe, largest Native American Tribe east of the Mississippi River.
     On Oct. 21-22 Lumbee Indians and other Native American Indigenous people from the four directions will converge here in the Shenandoah Valley, along with thousands of visitors to celebrate the fall harvest with dance and music through community.

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ABOUT THE LUMBEE.
     "​We come from Siouan tribes, most prominent were the Cheraw and Keyauwee," said Rene' Locklear White, executive director for The Gathering. 
     "State officials recognized us as Indian in 1885," Rene said.  "During the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Indian agents attempted to resettle us. Our people had grown in solidarity, even though remnants of our ancestral languages faded by 1939. Then, in 1956 (only 61 years ago), Congress passed the Lumbee Act and we all received the name “Lumbee.’”  We became a new tribe a conglomerate of Indigenous branches grafted into one tree, connected by Spirit."

     The Spirit of The Gathering 2017 calls all people into "one hoop," "a new tribe" to celebrate humanity. The Gathering is Oct. 21-22 at the Clarke County Fairgrounds in Berryville, Va. 
​     Events like The Gathering provide the means of preserving a heritage valuable to all. 
     Group and individual discounted advance tickets are available online. General Admission is $7, Kidz age 4 and Under FREE. Funds generated from this event go towards scholarships for dancers and musicians.

     H.R. 2352 BILL, when passed, will amend the Lumbee Recognition Act of June 7, 1956, to extend federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and make its members eligible for the services and benefits provided to members of federally recognized tribes.
     ​Several members of the Lumbee Tribe participate in The Gathering, an education celebration of agr-culture held in Northern Virginia.

Thank you Cathy Kuehner (Winchester Star Local News Reporter) for capturing and sharing this NEW NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURAL AWARD.
​     We created this award in honor and memory of Native Americans who lived in the Shenandoah area.  

Sanctuary on the Trail partnered with  The Clarke County Ruritan's and the Clarke County Fair to bring a new art award to the region. The art contest takes place during the Clarke County 63rd Annual Fair Aug. 13-19. Homemaking, Fine Arts and Photography exhibits will be accepted from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday Aug. 13 and 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday Aug. 14.
 
CULTURAL CHALLENGE.  ​In honor and memory of Native Americans who lived in the Shenandoah area, this new art award supports art projects that engage communities, enhance creativity and enrich the vibrancy of Native American culture and history in the region.

CREATIVE OPTIONS.  ​Exhibits may be entered in ANY department and class within the entire Fine Arts and Homemaking Section such as Arts & Crafts, Needle Art, Hobbies/Collections, etc.
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REQUIREMENTS. All artwork must be original and created by the artist. For specific exhibit and participation requirements, please see the rules and regulation for the individual department or contest/event.