RICHMOND, Va. — Richmonders gathered at Powhatan Hill Park on Sunday to celebrate Virginia's 11 recognized Indian tribes — the oldest communities in our nation's history.
The Richmond Indigenous Peoples' Day celebration, hosted by the Pocahontas Project, commemorates a specific tribe each year. This year's organizers showcased the Monacan Indian Nation.
Event highlights included the Virginia Tribal Celebration, which is similar to a pow-wow, tribal dance performances and an interfaith service honoring Virginia’s tribes.
For Tatanka Gibson, a member of North Carolina's Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, the event's location holds special significance.
"The City of Richmond was actually built on the old town of Powhatan, so to be here is pretty cool," he said. "Back in the day, my people were actually over the Fall Line, so around the Charlottesville area. That's where my tribe was originally from, but now we reside in North Carolina."
FULL INTERVIEW: 'Our traditions can save our lives,' Haliwa-Saponi tribesman says
Gibson, who now lives in nearby Varina, believes that understanding the past is crucial for building a better future.
"A big philosophy that I have is... to save our future, we need to look to our past, because our ways, our traditions can save our lives," Gibson said. "They can help us out in many different ways and keep us out of trouble. So not only healing ourselves, but in that same process and in that same breath, healing our communities."
The 31-year-old encourages all people to explore their heritage, regardless of background.
"Everybody has a past. Everybody comes from somewhere. You're indigenous to somewhere," Gibson said. "You're not just White, you're not just Black... Everybody is something and every specific race, nationality, ethnicity, tribe, band, clan, community, they're all special."
The yearly free event aims to spread awareness about the Commonwealth's tribes so their sacred traditions and legacies will never be forgotten.
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