Bluemont, VA -- The Native American Church of Virginia offers ways to encourage and support the identification, stewardship, and use of Virginia's significant archaeological resources for educational and cultural benefits with preservation, protection and restoration of Paleo-Indian and Native American Indian sites and culture.
     Join us in October as we share evidence of an advanced, but different, intelligence left by a people more than 10,000 years ago here.
     Thanks to the Clermont Foundation, Blue Ridge Mountain Civic Association, Bears Den, Friends of Bluemont and Art in the Foothills for hosting us. Currently, we are participating in two presentations and one Art Show, all open to the public:

Clermont Farm Day
Sat., Oct. 11 Presentations and Exhibits
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
801 East Main Street
Berryville, VA 22611

Bears Den
Fri., Oct. 17 Presentations
7:00 - 8:00 pm
18393 Blue Ridge Mountain Rd
Bluemont, VA 20135

International Archaeology Day

Art in the Foothills
Oct. 24-26 Art Show
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
The Boulder Crest Retreat for Military and Veteran Wellness
18370 Bluemont Village Lane
Bluemont, VA 20135

For information about Virginia Archaeology Month can be found at the Department of Historical Resources.

Release of New T-Shirt on Oct. 11

Bluemont, VA – Dennis Banks, American Indian Movement (AIM) co-founder, held a sacred prayer pipe ceremony Saturday (Sept. 27) at the Paleo-Indian Site found in Bluemont VA after concluding AIM’s 2014 “Ride to Reverse Diabetes” in Washington D.C.
     Dennis Banks, 78 years old, led the 18,000 mile run across America educating Americans about reversing diabetes. The “Ride to Reverse Diabetes” began on Aug. 23 from Seattle WA and San Francisco, Los Angeles & San Diego, Calif. and ended Saturday, Sept. 27 in Washington D.C. by the White House.
     Following the conclusion of the “Ride to Reveres Diabetes” campaign, a small contingent visited the sacred ceremonial Paleo-Indian site in Northern Virginia. Paleo-Indian site guardians Chris (Comeswithclouds) White and René White (Feather) are custodians of the site which dates last used 10,470 years ago (see Thermoluminescence Dating)  

  Chris gave the AIM elders and young leaders a tour of the concentric rings, the sacred alter, standing stones and other features of advanced knowledge left behind thousands of years ago.
     Following the tour, Banks led a sacred prayer pipe ceremony with the AIM group and Native American Church of Virginia to honor the sacred land and land legacy of this area’s ancestors.

     Attending the sacred ceremony were: Dennis Banks, his daughter Darla Banks, nephew Adrian Sayers, granddaughter Mariah Lindsay, Leonard Seabolt, Mark Winslow, Bryan Halfday, Helen Wolfe, Kenneth Reid, Maria Pasho, Curt and Sheila Hansen, Diana Mullis and site guardians Chris & René White.
     Banks gave thanks to the thousands of people who supported the campaign and blessed him and his team of champions with hospitality, gas cards, food, shelter and friendship at various routes across America during the month-long campaign. Around the sacred fire, Banks also compassionately shared real stories about people whom he met across America who feel “hopeless,” many in wheel chairs and with no feet or legs.
     Banks said he dedicates the rest of his life to help reduce the suffering from diabetes while he balances that with his dedication ad love to his family, especially his grandchildren (grandchildren Mariah (below), daughter Darla (right)).

    “I have never seen anyone more authentic about saving lives and concerned for his family than Dennis Banks,” said René Lumbee Indian and president of the Native American Church of Virginia.
     “While we are not members of AIM, like Dennis, we are called to help reduce the suffering in the world," she added. "We offered to help Dennis and he accepted. We don’t know all the next steps, but we know our steps will include praying and looking to non-profits, educators and others for help.”

     Chris and René are involved in charitable work helping veterans, senior citizens, artists and many others. They are members of Oklevueha Native American Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and they are also officers with the Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem for the United States and Priory of Indigenous Peoples Worldwide. Together they volunteer to connect people and resources, transforming suffering to healing.
     Following the sacred prayer pipe ceremony, Chris and René hosted the 15-member group for feast and fellowship.

     The couple operates the Native American Church at their Sanctuary on the Trail, in the remote Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain. Their church’s vision is to “help leaders first,” “acknowledge the Indigenous of the Americas for their global contributions,” and “reduce suffering in the world.”
     Before leaving the D.C. area, Banks was scheduled to visit members of Congress and present them with a national diabetes policy. He decided to delay his meeting as he studies his research findings and develops a clear way ahead.

Thank You in Advance
    Thank you in advance for your generous contribution. In contributing you are helping advance and partnering with the ideal. Your contribution makes it possible for us help others who are suffering, because we believe suffering in the world is impossible to ignore.

Special Thanks
     Special shout out to David and Mary Ann Nalls of Nalls Farmers Market for donating 52 pounds of local Virginia grown apples for the AIM team to enjoy and share as they return home in all four directions.

"Does an "Outside Force" exist? Is there a thing such as a "Spiritual Draw?" Where does "Faith" come from? What do you really believe and have faith towards? These things are of a spiritual nature," explains Chris (Comeswithclouds) White in a video he posted about the Paleo-Indian site he found in Northern Virginia.

         __________________________

by Chris (Comeswithclouds) White
Native American Church of Virginia

     Is there something spiritual about the ceremonial Paleo-Indian site we found here?
     Professionals have been helping us investigate the site since 2010. There is evidence of intelligence left by a people more than 10,470 years ago here.

     We are the site's guardians. Currently, we are preserving, protecting and restoring the site.      To find out more about what has been accomplished so far, updates are online at:

• SantuaryontheTrail.org
• Paleo News Room.

     Thank you for following the progress and thank you for your interest and encouragement.

BLUEMONT VA -- The Virginia Pilot, 220 miles away, published the Winchester Star article, "Stone circles on Va. property predate Stonehenge." Written by Val Van Meter, the online May 11, 2014 article received 462 shares on Facebook so far. Thanks Virginia Pilot.

The Virginia Pilot
ONLINE ARTICLE.

Washington Post via AP

BLUEMONT, Va. — Concentric stone circles near rocks weighing more than a ton — apparently aligned to mark solar events — are believed to be part of a Paleo-Indian site in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Clarke County that an expert has dated to about 10,000 B.C. (Full Story here.)

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Original story by: The Winchester Star, http://www.winchesterstar.com

By Michael Dowling
Original Article Posted Online at www.GrowingInterest.com.

Signs of life linger on the land. Like shadows that grow long as the day slips into night, the stories of past generations spread across the landscape waiting for the blazing light of curiosity to coax them from the darkness.

Perched on the slope of Mount Weather, an ancient timepiece sits quietly marking the passage of the sun. The stone day clock, built from boulders weighing thousands of pounds, overlooks what has now been identified as a sprawling solstice complex dating back thousands of years. Discovered on the property of Clarke County residents, Chris and René White, the site offers a window into the distant past where ancient people studied and developed the means to observe and measure the heavens. Since its discovery four years ago it has been meticulously researched and in 2011, Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources added it to the state’s inventory of archaeological sites. Yet despite its clear significance,  a scientific indicator of an exact date had proven elusive.

Now, a new milestone has been reached that fixes a date on the site’s last use. Using thermoluminescence dating techniques, an artifact discovered buried at the site has been dated back to 10,470 YBP (Years Before Present). This pinpoints the timeframe in which the site was last used but also means the elements constructed on the site are even older.

While the age of the site makes it a rare find, what truly distinguishes it is the fact that the features are above ground. Archeologist Dr. Jack Hranicky who has been working on the site and developing the initial research report said, that the prehistoric site, “is of unique national significance and offers a glimpse into a highly developed culture living in Virginia over 12,000 years ago.”

There are other Paleo-Indian era sites in Virginia, but the extant (above ground) nature of the site in Clarke County makes it a one of a kind historic site unique in all of North America.

When discussing how he discovered the first signs of the site, Chris White says he always had an intrinsic understanding that the land was important. He and his wife Rene’ are both Native American descendants and for years, had dreamed of creating a retreat center on their property. As a first step Chris decided to build a “medicine wheel.” Used for rituals and teaching purposes, medicine wheels are comprised of stones laid in rings and patterns on the ground. Chris identified what appeared to be a suitable spot, but was surprised to find subtle hints that stones had already been laid in concentric circles. He had walked the site many times before and had even held the marriage ceremony to his wife René  mere feet away from the spot, yet until he observed it through the lens of his Native American culture, the site remained hidden.

Convinced that his find was not a natural occurrence, he contacted archeologist Dr. Jack Hranicky. After some initial questions and a site survey, Hranicky recognized it as a possible Paleo-Indian site and research began in earnest. For the next four years the site was studied, portions excavated and seasonal observations logged to document the existing constructs and their possible uses. It was during a very methodical excavation that the artifact that would shed light on the date of the site was revealed. In what Hranicky theorizes would have been a fire hearth at the center of the stone rings, a worked piece of Jasper was discovered. The stone had been chipped away and formed into a tool, and since Jasper is not found naturally in this area it must have been brought to the site by human hands. That stone implement was the puzzle piece that clearly proved that the site was last used more than 10,000 years ago.

Through the millennia, the rough terrain has helped preserve the site. Even today, it protects its secrets as new discoveries continue to emerge. To date there over a dozen distinct features that have been documented including the massive day clock, petroglyph carvings in a stone shelter, and many solstice and seasonal observation stations.

The future of the site remains fluid. The White’s had already established a Native American Church prior to their knowledge of the site so they see a natural connection and hope to grow the two together into a location for learning and spiritual growth. Preservation and interpretation will consume the foreseeable future. While the features of the site seem to all point to time and the observation of it’s passing, the greatest obstacle to understanding the site’s meaning and importance is the chasm of time that exists between its builders and our world. Perhaps as the site calls to visitors to slow the pace of their lives and minds, that chasm may close and offer a bridge to better understand this important discovery.


Also read past articles from the Clarke Daily News:

• Archaeologist Claims 12,000-Year-Old Solstice Site in Clarke County
• Archaeologist Responds to Questions about 12,000-year-old Solstice Site
• Archaeologist Says Rockart Found at Local Paleoindian Site

BLUEMONT VA – A sacred blessing for the Paleo-Indian ceremonial grounds took place at the Sanctuary on the Trail™ in Bluemont, Va. on April 26.
      The smell of sacred medicine of sage, cedar and tobacco filled the air Saturday as Seminole Medicine Man, and co-founder of the Oklevueha Native American Church and Priory of the Indigenous People for the Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, James (Flaming Eagle) Mooney and Paleo-Indian site custodian Chris (Comeswithclouds) White, of Cherokee ancestry, held a sacred blessing ceremony. Mooney and his wife, medicine woman Linda (Bright Hawk) Mooney, flew in from Utah to conduct the historic sacred event.
      There was no large audience for the hour-long sacred blessing. No ribbon cutting. No band. Only sounds of a bubbling creek, singing birds, an occasional flutter of a butterfly or buzzing bee landing on nearby spring flowers, and sacred prayers.
     A council of three, elder Mooney, elder/land owner White, and a sacred all-consuming fire of truth (symbolized as Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit) sat inside a talking circle along the Blue Ridge Mountain, with a clutch of Eagle feathers, a few soft leather pouches, sacred prayer pipes and an eagle bone flute, while praying as a sacred crackling fire’s smoke delivered their prayers upward. The ritual included a traditional smudging ceremony used to remove any negative energy from the Paleo-Indian ceremonial grounds now and into the future.
      “Our Indigenous American Native spiritual traditions have been suppressed and taken to the verge of extinction. Such as a time as this, what a blessing Great Spirit has called Chris and René to this place and to this mission of preserving, protecting, and restoring this sacred ceremonial space,” Mooney said. “It is our hope that with their Native American Church of Virginia that they be a hub or center to assist in healing our world and all our relations,” Mooney added.     

      The Whites plan to leverage the Paleo-Indian site and their “Sanctuary on the Trail”™ as a hub to “help leaders first,” especially military veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
     In response to helping military veterans, C. White, CEO of the Native American of Virginia, who found the Paleo-Indian site, shared this short story:
     “In Native American culture, when warriors went off to fight it was an individual sacrifice made for the tribe as a whole. Through the wisdom of the elders it was known beforehand that the atrocities of war and the sacrifices warriors made were not just being absent from the tribe and their families,” explained C. White.
     “While warriors may lose their life, all were exposed to unseen wounds in the spirit,” he added. “Upon returning to the tribe they were isolated, prayed over, and went through ceremonial cleansing to heal so that the things witnessed in spiritual trauma would be cleansed before entering back into society; thus, not tainting society nor the tribe, of that which they had seen and witnessed or done. So when entering back into society, they leave the warrior behind healed and enter back in to society complete and as whole as they left.”
     C. White’s wife, a retired military veteran with 22 years active duty service is also blessed in leading Native American ceremonies. R. White said, “Using sacred ceremonies is one way we hope to help our warriors.”
     She added, “Do you believe? Do you believe a person can be cleansed of war? We do.”
     The Whites are trained in leading scared ceremonies. They plan to use sacred “sweats” to help veterans cope with anxieties related to combat experiences.
     The “sweat lodge” may be new to Northern Virginia, but it is not new to Military Veteran Affairs (VA). The VA offers many sweat lodges at VA hospitals nationwide, including the VA Hospital in Richmond, Va. It is the White’s plan to partner with the Department of Defense and veteran groups to assist with the healing.
     “Leveraging the Paleo-Indian site helps validate this place as an already sacred place and a place to heal,” said R. White who is 100% percent Native American from the Lumbee Tribe.

     Speaking about the blessing ceremony for the Paleo-Indian site, C. White explains, “This is an exercise in “sacerdotalism,” which is common throughout history. It is an exercise in respect of elders. We sit like this in council with our elders. As in all cultures we honor our elders and spiritual leaders. We do not go off and do things on our own. As in many cultures, whether priest, rabbi, or cleric, we hear their words and positions on issues we feel Great Spirit is leading us towards. Their blessing is not only a concurrence and affirmation of the initiatives ahead, it is a physical attribute of our core values in regard to honor and respect. Did not Abraham receive a blessing from Melchizedek?,” he concluded.

     Does God really visit physical places? Does God consider one place more sacred than another? Is there such a thing as a scared place? Or are all places sacred?
     In reaction to these questions, C. White gave this example, “Some feel a draw to Stonehenge. Some feel a spiritual draw to Vatican City. The Bible, records Abraham heard from God concerning his inheritance in a heavenly place at Bethel (translated “house of God”.) Jacob dreamed of a ladder that went to heaven at Bethel. Elijah was translated into heaven, and that day he was at Bethel.”
        During the ceremony, Mooney acknowledged the Whites as restoring a sacred site that had been left desolate. Mooney envisioned it being restored and that people would say, “It is as the ‘Garden of Eden.’”
     C. White pointed out that Mooney had just paraphrased Biblical prophecy from Ezekiel and Isaiah.
     Hours later, following the blessing ceremony at the Paleo-Indian ceremonial grounds, the Whites unveiled the Archeologist and Anthropologist dating results of the Paleo-Indian ceremonial site at the Barns of Rose Hill community center in Berryville, Va. The evidence they released validates the site’s integrity as positive for a Paleo-Indian era ceremonial sacred usage 10,470 years ago.
      For more about the Paleo-Indian site or the Native American Church of Virginia visit www.SanctuaryontheTrail.org. The Native American Church of Virginia is a 501(c)3 compliant faith-based initiative.
     The Paleo-Indian site received an official site number (44CK151) from the Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources adding it to the state’s inventory of archaeological sites in 2011.

Related Veteran News.

• In Sweat Lodge, Vets Find Healing ‘Down to the Core’ NPR Article
• Sacred smoke to heal US war veterans BBC Article
• VA Promoting Veterans Treatment Courts at National Conference Veterans Blog Article
• Women Work through Trauma Together Article

Native American Ministries Sunday
By René White (Feather), Lumbee Tribe

BLUEMONT, VA – Today is a special Sunday for Native Americans in the United States. We know, because of a beautiful church service held in the tiny village of Bluemont, Virginia.
     Call it “providence” that our neighbor Susan Freis Falknor invited us to this little stone Bluemont United Methodist Church (built in 1851) located on top of the Blue Ridge Mountain along Snickersville Pike.
     Being of Native American decent and custodians of a Paleo-Indian site just miles away, we were asked to simply make a few brief remarks about our May 7 presentation at the Bluemont Community Center. But what we did not know is, today is Native American appreciation day, for United Methodist Churches nationwide.
      On the third Sunday after Easter, Methodist churches across the nation celebrate Native American Indian contributions to churches and society.
     Today, with a couple of dozen people in attendance, (acting) Pastor Janice Coon greeted us wearing Native American-style dream catcher earrings. During the welcome, she and others recalled a myriad of Native Americans contributions that have made this great nation great.
     The first hymnal by the Resurrection Choir was, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.” 
     Above the choir was a holy cross with a circle around its center. For us, this not only denotes the cross of Jesus Christ but also encompasses the four directions from Native American culture.
     During our introduction, we had an opportunity to speak to the small group of children in attendance. I shared the song,“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” I asked them if they could remember the colors in the song.
     “Yes,” they sang out, along with most of the adults.
     Everyone must know, “Jesus loves all the little children, red, yellow, black and white” – the human race. We were also blessed to share that these four colors embody the four colors of the Native American medicine wheel.
     The Bluemont United Methodist Church program had this verse on its cover, from the Bible book of Matthew 22:27-29, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart … soul … and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
     What the Bluemont United Methodist Church did was recognize a people whom Jesus loves too -- Native Americans.
     We learned that our Bluemont community has been holding church services in this beautiful two-story stone building for more than 160 years.
     What we witnessed today reminds us, that as pretty as the building is, it is still just a building. The people are what make a church, a church.

      Thank you for showing love to your neighbor as yourself. We admired the devotion of your church’s people, beauty of your building and how much we are all similar to each other.
     Susan, you are truly our “Friend of Bluemont."

      Methodist churches approved this day in 1988 to observe Native American contributions. Many United Methodist Church’s use this day to partner with existing Native ministries and create programs on behalf of Native Americans. A collection supports seminary scholarships for United Methodist Native Americans.

Surely the presence of the Lord
Lyrics are by Janice Cowan

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
I can feel God's mighty power and God's grace.
I can hear the brush of angel's wings,
I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

In the midst of His children
The Lord said He would be.
It doesn't take very many
It can be just two or three.
And I feel that same sweet spirit
That I felt oft times before.
Surely I can say
I've been with My Lord

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

I can feel God's mighty power and God's grace.
I can hear the brush of angel's wings,
I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

There's a holy hush around us,
As God's glory fills this place.
I've touched the hem of God's garment,
I can almost see God's face.
And my heart is over flowing
With the fullness of God's joy.
And I know, without a doubt,
That I've been with the Lord.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
I can feel God's mighty power and God's grace.
I can hear the brush of angel's wings,
I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place

Click here to send
"Surely the Presence of the Lord"
ringtone to your cellphone.
Words and Music by Lanny Wolfe.

“For where two or three are gathered together
in My name, I am there in the midst of them," 
-- Matthew 18:20.

The Spout Run paleosite (44CK151) in Clarke County, Virginia is the oldest, extent, above-ground site in North American. Due to its location in some of the harshest ground in northern Virginia, this site has laid open on the ground just like the Paleoindians left it 12,000 years ago. It served them in a number of ways, such as a calendar for the annual seasons, a place where they held social and religious ceremonies, and a place from which they could control the flintknapping activities at the famous Thunderbird paleosite in Warren County, Virginia. The Paleoindians were making stone tools out of jasper, a favorite stone. This stone is found in the upper Shenandoah River valley.

The principal archaeological investigator is Wm Jack Hranicky RPA, who has been practicing archaeology for over 40 years in Virginia. He is the Director of the Virginia Rockart Survey. He has found, recorded, and published five prehistoric solstice sites in the Middle Atlantic area. The Spout Run’s landowner, Chris White, of Native American decent, brought the site to Hranicky’s attention who immediately recognized it as a possible solstice site. With a small excavation, they established the site as Paleoindian Period.

The excavation discovered two jasper tools and fire-cracked rocks, indicating a hearth. No other artifacts have been found on the site. Only one 5x5 ft square was excavated which left 95% of the site for the future.

Spout Run has direct alignments with both solar solstices, and the site is aligned physically east-to-west with the equinoxes. It has 15 above-ground component areas which have been found so far. The main site is composed of stone concentric rings and solar markers. This area has stone pointers which directly aim at the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes. Another major feature is a stone altar which is aligned with the summer solstice.

By using the morning sun’s position on the horizon of Blue Ridge Mountain, the Paleoindians could determine the end of the summer after which they left the area and returned to the coastal plain where winters were much more comfortable. Additionally, jasper is difficult to flake into tools when it is below 40 degrees.

One rock pointer was tested for a lunar orientation for the last full moon before the winter solstice. Other lunar markers probably exist, but presently they have not been discovered.

A shelter was discovered in the site’s upland area that contains Indian rockart: two hand glyphs and a geometric print. Near the top of the Blue Ridge Mountain, there is a large boulder with two incised hand impressions There are now 16 known rockart sites in Virginia. Two other rockart sites in Virginia contain concentric rings, altar, and hand glyphs.

The Spout Run site will make a major contribution to our understanding of the paleotimes along the entire Atlantic coast. The Paleoindians are often equated with Mammoth hunting; they needed and made stone tools to hunt them. The upper Shenandoah River valley’s jasper provided the stone for these hunting tools.

By Chris and René White
Clarke Daily News

The purpose of this letter is not to advocate for or against the preservation of the Cool Spring Battlefield.

Although, it is admirable and significant to dedicate parks, erect monuments to recognize our ancestors and preserve such treasures for future understanding; the Battle of Cool Spring was an important battle in American Civil War (fought July 17–18, 1864) and an important part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864.

But rather, we write to you as a possibility to initiate a conversation on preservation of an older Clarke County Virginia land-legacy – that of Native Americans.

There has been much debate about the cost versus value of preserving the history of a Civil War battle that took place on both sides of the river in 1864. While the Civil War is an important part of American history, the Virginia National Golf Course may hold another much older record of our national past. Native American artifacts dating back over 10,000 years have already been recovered from the Holy Cross Abbey directly across the river from the golf course.

We have a hint of artifacts at the Holy Cross Abbey. What possibly could lie unearthed directly across the river at the golf course; being that it has the natural advantage of flat vistas on each side of the river?

There are private collectors who have unearthed many artifacts in this county. Our Archaeologist reports that our Spout Run PaleoIndian site (Virginia Department of Historic Resources site # 44CK151) is the oldest, extant, above-ground site on the North American continent, dating approximately 12,000 years old. We started with rock rings, now we have a 2-mile complex with 15 above-ground features including two sets of right-hand prints and more.

Additionally, pre-historic PaleoIndian collections from the Warren County Thunderbird site are on display at our National Smithsonian Museum. How exciting this could be for Clarke County?

What a county! What a state! What a national and humanity treasure!

Let us not look at our history through the eyes of guilt for the mistakes and shortcomings that may have been made. Instead, let us view our history for the possibilities of the future we can create.

Clarke County land and legacy is richly dotted with a far more extensive history than the Civil War battle, mortar shells and metal buckles. Clarke County holds rich remains of a native people who lived here continually for thousands of years.

The land is important, the people too. By limiting land preservation efforts to 1864, are we compressing the legacy of our land to 150 years?

Our history books seem to encourage that. They seldom refer to the sophisticated Native American agricultural techniques practiced in Virginia before this state was named. Nor to the managed landscapes and river fish-weirs, where Native American hunting and fishing alternated with community and croplands arranged along waterways. History books seldom note that Native nutrition here was far superior to what was available in Europe before the colonial era. Nor that Native knowledge of astronomy informed farming calendars as well as navigation. Nor highlight Native American’s extensive societal contribution of adding natural plant medicines to the U.S. and modern-world pharmacopoeia. Nor is highlighted their relationship with Creator and life lived in harmony with creation.

Why do we avoid talking about Native peoples’ complex religious and social systems? Or how they created vast trade networks that extended thousands of miles, including up and down the Shenandoah River? Just 15-minutes outside our county border and on the Shenandoah River is one of the best-known PaleoIndian sites on the North America continent – the Thunderbird Flint-Run PaleoIndian jasper quarry.

The historical significance of our natural and cultural resources go back much further than a few hundred years. The people who lived here, the life they lived in Clarke County, was sustainable. What an intriguing culture.

Look no further than across the river from Cool Spring Battlefield to the Cool Spring House at the Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Va. On display is a chronological collection of Native tools found in Clarke County dating from 9,500 years B.C. old and leading up to a few hundred years ago. These archeological finds are safely enclosed in a glass case, thanks to the late Trappist Brother James Sommers, a lay archaeologist who unearthed the treasures from the abbey’s pastures and river banks.

Look still, to the Clarke County Historical Association Museum and Archives in Berryville where a replica of the “Great Law of Peace” wampum belt is on exhibit. It serves as a reminder of Native contributions to Virginia and our nation. How different would our U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights be if someone had not preserved that?

Given to the Iroquois by the “Great Peacemaker” (Creator), the “Great Law of Peace” formed the Iroquois Confederacy. between 1,000 and 1,450 AD; 326 to 776 years before the framing of the

U.S Constitution. Many Native tribes used it for peace agreements before this country was named “The United States of America.”

In fact, 40 years before the framing of the U.S. Constitution, our nation’s founding father’s (Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams) began drawing much inspiration from articles of the “Great Law of Peace” and the Iroquois Elders. Before the final draft of the Constitution was accepted, history records that the Iroquois Elders counseled the signers and drafters of the Constitution and Bill of Rights on many occasions.

History says, our founding fathers were “bewildered” at how the power of the government comes up from the people, rather than down from a ruler (thus “We the People”). It was a “foreign concept” that individual people had rights, “God given rights.” That is to say, “all people.”

If our leaders understood the depth of these words, “We the People” there would be have been no need for the women’s rights movement of the 1920’s nor civil rights movement of the 1960’s. These are God given rights “given” to “all people.” Do we understand it yet?

We know of this Constitutional contribution because community took the time to preserve the wampum belts. Native ancestors recorded the “Great Law of Peace” through oral tradition and into symbols and pictographs of wampum belts.

Right now, someone reading this may be unaware that a picture of a wampum belt in his/her pocket/wallet. It is printed on the reverse side of the 2010 U.S. one-dollar gold coins.

Remember in 2007, when the Susan B. Anthony coin was running out and Congress authorized a Sacagawea gold dollar? Since its production, the Native American series of coins reflects Native American contributions to agriculture” (2009 version) and the Great Law of Peace, the wampum belt and Native influence to “government” (2010 version).

Today, Native people are still living in Clarke County. Ask your neighbors and friends, and someone will say they can trace their roots to an existing tribe or are curious to whether they have Native ancestry.

Meanwhile, some Clarke County residents are unearthing remnants of this ancient culture. They collect and store their finds the best way they can. In rooms in their homes. In boxes. In closets. Collectively there is enough to support a large gallery.

In the military, we say a phrase for lost Americans, “We Will Never Forget.” Does this exclude Native Americans who lived here before us?

The importance of keeping the Native story alive in Clarke County enriches the history of our county. It allows residents and visitors alike to gain a deeper understanding of our past historical occurrences, both good and bad. We each have our own stories to tell, like trees with new foliage and thousands of years of root systems.

As our conversation continues and we discover a more fuller history, we can fill the silence of our Native American history to offer new perspectives on Clarke County’s past? Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?

“Who cares?” some may say.

Well someone’s children of tomorrow might! Is it being responsible to appreciate land for its collective past? Remembering a people for their contributions. Their sacrifices?

Will our unborn generations care what we leave for them? Or not leave? Could what we do now alter the historic character of our history? Of our present? Of our future? Of our land?

If we do not preserve our history, is it like destroying a book that cannot be re-written? Or hiding a story that cannot be retold?

And what a magnificent opportunity to tell a fuller story and not keep it buried. The lives that were here were sustainable. They lived. They thrived. Isn’t that marvelous?

There is much to be learned from a society that would sustain its society, culture, resources and life – without a need for our modern technology. There is much to learn from the land too. In preserving it. Even if we don’t care right now. Preserving it gives opportunities to future generations to learn from it.

Who knows …? It may be all of our elders and ancestors … yours … mine … theirs … whose courage created this opportunity. Our land. Our legacy. Now. We get to decide what we leave behind.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS.

CHRIS (Comeswithclouds) WHITE is an Elder and Roadman of Native American decent and founder of a Native American Church of Virginia. He also unearthed Clarke County history when he found the oldest, extant, above-ground site in North America literally in his own back yard, according to lead Archaeologist Jack Hranicky. Most recently Chris found petroglyphs or rock engravings on rocks within the Spout-Run complex. Hranicky confirmed the glyphs and has been briefing his findings to several archeological societies across the nation. The team started with rock rings, now they have a 2-mile complex with 15 above-ground features including two sets of right-hand prints. He is married to René White.

RENÉ WHITE (Feather) is a Native American woman and retired military veteran of 22 years serving in the U.S. Air Force. While on active duty, her military accounts covered 11 countries and included homeland defense, natural disasters, cyber, intelligence, media relations, internal information, community relations, recruiting and more. She is an artist, volunteers in the community and says she appreciates being “resourceful, grateful and humble.”

They are both residents of the historic and beautiful northern Shenandoah Valley.