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The Monacan Indian Nation will be holding its third annual Cultural Heritage Day on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista.
The event, which will run from noon to 5 p.m. at the park’s double decker pavilion, will showcase traditional tribal activities like native drum and dance alongside history-focused opportunities, such as genealogical tracing and an oral history storytelling session.
Contessa Sancho, the tribal nation’s duly elected chief, said, “This will probably be our biggest year.” Because the event happens on the same day as Buena Vista’s Mountain Day, happening downtown, it will likely attract visitors to both events.
Sancho said they should have around 12 youth dancers, and around 20 dancers overall, with different kinds of traditional dances being shown off.
Craft vendors featuring bead work and tribal design will be there, and food vendors will be selling fry bread in addition to other foods.
There will be native language- learning opportunities as well. Attendees will be given certain words to remember, and if they recite them properly, they will be entered into a drawing to win various prizes.
Austin Lund, representing FamilySearch.org, will be at the event, helping attendees and tribal members trace their genealogy, which together with the oral history presentation, presents an opportunity for citizens around the area who may not be aware of a connection with the Monacan tribe.
“I think our whole mission for the event is to show that we are still here,” said Sancho. “A lot of our history has been lost. We want to incorporate everyone we can. We want to teach, and we want our cultural ways to be known.”
