Branham, also known as \u201cPapaw the Chief\u201d to his grandchildren, was one of two keynote speakers to address approximately 100 attendees. He was joined by Frank Dukes<\/strong>, a professor at the University of Virginia, who was involved in community processing of the new memorial to the enslaved laborers who helped to build the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Community Day acts as a glimpse into the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding\u2019s Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI). During SPI\u2019s four sessions in May and June, academically credentialed practitioners teach five- and seven-day courses<\/a> that can be taken for personal skills growth and training or academic credit. Three-day workshops are also offered<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graduate student Tala Bautista<\/strong>, who introduced Branham, was EMU\u2019s first connection to the Monacan Nation. As a member of the Sumacher First Nation in Kalinga, Philippines, she arrived in Virginia looking for other indigenous voices and made a visit to the Monacans in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we asked the chief what we could do as a response to the stories he shared to us, he said, \u2018Tell anyone you meet that we exist,\u2019\u201d Bautista recalled in the recent Crossroads <\/em>magazine<\/a>. \u201cIn my last year here as a student, I am doing my best to do what he told us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Monacan nation was granted federal recognition in 2018 \u2013 a distinction Branham has fought for his entire life. While he noted, tongue-in-cheek, that \u201cyou don\u2019t get any checks\u201d with the recognition, it does allow the tribe to apply for education scholarships, assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and access to the Indian Health Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal recognition is in some ways, Branham said, a symbol of pride and security \u2013 that Monacans no longer have to hide their heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI asked my grandmother one time, and she told me with tears in her eyes, she said, son, if someone were to hear us teaching you anything about being Indian, we might not have had a place to live the next day,\u201d Branham recalled. \u201cEverybody should be proud of who they are. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to instill in our young people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tFrank Dukes<\/strong>, distinguished institute fellow at the University of Virginia\u2019s Institute for Engagement & Negotiation, spoke about other efforts to raise awareness about Virginia\u2019s racial history in his plenary address and in a workshop on transforming community spaces. In 2007, Dukes helped to start the University and Community Action for Racial Equity group, which sought stakeholder feedback on how to improve the university’s relationship with the community \u2013 including how to acknowledge their history as an institution built by enslaved laborers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\u201cWe have to actually tell a more complete history of the university,\u201d Dukes said. \u201cHistory can teach, and all of us must be willing to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tAfter a years-long collaborative process, including input from the descendants that could be found of the 4,000 people who had been enslaved on the campus, the group had a memorial to those laborers<\/a> designed and built. It is now in the final stages of construction. A public dedication ceremony is planned for April 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunder-Rao was one of 25 local teachers whose attendance was sponsored by a local donor couple who began funding scholarships last year<\/a> to introduce local educators to peacebuilding and restorative justice concepts. She attended Professor Kathy Evans<\/strong>\u2019 workshop on circle processes in schools, which was packed with teachers, counselors, and school administrators from around the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunder-Rao and other teachers peppered Evans with questions about how to improve their circles, especially when students are reluctant to speak or even sit in the circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t rush trust \u2026 there\u2019s a reason they\u2019re not invested,\u201d said Evans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaccard, who has served at the home since 1995, works with children who are placed in the group home by their parents due to homelessness or other unsafe situations. Currently, there are 12 children at the home, who are looked after collaboratively by their parents and the home staff. The home\u2019s services include \u201ceverything from emergency support to an alumni house where they can live and pay rent, receiving the rent back when they leave,\u201d Jaccard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI enjoyed learning about circles in schools, and feel that there is an easy application in our environment here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Altizer coordinates the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute and supports other projects through the institute, such as a Governor\u2019s Summit on Equitable Collaboration and a natural resource conservation and economic development project in the Lower Chickahominy watershed. From a workshop on personal formation for peacebuilders<\/a>, Altizer gleaned \u201cthe need to be more thoughtful about how the different facets of my identity contribute to my empowerment or disempowerment in any situation, and how that informs my ability to facilitate change, or to support others in doing so.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilson has worked in adult education for over 10 years, and now develops and leads training for the city of Roanoke to ensure \u201cemployees have the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in their work.\u201d A two-time attendee at Community Day, Wilson wants to seek out \u201copportunities for the City of Roanoke to collaborate more equitably with the community, and I hope to be able to bring a trauma-informed lens to my work with the city by attending a full STAR training<\/a> in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Connecting with Indigenous Virginians<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A long road toward memorializing enslaved laborers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Community Day participants: What they said<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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