NAHM Harvest Festival brings Native tradition to Blacksburg

BLACKSBURG, Va. (Nov. 20, 2025) - This past Saturday, Native at Virginia Tech collaborated with local Native American tribal members to host their annual Native American Heritage Month Harvest Festival. 

Led by Retired Lt. Col. René Locklear White of the Lumbee tribe, members from various tribes across the country cooked traditional Lumbee food to serve attendees at the Turfgrass Research Center Pavilion in Blacksburg, on Nov. 15. 

“I want people to know that we’re still here,” White said. “Indigenous nations in this country are suffering at high rates of diabetes and different disabilities, (along with) poverty and heart disease. And I believe that some of that suffering comes from not having proper food.”

Indigenous communities throughout the nation face relatively more health challenges than other races. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Indians have the highest death rates and lowest life expectancy compared with whites, Blacks, and Hispanics in the U.S. 

“We’ve gotten displaced from a lot of our traditional foods that are really healthy for us and make us feel good," White said. "And there’s ways to eat some of the colonialized foods, but in a healthier way.” 

Collard sandwiches, purple cornbread, pork and squash were among the foods cooked and served. 

“Food is medicine,” White said. 

White’s husband, Chris “Comeswithclouds” White (of Cherokee descent), emphasized how they believe the kinds of food one eats can contribute to either a “living consciousness” or a “death consciousness.” 

“When we become conscious of what we're doing, how we affect others, and how we show up in the world, it moves us more toward a life consciousness—good things and other things,” Chris White said. “You know, it's like a positive attitude. That's life consciousness. But always complaining and speaking badly—that's more death consciousness.” 

The Whites taught visitors about their beliefs, food and traditions throughout the afternoon. 

First, the traditional meal was served, consisting mainly of Lumbee-style food with a Monacan twist. 

Then, a variety of tribal members, students and faculty members spoke about the event, their backgrounds, and what the day meant to them. Visual aids, presentations and hands-on activities were utilized to teach about Native American heritage. 

Finally, audience members had the opportunity to get hands-on experience making American Indian tea and working with clay. Additionally, they could ask questions and socialize. 

“It's really a process of getting close with the Earth, moving with the earth and learning about our culture, our stories, our language and how do we integrate that with food?” Native at VT member Joquan Denton said. “Because food carries so much culture.” 

The timing of the festival comes around the time many tribes historically would harvest food. 

“The Harvest Festival is an event that kind of replicates what our ancestors did years and years and centuries ago at the end of harvesting season in order to have enough food to go through the winter,” dual citizen of the U.S. and Monacan Indian Nation Victora Ferguson said. 

Ferguson stresses how this time of year is about thanks for many people, but for indigenous people, it is especially about thanks and what they have been able to acquire. 

“We can’t have empathy unless people know our stories,” Ferguson said.