2024 Native American Cultural Celebration Major Speaker: René Locklear White
Thursday, November 14, 2024 7pm
About this Event
1701 College Ave, Fredericksburg, VA 22401, USA
René Locklear White is an active member of the Lumbee Indian Nation. First and foremost, she is married to her wonderful husband Chris (Comeswithclouds) White. She holds a master’s degree in Diplomacy, three bachelor’s degrees in American Indian Studies, Fine Art and Mathematics from her tribal university the University of N.C. at Pembroke. She is a devoted volunteer. Her vision is to help leaders first, bring recognition to the contributions of Indigenous peoples to reduce suffering. As co-founder of a Native American non-profit, she has been working to bundle together decolonizing educational artifacts, activities and resources. René sees herself as an intercultural mediator and Indigenous artist.
As an artist who specializes in food, drawing/painting, beading, writing, multimedia, and photography as well as creating events, digital posters, magazine layouts, websites, and filming/editing videos, she envisions her art skills as tools for decolonization in support of Indigenous Peoples. As an Indigenous chef, she demonstrates cooking and preserving “first foods” as an art form to veterans and at local libraries, Lumbee events, and various museums including the Smithsonian. She has taught art-in-nature, helped children build and interactive with an Indian Village and worked to preserve pre-historic and historic landmarks, including a Paleo-Indian site her husband found on their property. She supports women’s events, writes articles, speaks at public events and helps senior citizens & military veterans.
She works closely with Virginia’s Indigenous Tribes, working with them to select Indigenous words for street names and names for structures. René supports Simply Shenandoah leadership as a “Native American Wisdom Keeper” to educate them about Indigenous traditions and practices and help integrate proven and traditional wisdom into the resort’s design, programing, landscape, and menus.
René is a Master Public-Affairs Officer trained by the Department of Defense for 25 years. She managed the Department’s branding, intellectual property and joint-recruiting web sites. She worked with people of influence fostering critical interagency partnerships including the White House, State Department, Secretary of Defense, news media and embassies, as well as Virginia Arts Commission, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Go Blue Ridge Travel, Top of Virginia Regional Chamber, Virginia Artisan Trail Network, Top of Virginia Artisan Trail and her Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. René is a resourceful initiator and helper. She describes herself as an “emissary” and her team of friends and volunteers as a “cultural rescue” team.
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