Annual Falling Leaves Intertribal Gathering and Pow Wow Veterans' Food Drive

During the Friday through Monday portion of the Gathering and Pow Wow visitors will be asked to bring a donation of a non-perishable food item for distribution to Wiregrass Area Veterans, Active Duty and Family Members in need.

A little more than 1,800 miles to the north, this second weekend of October is celebrated in Canada as Thanksgiving Weekend. Among the indigenous North American First Nations and People a celebration was commonly held this time of year, at the end of the harvest season. The time of this celebration varied as much as the end of the harvest season. It was traditional in many First Nations cultures to offer an official giving of thanks during autumnal gatherings. In Haudenosaunee of Canada culture, Thanksgiving is a prayer recited to honor "The Three Sisters" (i.e., beans, corn, and squash) during the fall harvest.

The contributions of Native American Veterans and Active Duty Armed Forces Members cannot be questioned. Native American Men and Women continue to serve this country, as they have since before the Revolutionary War, even though an estimated 85 percent of the Native American population was wiped out within 150 years of Columbus's arrival in America, due largely to diseases such as smallpox that spread among Native American populations.

In the vast and varied traditions of a "Harvest Festival" and the giving of thanks to the Creator, the Eagle's Nest of Alabama will kick-off the 2009 collection of non-perishable food items for the 2009 Thanksgiving through Christmas holiday season and to assist in the stocking of the various Wiregrass Area Veterans Service Organizations Food Banks.

So if for no other reason that you come to the Annual Falling Leaves Intertribal Gathering and Pow Wow, come and donate a non-perishable food item to help a Veteran, Active Duty Armed Forces Member and their families, as a token of your gratitude for their service in defending Your Freedom!