As the organizer of the ParaVation event I would like to acknowledge that the land that the ParaVation event will take place on stands upon the traditional homeland of the Monacan, Manahoac, and other Siouan speaking people, past and present. While the ParaVation aims to raise funding for the restoration of the colonial era Heater House, the nature in which this house and the county in which it resides came to be should be recognized. It is important to remember that the indigenous Monacan and Manahoac people were a part of this land for over 10,000 years before having it taken from them in colonial establishment and expansion. It is with great gratitude and humility that I acknowledge them and show respect for them, their ancestors, and their culture, past and present in an effort to stop indigenous erasure. Despite the hardships they’ve endured through the loss of this land they remain and thrive on Bear Mountain in Amherst County, Virginia as the federally recognized sovereign Monacan Indian Nation tribe. To learn more about them please visit https://www.monacannation.com/.