Saving the Circle

10/17/2026

Check out these films showing in the "Indigenous Cinema of the Americas" segment of The Virginia Film Festival October 21-25, 2026 at the Violet Crown Cinemas in Charlottesville, VA.
https://virginiafilmfestival.org/festival/2026/films

10/17/2026

I'm interested in hearing about the "reconsideration" that is being presented in this reenactment. The research we did for "Unity - Cockacoeske's Dilemma" reflects that Bacon and his men tried to kill Cockacoeske and all the people in her community.

10/10/2026

A gentle reminder to those who prefer Columbus Day over Indigenous Peoples Day:

Christopher Columbus did not simply arrive in a land already inhabited by Indigenous peoples. His expeditions and colonial rule brought enslavement, forced labor, brutal punishment, and violence against the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, particularly the Taíno.

These are not myths or attempts to rewrite history. They are documented parts of history that have too often been overlooked in traditional celebrations of Columbus.

Acknowledging these atrocities does not erase history or anyone’s heritage. It means recognizing the suffering of Indigenous peoples alongside the stories of European exploration.

We cannot honor history truthfully by celebrating one part while ignoring the suffering caused by another.

Indigenous Peoples Day is an opportunity to recognize not only those who suffered, but also the Indigenous Nations, cultures, and communities that survived and continue to thrive.

Truth is not an attack on tradition. Acknowledgment is not erasure. And respect begins with understanding.

Illuminating Truth – Inspiring Unity.

Saving the Circle, Inc.

10/06/2026

Tree Hill, in eastern Henrico County along the James River, is facing a proposed large-scale residential and commercial development.

This is not simply undeveloped land. Tree Hill is the birthplace of WaHōnSeNaKah (Chief Powhatan) and part of the ancestral homeland of Virginia’s Indigenous peoples. Its history also connects directly to Matoaka (Pocahontas), Powhatan’s daughter, and Cockacoeske, the Pamunkey leader whose story Saving the Circle explores in our film Unity – Cockacoeske’s Dilemma.

These are not isolated historical figures. They are part of an interconnected Indigenous history rooted in the lands and waterways of Tsenacommacah. The places associated with their lives help give context to the histories STC works to bring forward through Indigenous storytelling.

Although development approvals for the property date back nearly two decades, what has not changed is the cultural, historical, and environmental significance of this landscape.

Once an irreplaceable ancestral landscape is developed, it cannot be recreated.

Some places deserve more than remembrance. They deserve protection.

Saving the Circle — Illuminating Truth. Inspiring Unity.

A sacred Indigenous landscape, historic Virginia site, and irreplaceable environmental resource under threat from large-scale development.

10/03/2026

It’s gonna be great! Will you ask the question that makes Lyla June wax poetic like the ancestors are whispering in her ear…

09/30/2026

Across He Sapa (the Black Hills), billboards designed by Oglala Lakota artist Marty Two Bulls Jr. greet visitors with a message: "Welcome to He Sapa. You're on Stolen Land."

He Sapa was guaranteed to the Oceti Sakowin under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, then illegally seized by the United States after gold was discovered. The tribes have refused payment for the land and continue to demand its return. Today, Indigenous-led movements are defending He Sapa's sacred places and water from mining and mineral exploration.

On Friday, October 9, join artist Marty Two Bulls Jr., movement elder Madonna Thunder Hawk, and community organizer Taylor Gunhammer for a free virtual roundtable on the struggle to protect and reclaim He Sapa.

Welcome to He Sapa: A Living Legacy of Resistance
Friday, Oct 9, 2026 | 2pm ET/11am PT
Register on Zoom

What does it mean to call the Black Hills "He Sapa"? What’s at stake in the intergenerational struggle to protect this sacred Indigenous homeland from mining and mineral exploration? And how can public art intervene in the story presented to millions of visitors each year? Held in conjunction with...

09/30/2026

The great rock- the little rock- and lessons from the Susquehanna.
Indigenous storytelling at The Sound of 1776.

09/27/2026

Blendigenous in the community! Here before- during- and after 1776.

05/23/2026

They do and we are!