Nebraskaland

NEBRASKAland July 2017

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/846037

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42 NEBRASKAland • JULY 2017 uly 21-23 will be a special three days for the people of Lewellen near Ash Hollow State Historical Park. With the signature sesquicentennial event "Convergence on Sacred Ground," they expect to welcome 15,000 to 20,000 people to the area for the celebration, recalling the scale of their landmark centennial celebration in 1967. But the event will be special for other reasons as well. Convergence on Sacred Ground will celebrate and bring together five distinct historic groups of the Ash Hollow area: Native Americans, cowboys, fur traders, pioneers and homesteaders, and the United States military. The event's title is in honor of the Native American people who once lived in Ash Hollow. "Our event is an opportunity to make history by inviting the Native Americans back and honoring them for what they contributed to the area," said DeAnn Beard, one of the event's organizers. "We wanted to provide an arena for them to come and tell their stories." Convergence on Sacred Ground will feature numerous educational and hands-on activities at five encampments representing each of the historic groups. At the pioneer encampment, visitors can milk a cow, gather eggs and churn butter; the fur trader encampment will feature trading, hide tanning and hawk and knife throwing; reenactors will portray daily life at the military encampment; and Sandhills ranchers will demonstrate cattle branding and herding, calf roping, blacksmithing and horse training at the cowboy encampment. At the Native American encampment, visitors can explore period-accurate tipis and see demonstrations of By Renae Blum A GATHERING OF CULTURES A signature sesquicentennial event at Ash Hollow State Historical Park will bring together five distinct historic groups of the Ash Hollow area. ABOVE: Commemorating the Oregon Trail journey, the marker reads, "Oregon Trail, Marked by the State of Nebraska, 1912, Windlass Hill entrance to Ash Hollow." RIGHT: This traditional necklace was crafted by Drattling Leaf of Black Hawk, South Dakota, who will be displaying her work at Convergence on Sacred Ground alongside 10-20 other Lakota artists. J PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG

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