“It is neither your title nor your name that defines you, but what is written on your heart.”
Rene Locklear White has held many titles: lieutenant colonel; Air Force veteran; wife; mother; Native American religious leader.
But none of these things define her.
Serving as a space satellite surveillance officer, White says, “I spent 22 years in the Air Force. Proudly. Happily.”
That pride and that happiness are what define her more than anything.
With her husband, Chris “Comeswithclouds” White, White runs Sanctuary on the Trail, a Native American Christian church in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The church has five key areas of focus this year, the Spirit Speaks Forum, arts and culture advancement, disaster relief, human rights advocacy, and veteran wellness.
The focus on veteran wellness doesn’t jut apply to spiritual wellness, but to physical wellness. Together, the Whites work with veterans to understand their benefits and to get wounded warrior care for themselves and their families.
Comeswithclouds built their house with his son, Jacob, and the home is a beautiful reflection of who they are.
“We can honor nature and be a part of it, all the time,” White said. “The house is built, but now we’re.. building the community,” Comeswithclouds noted.
Currently, the family hosts Ceremony at their home, inviting members and strangers alike to experience the land in its purest, untouched state. The way Native Americans thousands of years before them did.
For more information, visit Sanctuaryonthetrail.org.