Paul G

Posted by flyingheart2

It's powwow day. A friend has invited you to see "the Indians" dance.
You pack up the car, the kids and some sandwiches, apprehensive because
you have never been to a powwow before.

You drive to the
sight, still not knowing what you will see. The kids are restless and
are asking too many questions for you to answer. You tell them "wait,
we will see when we get there, and you just peed at the last gas
station".

Finally you arrive. You are let to park on the grass
and you get all the kids out, the food together and head for the gate.
You pay your money and enter the powwow grounds. You see booths
arranged in a circle with all kinds of neat "Indian" things for sale.
You look for your friend but she is nowhere to be seen. "What do I do
now" you think.
Then you hear a sound. A sound like you have never
heard before. You know it's a drum but you have never heard a drum
quite like that one before. You stop to listen and the kids get quiet.
It speaks to something inside your spirit that until now you have never
been aware of.

A new smell enters your nostrils. You and the
children are hungry, and you know you want something to eat, but
something inside you needs to see where that sound is coming from.

You
grab the kids by the hands and start to head for where that sound is
coming from. As you near the arena you start to see Indians dressed in
brightly colored clothing. They are festooned with bells, feathers and
in some cases lots of yarn or grass. The sound is getting closer and
you follow the brightly colored dancers. They get to a place at the
head of the arena and stop. They are attaching numbers to their
clothing and you are wondering just what the numbers are for.
You
find a place in the bleachers, drag the kids to a spot and sit down.
You can see the cluster of colors and people awaiting something.

Just
then you hear the M.C. start to announce that you are honored guests at
the powwow. He asks you to stand for "Grand Entry". You are thinking,
"What does he mean grand entry" but you stand just the same. The kids
are not wanting to stand still, their eyes filled with colors, their
ears filled with sounds, and their noses filled with new and
interesting smells.

Then the drum starts and you see the
people at the head of the arena start to form lines. As the drum keeps
beating a tempo that is foreign but somehow oh so familiar, the dancers
enter the ring. The people in the front are carrying flags and one man
has a staff with some kind of eagle feather on it. You wonder what that
means. The dancers are beautiful and some are dressed quite differently
then others. As they go around the ring, the people that are playing
the drum start to sing songs that sound like they have no words. Again
this speaks to a part of you that you were never aware of before. A
stirring in your soul, that cries out for you to join in

This mystery takes you by surprise. You never thought that you could feel this way.
As
you watch the dancers go around the arena for the third time they
suddenly change course and head straight up the middle of the arena
stopping in front of the M.C. They stand very still and you hear the
M.C. talk. "We will take this time to honor our ancestors by singing
the honor song". You don't know what to do.

"Should I join, stand or sit"

Not
wanting to be noticed you stand still watching intently. They sing a
most beautiful song that again stirs things that up till this very
moment have lay dormant in your soul. It's a beauty beyond comparison,
even though it is very foreign to you.

This is what it is like for some people when seeing their first grand
entry. It is a soul stirring moment. A moment that stops you in time,
and for just a brief second feel at one with all your fellow human
beings. After Grand entry is over and the M.C's voice releases you from
your momentary trance, you leave the bleachers to explore the rest of
the circle. You are intensely curious about everything now. You go to
the booths, buy a few things and have your first taste of an Indian
taco. It is marvelous. You go back and get a piece of frybread. You
wonder how you could be this old in and living in the U.S.A and have
never been aware that such things existed.

Finally after an
hour or two, you spot your friend. You just remember that she is the
one who invited you. You wonder how long she has been here as you have
been pleasantly distracted for , an hour? Two? Three? You don't even
know anymore how long you have been here, but that no longer seems to
matter.

You gather up the kids and head for your friend, full
of questions and hungry for more knowledge of the things you have
experienced today. You are almost breathless with anticipation to
share how you are feeling with someone. Your friend laughs and just
says "See, I told you, you would like it."

You vow to go to every powwow that you can from now on.

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