in honor of peninah

peninah was my great, great grandmother. she was 3/4 cherokee. her blood runs through our veins. when the beat of the drum and the high pitched chanting song of the indian is played my family cannot help but feel the rhythm and soon find ourselves joining in dance and song. my aunties and my mother are particularly moved by this sound. they remember trips to the reservation in the mid 1920's with their father to watch and honor the heritage of these people. through the years we have been privileged to attend pow wow's and even a sacred sundance. this past saturday, george called to let us know a pow wow was taking place at soldier hollow in midway. he knew our mom would want to attend. we made our way up to the canyon and with george, who knows everyone and is loved by most (not unlike his grandfather george, i'm sure), we were waived through all toll gates and booths, received a parking spot at the front entry and guided to a shaded canopy with front row seating. at 6pm the circle was cleared and young men dancers performed a cleansing dance to clear the area of evil or bad events and bless it for good. a prayer was said, honoring the people and their traditions as well as our united nation and those among the tribes that were serving us. then the parade of nations took place. it was an inter tribal event, there were ute and crow, bannock shoshone, navajo, arapaho, paiute, cree, lakota, nez peirce, siox and many other tribes. the granddaughter's spun around in their fancy shawls and jigglebell dresses, and the grandson's bent low and reached high as they danced to the beating drum, dressed in fine feathers, beads and quills with painted faces. the littlest ones were called the ladybugs and they followed the lead of their elders and gently moved their feet around in circles. but my favorite dance was the grandfathers. they were noble. they were proud. they were magnificent.