Visiting Another Country – No Passport Required

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Today we are going to visit the Blackfeet and experience some of their culture first hand. It’s the last day of the North American Indian Days, a powwow for the four Blackfeet peoples.  We’ve time arrival for around noon because the Grand Entrance is scheduled to begin at one o’clock. That gives us a little time in the morning to catch up our blogs.  We’ve learned to write in Word and then cut and paste into Blogger because our access is so limited. 

We’re nearly out of creamer (how would we survive without our morning coffee!) so we stop at the Rising Sun camp store and at the Supermart to see where we will shop on the way home.  The nice guy at the camp store says that if they’re new order doesn’t come in, we can take as many of the little individual servings as we want!  As it happens, surprise, surprise, the Supermart actually has our hazelnut creamer!  No Peter Pan peanut butter but hazelnut creamer!

Finding Browning, where the powwow is located, in the “capital” of the Blackfoot Nation, is easy.  Finding the powwow itself, is a bit more difficult.  We pass the Blackfoot Stampede Arena and there is a lot of activity there, but it looks like a rodeo.  There are lots of lodges visible behind it but none of the limited signage suggests we are in the right place.

We continue on through town, passing a gas station where the gas is sixty cents cheaper than we paid the last time, and it doesn’t take long before we’re out of town again.  The plan is to turn around, buy cheap gas, and ask for directions.  Once we’ve filled the tank Marilyn accosts (her word!) a man wearing a Gate Attendant t-shirt and she asks where we will find the powwow. 

Hard to miss when you know what you're looking for!

Ah!  We are supposed to turn at the building with the bull-rider statue in front.  It’s the Blackfeet Heritage Center and Art Gallery and we find it easily.  At the base of the statue it says, “An Honest Try”, probably its title. There is no one at the entrance to the parking lot so we ask a young man, once we’re inside, where we should leave the car.  He points to a building with a metal roof and tells us that when we leave we should go the right.

Following other people who are walking takes us to the rodeo!  There the attendants point in the direction of the powwow and suggest we come back to the rodeo after we’re finished.  Among the cars are food vendors, activities for the kids and people selling furs, souvenirs, blankets and, sigh, jewelry!  It’s about half an hour ‘til the Grand Entrance and we want good seats so we go into the open-air arena, choosing the highest row facing the entrance which we think will be used by the dancers.  As a plus we also think it will stay in the shade!

The drum circles are directly across from us.

There aren’t many people here and we are a bit afraid that waiting until the last day may not have been too smart; but we already had our Waterton reservations for Friday and Saturday, so there you are!  Turns out that Indian time is a bit fluid.  Gradually the audience settles in the tiered bleachers and the EIGHT drum circles begin setting up.  They have portable pavilions like you see at art shows, which is a darn good thing.  We are under cover but they are in 107 degree weather by the time all is said and done!

There are folding chairs closer to the dance area and those people have brought umbrellas to fight the heat.  The announcer sounds like he also does rodeos and is somewhat difficult to understand;  but mostly you don’t need him to follow the action.  There is a Blackfoot gentleman sitting in front of us and he explains some of what is happening and another man tells us that we need a camera pass to take pictures.  We had read that on the flyer at St. Mary’s Lodge but didn’t see where to buy them.  He points out the place and we promise to do so.

The perfect blend of traditional and contemporary.

The announcer is asking all the participants to line up for the Grand Entrance and during that time the drum circles each have an opportunity to warm up.

The Grand Entrance is finally underway.  Since I don’t wear a watch and I haven’t turned on my phone, I have no idea what time it is.  It doesn’t really matter, does it!  The spectacle is led by a Viet Nam veteran, which is certainly quite an honor.  His headdress is composed of eagle feathers which stand straight up, encircling his head.  One must have fought in a battle to wear this headdress.  

 He is followed by people carrying the flags of the United States, The Blackfoot Confederacy, the Canadian flag, the POW-MIA flag, the State of Montana and about half a dozen others. I believe one is the Viet Nam battle ribbon with an eagle feather on it and I think the others are military as well. Behind the flags come those who have achieved some major accomplishment in their lives, like graduating from college.  That entitles them to wear the war bonnet. 

 They are followed by all those who will be dancing today, and what a marvelous array of colors and finery they are wearing, embellished with feathers, intricate beadwork and furs.  They dazzle the eye, and the ear is continually treated to the drumming and singing of the drum circles.  The parade makes a spiral in the center of the arena, and goes round and round until everyone has entered, from the youngsters with their parents to those who will compete in the sixty-and-over category. The dancers who will compete in each category enter together.  Their costumes told us which dance they performed, with the fancy feather and prairie chicken being easily recognized.

I know that was a lot of pictures;  but it's so hard to choose!  At least I didn't upload ALL
of them for your viewing pleasure!  Or the three videos!  Got to keep something for later!

When all are finally in the sacred space, there is a prayer and the anthems of the four peoples are sung. A welcome was also given by each of the NAID princesses.

Some of the details in the beading is just too amazing!  Actually, I guess it all is, but here's a small sampling.

While all this is going on, Marilyn has gone to the office to buy our camera passes, so she has a different vantage point from mine.  She can see the drum circle closest to the office which is good, since she has to wait until the lady is finished judging before she comes back to take our twenty dollars a piece.

The kids really fascinate me!  No only are they too adorable, but it is marvelous to see them embracing their ancestry.

The next event is a memorial for a famous singer who died since the last powwow.  There is a parade of all his extended family, led by the NIAD princesses and a large portrait of him.  When the circle is about half traversed, various people come up to the family to offer their condolences.  Then a list of names is read out and those people come up to receive blankets, while other family members toss gift towels into the crowd.  A lady sitting down a ways from us comes over to explain what is going on.  The gifts are a way for the family to thank those who were the deceased’s friends for their friendship throughout his life.  It is similar to a potlatch in that way.

 She also explains that her church has been helping the Blackfeet as much as possible.  It seems that the US government didn’t like the last tribal council so no one got a paycheck for the past year!  They have just held new elections and everyone hopes that there will be better relations now!  After driving through Browning it is obvious that they can use all the help they can get.  We had talked with some people a few days ago who had also mentioned how poor the people are in Browning.

 After the memorial, competitors are invited to come forward and warm up before their dance. The official dance competition begins with the ladies sixty and over who perform the traditional women’s dance.  The announcer asks us all to stand in respect for the senior dancers.  Pretty cool! 

All the competitors in a particular category dance at the same time, which must make the judging easier – and keeps the event from lasting into the darkness!  There is another Grand Entrance at seven, so they have to keep things moving.

Next comes the men-over-sixty competition, followed by more senior ladies. When the categories go down in age to fifty-five, we are all able to sit back down.  Marilyn and I don’t, as you might have guessed, because we can get better pictures standing – and it’s all about the pictures.

She's dancing with a cane!

The announcer tells us that there are 125 lodges and 462 RVs and asks in anyone slept in his lodge last night!  I guess the answer must have been, No!”

After this first group of competitions, there is a singing contest during which anyone who wants to, can come into the center of the arena and dance.  Some chose to use this as another warm-up and others seemed to be dancing for the joy of it, whether they are in costume or not.  Iron Horse wins the singing competition!

Part of the judging is based on the amount of movement of the costume's components.

Marilyn is out of battery and I’m already overwhelmed with pictures to choose from, so we decide to check the vendors and head back to Rising Sun.  We’ve been looking for Joe’s lodge, but we don’t see it; and I’m sure he wouldn’t be there now, anyway!

We do see the lodge of the Blackfeet Veterans, which is one of the few which is decorated.

 Lots of the jewelry is attractive but there is a couple from Utah whose work is outstanding.  We spend a lot of time trying to make decisions and are finally successful I buy two pairs of earrings, which were made by their son, and one is even a gift!  Marilyn winds up with two, as well, and we are both happy campers.  But we agree not to even look at anything else, except food.

Julius and Darlene Claw.

While Marilyn finishes shopping I walk a little further down the display and hear a Canadian Indian couple telling the vendor that the Canadians have trouble coming to the powwow now that Canada has tightened its border.  The US and the tribes signed a treating giving them dual-citizenship; but Canada hasn’t.  That means the Canadians have to have a passport, which is difficult to get.

There is a man selling fresh-squeezed lemonade and that sounds divine, especially since we’ve finished our water.  We’ve been pretty good about keeping hydrated, but not perfect; and it’s just awfully darned hot, even with no humidity!  The only thing left on our list is fry bread!  I can’t go home without it and Marilyn has never had it, so a stop is mandatory.  She puts cinnamon on hers and I go for cinnamon and honey.  Sooooo good!

We sit in the car with the a/c running (don’t say it!) and finish our treats before heading home.  Once back at our cabin, Marilyn takes a nap and I attempt to download my photos.  Seems my machine thinks that JPEG is now an unknown format!  It takes the first few then spits up.  Marilyn says to deselect the videos because they are sometimes a problem.  Nope, that’s not it.  I play for at least an hour before giving up.  I try a new card; it doesn’t work. I reformat the card;  no difference. I delete some older files; it’s unimpressed.  I decide to blog in Word and import it when I get access.

When Marilyn wakes up I ask her to try the new card and her machine can read it just fine.  Aha!  There must be a glitch in my card-reader port!  Here’s a lucky thing – several years back I had given Marilyn a thingie (technical term) which I wasn’t using.  She now needs it for her new AirMac and brought it with her.  It’s a USB card reader!  And my machine loves it!  My trip is saved!

We are finally no longer stuffed with fry bread and agree we should get a salad for dinner to make amends to our tummies.  On the drive to Two Dogs Flat, which is part of the registration area, we see a coyote dash up the road and into the tall grasses.  He’s really quick and I wasn’t expecting a photo op between the cabin and the restaurant, but here he is, sort of!

Hey, he's our only wildlife for the day!  Gotta have our critter fix!

When we check in there is short wait for a table and we try to access Blogger.  Hmmm, I love Rising Sun but their network isn’t all it might be.  When we are called to be seated, we have just barely gotten on line.  It takes all of dinner to upload our photos and import them into the blog.  And for once I’m a little ahead of my partner in crime.  She usually is ready to post well ahead of me;  but not this time.  It doesn’t matter because Blogger won’t publish anyway!

After dinner and before we give up on publishing, we have an entertaining chat with James who has been providing our dinner music. We tell him we saw him at the powwow and he’s really surprised!

We’ve closed the place down!  Our last attempt to publish was while sitting in the small foyer area.  There’s one available chair, which I let Marilyn have because I’m comfortable on the floor. A young man asks us for the wifi password and then asks what you do if you don’t have a room number.  We’re sitting about fifteen feet from Carly at the desk and don’t feel like right about giving him ours, so Marilyn tells him about St. Mary Lodge.  We also share that information with the guys sitting in the only other two chairs in the foyer, who are having a dickens of a time connecting.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day and we can probably post from the SML parking lot in the morning.  It doesn’t take long to fall asleep!  OH!  Did I mention that during the four days of the powwow, no alcohol was sold anywhere on Indian land, which includes Glacier? All the restaurants and groceries were dry, just like when we had Sunday Blue Laws.