0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Reveal or Conceal?
quickly, quietly disappeared. Though I had told Gloria about Elena’s
story, I had not mentioned my intuition about the eagle, and I was sur-
prised when she proclaimed it “a sign” that Pi’ita “Eagle” had taken
an interest in me. Gloria suggested that Pi’ita’s flight signified to her
that I should attend the Sundance, albeit as a supporter not a dancer.
“Not yet anyway,” she laughed. “That won’t happen until Creator
wants it to.” Gloria explained that a “purpose” had been set in mo-
tion “to help you and me in some way.” As politely as I could, I indi-
cated I knew very little about the tradition of the Sundance, or Native
spirituality, for that matter. In response, Gloria spent the better part of
the day explaining the particulars of the pictograph and vision quest
sites. She patiently answered my questions to ensure, she said, that I
would have what I needed. I indicated I would like to learn more, and
Gloria suggested I should attend my first sweat lodge ceremony the fol-
lowing Saturday, at a Sundance Lodge maintained by her friend and
fellow dancer. I accepted the invitation, and the following weekend,
while in the lodge, I brooded over Gloria’s notion that some “pur-
pose” had been “set in motion.” Following the sweat, I committed
myself to attend regular “preparation” sweats with Gloria, at Mer-
ritt. Within a week or two, I had also agreed to attend the Sundance.
As Gloria had suggested, I would attend as a supporter; though I still
had little idea what that meant or what it entailed.
The Second Step
Most of what I learned at that first Sundance I gleaned from work-
ing with the elderly “aunties,” “grammas,” and others (both men and
women), either in the open-air kitchen, or in the makeshift day-care
center used for the dancers’ children. For four days, I cooked and gath-
ered firewood, served Elders, cleared and washed dishes—often until
2 : 00 or 3 : 00 a.m., despite the fact that the entire camp was awakened
each morning before sunrise, and I was “dancing” the first round of
the day before the first light over the mountaintops. This, perhaps,
sounds deceptively simple. Let me assure you it was not. In some ways,
the experience defies description and certainly exceeds anything I had
ever experienced. Dancers are focused on two things: their prayers and
