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Reveal or Conceal?
The Third Step
In 1996 I engaged in a great deal of rapport work among the Kainai,
sat on several boards and societies, and met with the members of a
variety of local agencies. My fieldwork formally began on the reserve
in the summer of 1997. I was invited to attend a teaching circle spon-
sored by the members of the Blood Tribe Disabilities Society. The so-
ciety’s plan was to teach a third-grade class on the reserve everything
they needed to know about disability. Essentially, their purpose was to
humanize the disabled by debunking popular stereotypes the students
may have inherited from others. Each speaker (two male quadriplegics,
a male paraplegic, and a female amputee) explained the cause of their
disability and assured them they could approach a Native disabled
person to give them a hug, or simply speak to them directly without
apprehension, if they chose to. They wanted to convey the fact that
they experienced the same joy, sorrow, pain, fear, suffering, and laugh-
ter, and failed and succeeded in their lives in the same manner, and to
the same extent, as the non-disabled or able-bodied did.
When joining them, my friend Butch introduced me to Carolla,
one of his relations, who was, he pointed out, the women’s Sundance
leader on the “north end” of the reserve. She was (and is) as engaging
and intelligent a woman as I have ever met, and following the meeting
I drove her home and stayed for tea. Carolla asked how I had come
to the reserve, how I knew Butch, and why I wanted to work with
the disabled. In addition to “caring for the women” at the Sundance,
Carolla explained she was also involved with the Blood Tribe Disabil-
ities Society. Within a period of five years, she had had a limb ampu-
tated as a result of a motor vehicle accident, had undergone breast-
removal surgery for cancer, and had been diagnosed with diabetes, but
remained strong, vibrant, engaged, and dedicated to the Sundance and
the disabled. In turn, I explained the connections between my family
and the disabled, having originally met Butch through my husband’s
former employer, the Canadian Paraplegic Association. I also told Ca-
rolla of my recent move from the Okanagan and some of my experi-
ences with the Eagle Sundance Society.
I was curious about any differences between the Eagle Society
Sundance and the Sundance on the reserve. Carolla explained that
