Goulet.pdf

Barbara Wilkes

I would attend the Sundance as a supporter, but the farther away I
drove, the more my thoughts shifted back to the concerns of family
and work. As June approached, I wavered for several days undecided.
Could I spare the time? Did my desire to see the women again consti-
tute a valid reason to attend? Would I go?

The Fourth Step

So it was that in June 1997 I determined to follow the directions I had
been given and drove off the highway into what appeared to be an
unkempt field. After driving for nearly two miles, I reached the antic-
ipated turn in a dirt road, which brought me alongside a steep cou-
lee, several hundred feet high above a wide oxtail turn in the Oldman
River. As I had been told, I could see a house, a campground, some
tents, camper trailers, a Sundance arbor, all sheltered within a grove
of massive old cottonwood trees, I was overcome by a powerful im-
pression that somehow I had “been here before.” What prevailed was
a sense that somehow I “was home,” and I could not shake the feel-
ing. I began to tremble and had to remain in the truck for several min-
utes to collect myself and explain myself—to my husband and grand-
son who had accompanied me.
As I struggled to regain some control, it began to grow dark and the
wind picked up in the kind of gale that is typical of the prairies at sun-
set; it also felt as if it might rain. Seeing my grandson’s face in the rear-
view mirror, I realized we had to quickly set up camp and drove down
the coulee and chose a site under a large cottonwood overlooking the
riverbank. We struggled to wrap a large tarp around the tent to ensure
that my grandson would not get cold or wet during the night. The wind
and the darkness worked in tandem against our efforts, and suddenly,
the rain pelted down so hard it was painful. The tarp became tangled
around my legs. I was standing in one place, spinning around, trying
to unwrap myself, when a man stepped out of the semi-darkness and
asked if he could help. We quickly regained control of the tarp and
secured it for the night. We shook his hand and he asked if there was
anything else we needed. We assured him we were fine and thanked
him for his assistance. He indicated to us that if our son was cold or