The day began with a “smudge”, which is a ceremony where we burnt sage and cleansed ourselves with the smoke. Barb said some really heartfelt things and it was such a wonderful way to set my mind right and to begin the day.
The main work assignment for today was cleaning up the pow wow. At first it was a lot of picking up trash, after a while we had the grounds looking pretty nice. As I was picking up trash, I was keeping an eye on the teepee situation, and as soon as I saw someone starting to pack up, I hurried my way over there as quickly as I could. First we helped a woman named Gloria take down her teepee, one thing led to another and we ended up taking down 5 or 6 teepees by the end of the day. We became professionals and were making quick work of them. We met a ton of interesting people that were just so willing to share with us. It was such a great way to learn about people’s life experiences just listening to them while disassembling teepees.
After cleaning up the pow wow, we headed back to Browning. I ended up across the street at FAST, loading boxes of food into peoples’ cars. It was really rewarding work and it was really cool to see Cindie and her operation.
In the evening Bob came over and shared his story and his art, which were both beautiful. He also showed us his regalia and a dance which was really cool. Not quite as cool as when he also danced to Doja right after though, that was insane. The evening ended with ice cream and a documentary, which is one of the best ways to end a night. -Lizzie Hoyt
EGL Family Abroad 