pow... WOW!!

I forgot to write about this, but I went to the powwow last weekend!  And can I say... WOW!  

I didn't know what I was expecting really, anyone I told I was going to a powwow, they asked "wow, what goes on there?".  And honestly.. I had no idea.  I grabbed a friend and entered the gymanisum, and.. WOW!  The immediate sound of the music, the traditional singing, hit me and all I saw was booths set up and dancing and it was just wonderful.  I sat in the bleachers and took some videos and pictures:

Women's dance, I loooooved it!

The traditional wear is just so.. impressive.  I was in awe.

I think I sat and watched for a good 20 minutes.  I loved every second of it, I loved watching everyone interact with everyone else with such familiarness.  I know all tribes are different from each other, but they all felt like a huge family.  It was such a warm feeling.  Everyone's dancing, eating, laughing, dressed up all proud,  whoever said the Native American culture is extinct... they are so 100% wrong!  

I ended up buying a necklace from the "Two Stoners" booth which I've been wearing every single day since actually.  I just wanted to know more, go to more of these, and just watch and listen.  It was such a great experience and I want to go to many more of these,  I just hope there's many more to go to :).  I absolutely loved it.  Maybe next time I'll just go by myself, strike up a conversation with someone there with the powwow and ask more questions.  =] I just hope there's an opportunity!

It was really great, I wish more people would go! And learn!  I'm definitely inviting my friends to more of these events!

MSU Museum Trip!

What did I do on my Friday afternoon?  Something kind of nice actually!  Went to the MSU Museum by myself and just sort of explored :) Got to check out the Susan Applegate Krouse Native American Collection!

Ohhh. Aaah!

The pictures were stunning. Absolutely stunning, really powerful pictures.  Although the guy who set up the photos did ask for the people of the tribe to dress up in feathers and traditional headdress and whatnot.  But it still comes off very powerful.  I stared a while at these pictures and wondered who they really were beyond the stereotypical image.  It was a really great experience.

This photo they don't know his name or who he was really.  Just a photo.  No other information, it is almost haunting in a way to think that someone can disappear into history like that.

This picture is up for debate whether this is a staged home or a real one.  Did the photographer make it this way or is this the natural way of the tribe?  I guess we'll never really know eh?

To be honest, it was a lot of information to absorb all at once, but I'm glad I went.  The Native Americans are a part of our history that we don't know much about at all and the stories they share are probably incredible and something we haven't really heard before.  These are not just stereotypical images, these are actual people whose lives transformed and sometimes I truly wish we could see how they were before it became transformed and before the US government tried to erase them from history.  I'm glad they've made a comeback, but still.. I wish we could know more.