Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life

Everybody in the family is excited and nervous. It is warm enough that Windy and Sharyl decide that the family should camp out at the powwow grounds. With this many children in the family, everybody has to pitch in to get ready in the morning. Windy checks on the camping gear and makes sure the van is ready. Star helps Sharyl get breakfast ready for the family.

By mid-morning, Sharyl has lined up the children’s dance outfits across chairs in the living room. It is one way to make sure everyone has their moccasins, hair barrettes, and belts.

Shian goes to her Aunt Lora’s for one more fitting of her outfit. Last-minute adjustments are made on the other children’s outfits. Just when it seems that everything is ready, Sharyl gets a call from her friend Rochelle. She is having her baby! Sharyl has promised to be with her when the baby is born.

After her mom leaves to stay with Rochelle, Shian worries that her mother will not make it to the giveaway that evening. As Shian sits quietly by herself, she thinks about how important it is to keep promises. She also remembers that on this spring day, a new baby signals the beginning of a new cycle of life.

Windy loads up the van with the food, tent, extra clothes, and chairs his family will need at the powwow. He also takes the gifts for the giveaway. He counts heads twice before driving off. This trip is short. It only takes the Downwind family twenty minutes to get to the powwow grounds. Some powwows, like the one in Denver, Colorado, take a whole day to get to from Minnesota!