Labor Day Weekend Pow Wow 2009

As I mentioned a few days ago, over Labor Day weekend we have made a tradition to go to the CIHA Pow Wow held at Camp Pollock in Sacramento. This year, it was just me and my girls, and I will say that we had a great time :). The girls learn a bit more each year and fit in more comfortably each time they participate. they also really look the part now, thanks to the great outfits made by my friend Lauren (I can do the guy stuff just fine, but when it comes to women's outfits, I go with a pro :) ).



In addition to the dancing, they also held a number of workshops for the participants. this picture was taken inside of the main lodge during a class on peyote stitch (or gourd stich) beading. Yeah, I dig this picture, too :).



Amber got seriously intense with this workshop and she did a really good job, as did Karina (though Karina has to wrestle through my project and often deal with fixing things I messed up on (LOL!)).




This is a shot of Scott Sutton's wife Lynette and Amber. Scott, in addition to being the one who put on the workshop, is also the author of the book "Beadwork Techniques of the Native Americans" and it is a book that I very much would like to own (consider that a hint to any friends wondering what I would like for my birthday or Christmas this year (LOL!).

Labor Day weekend in Sacramento would just not be the same without 100 degree plus weather... well, this year, Mother nature gave us a break. It was about 85 while we were up there, and a bit cooler at night. Very doable and not at all withering like previous years, but the girls insisted on getting down to the river and playing around, so hey, I obliged :).


For those who say that girls are neater and more dainty compared to boys, please review Exhibit A and get back to me :).


Amber getting ready to splash me until I warned her that I was holding her camera (LOL!).


Karina frolicking in the American River.


Amber being her perpetual show-off self (what else is new :) ).








Karina venturing out as far as she was willing to go (the river was relatively calm, though).

I usually am the one who takes all of the pictures, so there's usually very few shots of me doing anything, but Karina decided to change that this year, so here's some shots of my outfit and some pictures of me dancing for a change :).

Amber just before heading out to the arena to dance.

Karina is all set and ready to go :)!!!

Here's a cute picture of Amber with several young Fancy Shawl dancers (Cheyenne Chisholm is in the middle of the picture and the only one of them I know by name at this immediate moment :) ).

Here's a great picture of Karina with her friend and mentor Lauren Wallace (CIHA Witiyapi Princess 2008). The last couple of years, Lauren had joked that Karina followed her around in the dance circle, prompting Lauren to say "hey, do I look like a Momma duck to you?". It was cute that this year Karina walked up to her after the dance and said "thanks for being my Momma Duck and letting me be your Baby Duck!" It was really sweet, but made slightly comical by the fact that Karina is now *taller* than Lauren is (LOL!).

All in all a terrific weekend. Looking forward to some of the quarterly events coming up, and I've already made plans to be at nexct years Pow Wow, too :).

You're Welcome, But You Aren't Invited

This Labor Day Weekend, my daughters and I will be going to participate in what has become an annual event for us. This is the Labor Day Pow Wow that is held by CIHA (California Indian Hobbyists Association). It will be in the same place that it is most years, at Camp Pollock in Sacramento (just off the American River near the junctions of Interstate 80 and Interstate 5).

This is an interesting event, in that it's one of those things that happens, a number of people are aware of it, but very little promotion of it is ever done. I discovered my first year of attending that that is by design. The organizers of the event enjoy having new people come in and participate, but that's the key right there... they want to have people come in and "participate", not just hang out and see what is going on. When I came my first year, one of the organizers and long time participants said something that fascinated me, and I've thought about it ever since. He said "this is the type of event where you are welcome, but you are not invited". It took me a little while to absorb that statement, and after a few years, I think I'm understanding what he means.

Many things in life require us to be invited, or at least we feel it appropriate that we be introduced and some form of "personal contract" be made. We don't just show up at a job without filling out an application, and then being interviewed and subsequently hired. We tend to not just show up someplace and pick up a shovel and go to work on a project. For these examples, there's a social contract that says "we have to accept you as part of the community first, and then you can participate". My experience with CIHA was different. I came because I heard about it, and I asked if there was something I could do to assist, and they let me step right in and do whatever I could (which in this case consisted of helping clean up an area of grass for dancing and helping set up benches for the dancers to sit). After awhile, I was able to start talking to people, and getting to know a little bit about them and what they did and why they came each year. It was from that experience that I made some friendships, and committed to coming back and participating in whatever way I could.

How often do we hear the phrases "ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened"? So often, we wait for others to tell us it's OK to do something, or we wait until we are invited to participate. My example with CIHA was exactly the opposite. I had to make the decision to seek them out, and once I was there, I had to put myself into the fray and participate. If I waited to be asked to join them, I would have been kept outside. In this case, my just going up and offering to help gave me the in I needed. That has served as a metaphor for many of the things I do today. It may be seen as a strange re-rendering of the phrase "it is easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission", but it is somewhat similar. Many times in life, if we wait for an invitation, we'll wait forever. At times, it is not only acceptable and appropriate, but expected that you need to make the first move. Will it always work? No, and in some areas it's disrespectful to be so presumptuous, but many times in life, the most interesting experiences are not the ones that you are invited to participate in, but the ones you make a conscious effort to see out and do on your own.

This weekend, my girls and I will go up and renew that experience, and learn more about the friends that we have made over the years, and perhaps we will also meet some new people that have decided to just join the group and put in their effort. Either way, I'm looking forward to another memorable Labor Day Pow Wow weekend :).

Pow Wow Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, the family went to Camp Pollock in Sacramento to attend the annual CIHA Labor Day Pow Wow. This was a great weekend in that it was Amber's first experience at a weekend long Pow Wow and it was a chance for Karina to try out her new Jingle Dress. How did everyone look? Well, see for yourself :).



A cute picture of Karina and Amber with their new friend Jessica before the Grand Entry

Nick and Dad waiting to line up for Grand Entry (I had to run back afterwards to our camp site to retrieve my cuffs and armbands (oops!)

Karina showing off the Jingle Dress Lauren created for her (and yes, I think just about everyone at camp complimented her on it, too).



A good shot of Nick in a blur of Fancy dance action.



Nick taking a break and looking rather sweaty.


A cute shot of Amber out in the Arbor


Amber loves it when the "water boys" come by and give the dancers drinks :).





I love this picture of Karina in action.



Karina getting a "cool down" after a long night of dancing.



Karina and her new friend Jordan that she met over the weekend.



Amber and Karina share the winnings from the kids raffle. Just what they need, sugar late at night (LOL!)

Karina's Jingle Dress is Almost Here!!!

I've been actively involved in our Order of the Arrow Dance Team as an Advisor for the past three years, and have enjoyed my time doing it immensely. I've learned a lot about Native American dance and about dance outfits. I've made it a point to make all of the dance items that Nick and I wear, and last year I also made a Jingle Dress for Karina.

Seeing as the skill required to make the men's dance clothes doesn't require quite the meticulous level of detail necessary to make a truly spectacular outfit, I decided for the girls that I would turn to a pro. Enter my friend Lauren at Cultural Touch, a wonderfully talented craftswomen and designer, and someone with as warped as sense of humor as I have, too (LOL!).

Lauren has been a great source of information for me over the past couple of years, and when I told her of my ideas to have Karina and Amber be part of the dance team, she came up with some terrific designs for both of them. I don't think it's possible to throw an idea at Lauren that she can't come up with a stunner of an outfit with.


These are the proofs that Lauren sent to me to show me what the dress looks like (she told me her little one really wanted to model the leggings and choker and hair ties, too cute :) ):

This is a shot of the dress as seen from behind. the main dress pattern is a Chinese floral brocade, with accent pieces of different colored material and a horse motif (horses have been a symbol for Karina her whole life, so we asked that they somehow be made part of the dress).

Here's a closer look at the horse motif at the bottom of the dress.

These are the hair ties, choker and drop that is worn on the front of the dress. Again, it carries the horse motif further and really adds a sense of beauty and movement with the swaying ribbons.

The leggings, again with the horse motif.

Lauren said that these will be shipped out later today, so that we can get them in time for the Labor Day Pow Wow we'll be attending this weekend. I can't wait to se the finished items, and I cant wait to see how Karina looks in them :).