Another weekend draws to a close, and I find myself wishing for one more day, even though, technically, I already had one. I had Friday off, which was glorious. I lazed around the house, went to the bookstore, and luxuriated in just hanging out and having no obligations. I would like to place my order for more days like that, please.
On Saturday, my mom and I went to the National Powwow, which one of her friends had encouraged her to attend. I was a little worried we'd walk in and it would be "hey, white girl, what are you doing at our powwow?" but it wasn't like that at all. There was a very nice, laid-back vibe, with exhibitions of singing and dancing, and all sorts of people selling arts and crafts. There was gorgeous silver jewelry that I couldn't afford, and absolutely beautiful Navajo pottery that I really couldn't afford, and carvings and paintings and music. Oh, and there was food. I had fry bread with honey, which I would describe as like funnel cake, but better. The texture is more chewy where funnel cake gets mushy. My mom had fry bread with chili and said that was awesome too. But of course, it was the people who were the most interesting.
Suburban Maryland is not what I would describe as chock full of Native Americans. I don't think I've ever even met someone who is an American Indian. Yesterday I got to see people from all over the country, and even from Canada and Peru. I would have liked to have learned more about the different cultures, because you could tell there were pretty signicant differences in the way people dressed and danced. I'm sure some of that is tied to geography -- I get that someone in South Dakota is going to have a completely different set of wardrobe requirements from someone who lives in New Mexico -- but I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that. I guess I'll just have to go check out the National Museum of the American Indian to learn more. I don't think teaching was really the point of the powwow. The point seemed to be to get together and celebrate being Native Americans, which seems like a fine idea to me. It was a very cool experience, and I'm glad I went.
Since my mom was desperate for me to maintain some connection to the community, we went to a lot of powwows while I was growing up. They were always wonderful. We made Indian tacos at home, which are just, you know, regular tacos except on fry bread.
Now I'm hungry.