DANCE

During my early childhood, I took ballet and then transitioned into more modern forms of dance, including jazz and tap. I did this competitively for two years. I also participated in cheer for five years.

While I enjoyed these forms of dance and they enhanced my development, it was when I was first exposed to fancy shawl and hoop dance that I found purpose that gave me a greater connection to my culture and my ancestors. The freedom that comes from doing these dances is indescribable. These are a few of the dances that my Grammies and Granny did not have the opportunity to learn because of the forced schooling experiences they had to endure.

In a way, I feel a sense of purposed connection to them because of the parts of our culture that I am able to learn and experience that they were unable to. It’s like I get to free those parts of their spirits that have been bound up from their times of living through cultural assimilation and genocide.