"A friend, relative, mentor and a man who answers my Sundance questions, told me preparation for Sundance starts the day we leave the Sundance - that is our New Year, he said. His work and participation with the Sundance goes beyond 40 years. Even his children grew up in Sundance ceremonies, and they know this way well.

I was troubled when I talked to him. "Doesn't living your life according to the traditions of the Sundance means walking the 'Red Road' close and narrow?", I asked him. What exactly does it mean? How far can we stray from this way before we should step back from participation in the ceremony?

It starts, he said, when we leave the ceremony. You should spend that next year preparing yourself for this sacrifice and intense prayer. That means you try to live your life in a good way, treating everyone - including yourself - as you would a sacred spirit."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Faith, hope and worry rise as Sundance draws near (The Grand Forks Herald 3/27)

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