"After a potluck meal, the evening dancing began. As I sat there with my sisters, mother and aunt, I was struck by the cultural difference at the powwow and what I see daily in Grand Forks. Women in their 50s, 60s and even 70s would get up from the circle and dance around the drums in the middle of the floor in the step that is unique to drumbeats.

As I sat there watching these women dance in front of that good-sized audience, I pictured some of my friends from UND or ladies from some of the clubs I have spoken at. I wondered how uncomfortable these middle aged non-Indian women would feel at a powwow stepping to the tune of a traditional drum dressed in fringe and carrying jingles on their skirts?"

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Dancers provide sharp contrast to valley life (The Grand Forks Herald 6/12)

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