I've gone to several pow-wows. I've had various friends, and we packed a bag lunch, and trooped off, wearing boots, which seemed the most comfortable on the terrain, and brought portable chairs with us, and sunscreen (very important, that last one.)

I just remember at pow-wows all the wonderful things that happened, during the dancing, special exhibitions, all sorts of wonderful things.

One woman heard that a girl's cat had died. She went running to her trailer (she was a dealer), and she came running back with a little black tiger kitten in her hand. She put that little kitten into the girl's hands. I've never seen such a beautiful smile in my life. It was the most beautiful kind of healing I could have witnessed.

Another dealer couldn't get his truck out when we had gone to a pow-wow where there had been torrential rains. People began to sing, and to chant, and everyone got on the back of that big truck. We all pushed in rhythm to the chanting, and with all of us, some getting quite mud spattered, and others taking mud baths, we were able to get that truck out.

I went to a pow-wow in Grafton, where there were some Aztec dancers who came and did an exhibition. They were spectacular, dancing around a pit of live fire, sometimes paying tribute to it - at one point,one of them, his headdress nodding in the breeze, and while he danced, put one of his feet over it, indicating in his dancing how hot it was.

At a pow-wow up in Topsfield, it was very, very hot. The sun was really high and penetrating. I was getting water and drinks for my friend and I to enjoy with our sandwiches while we watched the dancing. I had gone back to get napkins, and the woman who was running the stand asked me to take a cup of water over to a woman on the side of the dance circle. It wasn't just a cup, it was a great tumbler. And the refreshment woman didn't put any ice in it. I'm happy for her wise thinking. I brought the tumbler over to the woman, who, on close look, looked as if she was quite peaked from the sun. "Sun fried" I'll call it.

Pow-wows are beautiful things to watch and enjoy. That much moreso outdoors. Of course, the elements need to be considered, **whap** and the insect life.

Shadow.

My first pow wow when I was in my teens was special to me. I remember having a 'flashback' to what it must have been like in days before (I think some call it 'racial memory'). Anyhow, I was young and afraid of that sort of thing back then so just didn't let myself think about it.

It happened again when I was in my 20s and this time I just let myself stand there, feel it, and cry. I could feel the drums in my chest and here came the emotions. Usually I wouldn't let myself do such a thing in public, but I knew some would understand what it was I was feeling. It bothers me a little that I can't describe the emotional overwhelming aspect of that very moment, but there it was.

Another special thing was when I took my son to his first pow wow. He must have been seven or eight months old. The older women there just thought he was so beautiful and passed him around, hand to hand, showing him off. It made me happy to begin showing him a part of himself at such a young age. One of the older men told my husband and myself that this boy was apart of the future of the Native peoples of this hemisphere. Proud? Yes!

Anyhow, I love packing up blankets to sit outdoors, and especially when they have them next to a river. What an experience! Frybread with strawberries, sugar or beans 'n meat; succotash, bison burgers, fresh corn...has this just degenerated into food for me? LOL!

I used to dance in pow wows (even though im not native american) So i would say a good beat (My adoptive grandmother is native american, so thats were i got into that.)