My first day on the Rez was quite eventful as I arrived on the biggest day of the year--Pioneer Days! Within two and a half hours of arriving I was all moved into my house, which sits on top of a hill on "A" street, which was only named so about a year ago. There are no street signs, and there has been no need for them in the past. If there's a fire, one only needed to say whose house it was at, and the firemen knew where to go--that's how small of a town Dupree is. The house was made from scraps during WWII and while it has its shortcomings, it also has a charm to it, like a lime green bathroom, yellow kitchen, and my small room off the front of the house is more than enough for a year long stay. I'm sharing the house with Courtney, the camp director at the Y. She has been so kind and helpful navigating Dupree and I'm thankful to have a friend to share the blazing summers and frigid winters with. Colleen, the waterfront director at camp is also staying with us at the house until August. She's very sweet and is even leaving her gumbo boots with me when she moves out. Atlas and Scout, Courtney's dogs also live with us. The town is small--there's one grocery store, one restaurant (known as the cafe), one bank, and TWO hardware stores. I live on the Indian side of town just down the street from the Y. The post office is in a quarter of a trailer on Main Street--the other 3/4's are the city offices. It's quite a change from Madison.
After I was all moved in, I made my way down to Pioneer Days for my first Indian taco, which is a taco with fry bread instead of a tortilla. J.R., a local man who works for the Y made the fry bread and it was absolutely delicious! I stuck around to help with the fundraiser, but the rush was over and we ended up closing shop early, which was fine, because then I was able to go to the powwow. Carol, the director of the YMCA picked me up and we met up with Courtney and Colleen at the grounds. It had rained the day before so the grounds were soaked and muddy--I guess the gumbo is just something I'll have to get used to! Exhausted, we left the powwow at 11 (which can go late into the night) to head home for bed. Colleen and I were relaxing on the couch and getting ready for bed, when we heard a knock on the door. It was J.R. from the Y! He asked us to come with him to the teen dance because none of the kids were dancing and we should teach them how to "city dance." Colleen and I initially told him no, but then ended up going anyways. It felt like your typical awkward middle school dance, but we tore up the floor with Cotton Eye Joe and the Cupid Shuffle and called it a night.
Powwow Crash Course
- Don't take pictures unless you ask permission first
- It's a "drum group," not a "drum circle" and its members are called "singers," not "drummers"
- The dancers wear "regalia"