Now how many of you can say that?
i have a few words to start out before i type up how it was out there, they go something like
BOO YA BITCHES
that was awesome, im currently wearing an AIM shirt, which i got 'cause i worked security, i met a lot of new people, made new friends, didnt make any enemies, met clyde belcourt, almost met banks, and it was very cool.
i was there 10 days, and they went something like this:
day 1
driving there was fun, 8 and a half hours, listening to music. of course BOLA was one of the choices, just for all my fans back here. Once we got to our motel, we checked in and went to the Sundance grounds to say hey to everybody, and i went to the arbor, and it was so fucking cool seeing that arbor with nothing on it, and the hole where the tree would be in like 4 days. Now for those of you that aren't familiar with a Sundance, and what it is, i'll explain what it is now, and throughout this. The place where it occurs looks something like..:
In the centere there's a tree which gets picked out, and the sundancers, and supporters carry it to the middle of the arbor.
the arbor is this little shaded area around the tree, the circle in teh middle of the arbor is maybe....30 feet across, maybe more. About 5 feet in from the arbor, is this ring of sage, which no one can pass. there are 4 gates in all the 4 directions, the dancers come in through east gate on the first day, and leave through the east gate on the last day. during the dance, no one can pass across the east gate. the dance goes on for 4 days, and during the 4 days, they fast, no food, no water. and they dance a lot, and give thanks to the creator and pray and stuff. and the dancers peirce, about half of them peirce. there's 3 ways to peirce. and when someones peirced, pegs are put into the peircings, and a rope is tied to the tree in teh middle, actually the ropes are tied before it goes up, and then theyre up at the top. the tree signifies mother earth, and the ropes are like umbilical cords. ladies, if you're thinkin of a religion, pick being a native american. the whole culture is like total respect towards women. women with their period arent let into the arbor, because they give off so much energy, and like, their footsteps hold power and whatnot, and the whole culture us respective of women, because women have the ability to bring life into the world.
1. peircing through the front, and then pulling against it and ripping out the pegs.
2. peircing in the front, being lifted up, having the roped tightened, and being let go of, they fall and the pegs rip out.
3. theyre peirced in the back, and the rope is tied to 4-8 buffalo skulls, which they drag around the dancing circle however many times they want, then people sit on the skulls, and they run and rip out the pegs. each skull weighs like 70-80 pounds, and keep in mind they have teeth and other potruding things that drag and stick into the ground.
day 2
my neighbors took me to a pow-wow in flandreau. the sundance is in pipestone btw. and like the second i saw the pow-wow there was one thought that went through my mind. This is the power of the mass. it was so strong. then like, my neighbor, okay im just gonna tell you bout the family.
Al=dad, hes like 42 i think, he sundances
Liz=his wife, shes cool, i talk with her a lot
Kateri=oldest daughter, shes almost 9
Maria=youngest daughter, shes 5.
So Al went out and started dancing at the pow-wow, then Liz stood up to go out, shes like hey you wanna go out there? im like uhh.....and my stomach got really weak cause i was like the only white kid, and i waslike to hell with it, why not? so i went out with them and danced at a pow-wow. Somewhere between the drum beats, the sun, and the singing, you just lose yourself. and that was awesome. i also had some friebread...yum yum. in the morning i also helped my neighbor collect sage, which is used a lot in native american rituals and stuff, and he gave me some of it, and its sitting like 5 feet away from me, its like a plant which purifies things.
day 3
i went to the quarry on the sundance grounds and helped em dig out stuff, at the quarry they get the pipestone, which is given away to everybody at the sundance, so they can make pipes, but above the pipestone is like 7 feet of limestone, so thats what they work at for like 4 days before the sundance, so i helped out there. i then helped get wood for the fires which was cool, cause i drive there, with 4 other guys 2 younger, one older, the oldest like 18, and we drive there not saying a word, we all become friends there within like 30 minutes. native americans are so open, you can talk with some random person like they were family, and never know their name.
everybody loves everybody there. its so nice. i cant even describe it.
yeah so then we went to go pick up this guy who flew in from dallas. named vince.
little did i know he kicks ass....on hte way there Al busts out this cd, and goes hey you see that guy in the top left corner? im like yeah... hes like thats vince. im like huh? see vince was the lead guitarist of 2 bands, one called "ohno" one called "the now" theyre both pretty good. you guys are probably like eh sound shitty. but ohno opened for coldplay a few times, and got their big break, then broke up. and they sound like coldplayish sort of stuff, so they coulda gotten pretty far. so i talked guitar with vince a lot. and then we went to go eat dinner, and vince and everybody was talking about stuff it was like Al Liz Vince and me talking. and vince was talking about how everybody gives off vibrations, and all these studies of music and stuff, it was really cool, he talked about this docter that hid certian level vibrations under this one cd, and by the time you were done listening, you'd be relaxed. Vince owns.
4th day
Helped in the quarry some more, helped get more sage. i got a bad sunburn. and kateri was saying how bad things always happen, to which vince replied bad things happen to those that believe they will happen. see. told ya he kicks ass.
5th day
al and vince tied their sage wraths, which they wear, they have ankle wreaths and wrist ones and one for their head with eagle feathers on, which act as a beacon for their prayers. al then held this thing with his family and me, where we said prayers about certian things, and put them in clothes, which al would tie to the tree before it was put up. to make sure your prayers were answered.
then the tree came. dun dun dun.
we went to this three maidens area, and there was some prep for getting the tree, and certian people were given pipes. and dennis banks' granddaughter was given her first pipe, which is a huge ass thing to be given a pipe, instead of making it.
so that was cool, then we went and i saw the tree get cut down, the trunk was maybe a foot across. and i helped carry it the half a mile or so to the arbor, but i was in the back.
...
helping hold up all the branches so they didnt touch the ground
and man
that shit is tiring. it makes you sweat like a bitch. even if its not that heavy, its just like carrying somethign for like 45 minutes straight, and it just wears you down. then they put the tree in teh hole, and we helped get it up.
i saw a shirt they were giving away for security workers too.
on the top it said
Homeland Security
and in the middle it had a pic of an indian on a horse hunting something
and on the bottom it said
protecting the homeland since 1492
pretty cool shirt...
5th day
sundance started. the dancers came in around the arbor and in the east gate, it was cool, i met james, this cool like 20 year old, and i heard Banks talk about wounded knee, the original wounded knee, it was pretty cool....then my neighbor peirced, and that was awesome. just seeing him there with one single line of blood coming down from each peircing. the singing and music was cool there, halfway through a round, which can be from like 30 minutes to an hour and a half, you get lost in the drumming, and you feel as if your footsteps control the drum, and that your vibrations are being sent in the earth to everything on the earth.
day 6
dale peirced, whos a good friend of al's, and ive known him for a while. i volunteered for security. i worked from 3-6 during the day and made sure everybody signed in and stuff, and made sure no one took pictures. the first day i worked with abby, the most wiggered out chick i've ever met. but she was actually a lot nicer then most wiggers. she vented a lot to me about her boyfriend problems. so i just listened. and i made a friend. she's cool though. she thought i was like 18 too. everybody there thought i was like either in college or like a senoir...and im a fuckin freshman. so i feel special. and of course i danced for a few rounds under the arbor with everybody
day 7
third day of the sundance
i worked security again. but the coolest thing today...was it was healing day. you gotta walk in, put your tabacco down, walk to the tree, between 2 lines of hte sundancers which wiped you off with their eagle fans and stuff, and it was just so cool, you could feel all your problems washing away with every thing, then you got to the tree, and prayed. i prayed for a lot of things. then you walked out and drank certain kinds of tea for different things. healing day really does heal.
i saw a few people pull skulls, one guy went around like 5 times...it was crazy...
oh yeah when i was workin security, i met jaquelynne, she's cool, she lives in canada, and yeah. so somebody left an acoustic at the table for anybody to use, and i hadnt touched a guitar in a week so i was just veggin out when dennis banks drives by and says "sounds good!"
dennis banks complimented my guitar playing.
now how many lucky mother fuckers do you know can say that?
day 8
last day of the sundance
al pulled out his peircings. and he wanted me out there for it. so i was standing out there with his family. everybody was pulling that day. vince pulled, but i missed it. like 3 minutes before al pulled
it rained.
they hadnt touched water in 4 days.
and it rained.
not heavy
but still
it rained.
clyde bellecourt then gave a speech about how those are the tears of the creator, who is crying with us, and who is crying because she has answered our prayers.
damn it was cool, standing there, out in the rain, looking up at the tree, with my neighbor ripping out his peircings. it changed me.
it continued to lightly rain that day. the sundance ended, i got a lot of hugs from people i met and stuff.
day 9
a lot of sleep for al
a lot of rain for all of us
at least 2 inches
those are a lot of tears
vince went back to the airport
and i realized i changed
my confidence boosted so fucking much
my will power is so strong right now
the second al broke the peircings, something clicked in my head, and i totally fell apart inside, and rebuilt myself, better, more conscious, and more intelligent.
i realized my girlfriend hasnt been keeping up her part of the relationship while i was there, and i tried to talk with her about it, and she sort of blew me off.
i realized it's time i untie the blindfold and set my life on fire
if she keeps it up, i know i have to end the relationship
i know i need to start voice lessons now, to define my voice more
i know i need to pay more attention to reading
i know i need to meditate more
but most of all
i now know that they answer the ingredients question at the spam musuem.
