I don’t even know where to start this story. There are so many spiritual, mystical and manifested pieces to it. This might get long. I think I’ll begin just by sharing with you all that my actual birthday is August 29th. This always meant it was a date close to the first week of school. I didn’t get to have parties because of that and so I’ve never really connected to the day of my birth. Until this year!
All of the other years had to happen in a heavy way so that this year could feel as huge and as light as it currently feels!
There are few items that I cherish enough to take with me on every move I’ve ever made. When I was 11 years old, I hand wrote a project about the Plains Indians of North Dakota. Since we didn’t have Google back then, I found books and cut photos as proof to the things I wrote. When I got to the Chippewa tribe I drew a photo of a beautiful woman with two braids. I wrote a whole bunch of things about their tribe based solely on a book that was written way back when.
Then, 7 or 8 years ago, we began serving Monkey Balls at a pow wow. We were so touched by the people that we ended up naming our Monkey Balls after them.
“Chippewa Cinnamon & Sugar.” For many years we have been welcomed back.
A year ago at a different pow wow this woman who wears a handprint on her face symbolizing her support for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women showed up at my food truck window. I had seen her before in order to tell her that I was enamored by her. It was her spirit. I would go AWOL from our Monkey Ball trailer to run to the pow wow circle when the Grand Entry would happen. I’d do this each year just to watch her. I saw in her what I am not. But I didn’t just see it – I was pulled by it. She dances with such grace yet her eyes show this power and strength behind them that felt like protection to me. Her eyes go entranced as she dances. I felt like she was the kind of person I would want on my team though I knew nothing about her. And I don’t have a team – so there’s that.
But there she stood. She appeared at my food truck window a year ago and passed me in a most beautiful scarf. “Listen. This is your first pow wow gift. From it your regalia should be built. And then you’ll dance.” I couldn’t believe that this woman I had watched for years had gifted me a real gift. I could have no idea what would transpire after that connection, that fateful, destined meeting at my window.
This is the part of this story where I have to backtrack to 2022. I had a vivid dream that felt lucid to me. It was so lucid that I ended up waking up and typing the whole thing out on Facebook back then. You can read my dream by emailing me: dakotajodi@yahoo.com. The cliff notes to the dream is that I was the only white woman standing in the circle at a pow wow dancing from my spirit. I could see no other people but I knew they were there surrounding and supporting me as I danced. I was so overwhelmed with love and acceptance that I simply did not want this to be a dream. That’s all it was, a dream – right? I woke up just another white Norwegian and didn’t give the dream another thought.
In July of this year I went to another pow wow in a different city. The same woman with the red handprint on her face approached my window and asked me to come out to speak to her. We sat on the cooler that holds all of the ice for our events. She told me then what would transpire. I began to cry not from my spirit but from my soul which then made my body start shaking. It was almost as if my soul had received some kind of good trauma. The news she had given me at this meeting on the cooler shook me to my core. There was no date mentioned for what she was telling me would happen. SO –
Last Thursday, August 29th -the date of my actual birthday – My new Ojibwe sisters and brother and their families welcomed me to the sacred tree. I don’t know how much I should mention so I won’t mention any of the powerful things that happened at the tree. It was a sacred ceremony.
Oh, my mercy was it powerful to my spirit! I can only mention the part that will prove to you that the Creator knows us, the desires of our hearts and knows exactly what we need as proof.
In order for this story to pack the appropriate punch at the end I have to mention my Lakota friend. I helped him through prison and he always reminded me that I have *the feather.* He mentioned it a few times before I asked him what it meant. “You have the gift. You’re powerful in your light. A see-er.” He isn’t wrong about the seeing part. The Lord created me with intuition, discernment and knowledge.
He talks about my feather often and it feels like a hug to me every time he does
My seamstress friend heard about all this and designed a ribbon skirt for me around the theme of the feather. She appliqued a giant feather on the front of the skirt she created in honor of my Lakota friend’s words. He’s out of prison now and I wanted to carry part of the new and improved him with me. He’s younger than me but wiser than me. I Agape love him!
So that evening at my naming ceremony by the sacred tree – the elder sang a song in his native tongue as the drum conjured our attention. Two of the sisters stood on each side of me with their arms holding my waist. Then as suddenly as the song and drumming began – it stopped!
The elder said, “The Creator has given me your name.Your name is: Bangii Miigwans Ikwe. You shall be called,”Little FEATHER Woman!”
I gasped so incredibly loud that I think I scared them all!
He didn’t know anything about what I just typed above! He knew nothing about the feather or my skirt I hadn’t worn yet. He didn’t know about my Lakota friend telling me I have the feather – but the Creator did!
The next day, l danced for the first time with my new family at the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Labor Day Pow Wow!
Even the Bible talks about manifestation. The dream was trying to prepare me for this night.
They gifted me the most beautiful gifts to welcome me. What a way to spend my real birthday!
One of my new sisters hand beaded the brim of this hat I will forever cherish! I got matching earrings. I got a beautiful ribbon skirt to wear as regalia from the woman who gifted me my original Pow Wow gift at my window that time a year ago. It’s soo gorgeous! Another sister wrapped this stunning silk, fancy shawl around my shoulders which I wore to dance also. With it she gave me a beaded medicine bag to wear around my neck to put whatever I determined to be my good medicine in it. I got a pouch and a stick of thick sage to carry or pin to my regalia.
To say I’m humbled isn’t going to cut it this time. I am changed. I believe in the power of love our Creator holds now more than ever!
There would be no division on earth if you all could have been present for the kind of love, protection, acceptance and reassurance I felt in the circle by the sacred tree that night. I will continue to dance at the pow wows and I pray my salty tears reflect back up to the Earth as gratitude.
I didn’t get birthday parties as a kid because I was being prepared to feel something much larger like I did this weekend.
Dare to believe. It’s faith. Faith grows things and now I have another whole family. We get to hold each other up in love in this lifetime.
As an added birthday present, my real life brother showed up! He hand-delivered a handwritten note from the man who said I had the feather. I put it on my good medicine bag and wore it around my neck as I danced.
I’m in the bathtub typing this to you and the tub is filling up with each drop of each tear so I better end this now.
The wow in pow wow is a very real thing for me this year! Just Wow!
