White Braid Society performs in Albuquerque

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"It's powwow time!"

That's all the Immigration officer of the Canada-US border said when he saw the van and car loaded with White Braid Society members ? adults, teenagers and children ? feather bussels hanging from window hooks and drum music playing on the tape decks.

And powwow time it was at the "Gathering of Nations" in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 17 and 18, 1987.

Over seven-hundred dancers filled the "pit" for the two-day event. The "pit" at the University of New Mexico is shaped like the Coliseum in Edmonton ? an oval shaped, covered arena with descending seats.

Traditional, fancy and specialty dancers, like the jingle dress performers, descended the long stairways from four directions to join in unison during the grand entries held each day.

From noon to dawn, Navajos, Apaches, Pueblos, Oklahomas, Canadian Crees and many more danced, gathered, talked, bargained for jewellery, traded goods, danced and gathered some more.

And during this entire time, only one eagle feather was dropped.

It was evident in Albuquerque that we require minimum pre-planned organization when gather. It paid off here. There was no bumping into each other, trampling of toes, or ruffling of feathers among the 700 who packed the pit.

Even those drawn by the desire to get as close as possible to the pounding drums would gather around the loudspeakers, respecting each other's dance space.

The Oklahomas led the Group dance ? performed traditionally by their Nation. It's like a round dance except that the lead dancers start from a distance away from a large group of drummers (4 drums in this case with about a dozen singers) and move in with each beat as the drum gets more intensified and more dancers joint the many circles around the drummers.

The jingle dress dancers also did a special performance. Women wear silver jingle bell noise makers along the front, back and sides of their dresses and move slow or fast with the drumbeat. Scarves are worn around the neck and wrists, with a feathered fan held in one hand. These scarves replace the shawl usually worn by women dancers of many Nations.

Mixed with the grand entries, intertribals and specialty dancers, were the competition dancers. Two White Braid members, grass dancer Rick Boudreau and traditional dancer Craig Auger both placed in the finals.

The youngest member, three-year old Wasikuan Bellerose, was featured in NBC television network coverage of the Gather. Joey Stebbings, with White Braid since it started 11 years ago, was given a porcupine head roach for his performance. Stoney Whiskeyjack, a drummer and grass dancer, received a Navajo tribal printed T-shirt for his efforts.

Other members who travelled to Albuquerque included White Braid Society's new President Martha Campiou-Zarutsky, Elder and lead drummer Morris Cryer, Austin Tootoosis, Irvin Waskawich and John Keeley. Other members of the group included Frank (Foxy) Morin and his son Bobby Hunter, Theresa and George Bellerose and their children Rita, Donavan and Shawna (as well as Wasikuan), Deanna Cardinal, and Dorothy and Anoch Daniels. White Braid's 24 members got there by van, car, truck and plane.

In addition to the excitement of being involved in a large Gather of Nations (400 tribes are claimed to have been represented in Albuquerque), the White Braid members saw a lot of country, met and dealt with Indians from many parts of North America, and visited Navajo and Pueblo reserves.

Canadian Indians did well at Albuquerque. Celeste Tootoosis of Poundmaker's Reserve in Saskatchewan was crowned "Miss Indian World." Celeste, a student at the University of Regina, takes combined Indian studies courses. She is an inspiration to young Native women across the continent.

White Braid plans to participate in other American Indian experiences.