Photos and Story by Susu Jeffrey
Traditional dancer with fan and shawl
The Mendota Dakota Community celebrated their 11th Annual Welcome Home Traditional Pow Wow over the September 10th weekend in the field of St. Peter’s Church on the Mississippi bluff. The sound was the throbbing heartbeat drum with generators in the background, the ambiance—regalia and fry bread (1st batch ran out before 3:30 Saturday). The weather was perfect. These are 21st century Indian people; they know how to read treaties.
Pow Wows are joyous extended-family, cultural
gatherings with a lot of work and a lot of sitting
gatherings with a lot of work and a lot of sitting
To dance is to pray, to pray is to heal, to heal is to give, to give is to live, to live is to dance. "Why We Dance" by MariJo Moore
around visiting. Once a year-after-year you get to see the kids grow up, see the new babies and absorb hours outdoors with hundreds of dancing spirits.
Fancy shawl, traditional dancers and a little girl in her jingle dress
(Please note: the photographs were taken with respectful permission only during the Saturday 1 PM, Grand Entry.)
Pagan Newswire Collective - Minnesota Bureau 
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