The outfits and costumes were large and colorful Sunday at
Indian Summer. We sat in the sun watching the Grand Entry then joined in the circle dance with Native Americans and others. The food was very good. I had an Indian taco made with fry bread and a cup of wild rice soup. We enjoyed listening to
Brule' perform. There was a very good turnout and the many shops selling wooden flutes, art, clothing, music and jewelery were crowded.
The dancers are wonderful! I enjoyed them last year and will see them again next. But the one new thing I enjoyed the most was trying to start a fire. Without matches or lighter. Notice I said
trying. I really wanted to light that fire by
spinning a basswood dowel against a second piece of basswood. I tried over and over but finally gave up in a pool of sweat. It was going to be a big ego boost - something I could brag about on my blog. The Native American instructor gave us a little folklore behind the first people to tame the flame and said it's the one thing that set us apart from other animals. Several people did start fire and were allowed to place their names on a big board. Because I didn't get a flame going, I limped away to join my animal friends in darkness and cold.
