Indigenous People's Day

Happy Indigenous People's Day! Some people celebrate the second Monday in October as Columbus Day, but some of us prefer to honor instead the people who were here in the Americas for centuries before Columbus "discovered" it. 

Many cities are finally making the name change official, adopting Indigenous People's Day as a day to celebrate the people and their culture, and also to reflect on their ongoing struggles in this land. The celebration today includes powwows, drumming, dancing, Native American foods and crafts.

Agenda:
1. Journal queries
2. Make fry bread
3. Make a prayer stick

1. Journal queries:

Set an intention for the day- 

What do I wish for all people of the world?

From my journal: I served coffee to a homeless guy yesterday (my once-a-month breakfast commitment) and he  began to talk to me, while adding spoonfuls of sugar to his cup, about our system of health care. We agreed whole-heartedly that everyone deserves affordable heath care.

My wish for all people of the world is to remove the burden of outrageous expense from health care, so we can all see a doctor when we need one without worrying about how we will ever pay for it.

2. Make fry bread:
Traditional powwow food!

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. yeast 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. oil
• 4 c. flour
• 1-1/2 c. vegetable oil for frying

Yield: 8-10 pieces-

1- Dissolve the yeast in 1-2/3 c. warm water for 5 minutes, then add salt, sugar, and oil.

2- Add flour to the liquid mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing with a spoon, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. 

Knead on a floured board, adding more flour as needed, until smooth. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and let it rise for 1 hour.

3- Heat oil in a cast iron skillet to 350ºF.

4- Remove dough from the bowl and divide into 8-10 balls. Roll or pat each to 1/2-inch thick circles or squares (or hearts or whatever!)

5- Drop the dough into hot cooking oil 1 or 2 at a time (don't over crowd). Cook for about 1 minute on the first side and less on the second side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar-- YUMM.

3. Make a prayer stick:
A prayer stick is a southwest Native American tradition; it’s a stick made as a prayer or wish. 

Prayer sticks are decorated in many ways- sometimes painted, wrapped with strings, with feathers, beads and other objects attached; sometimes a small bag of sacred cornmeal is tied on.

Supplies: A stick (any size), jackknife, candle, string or yarn, feathers, paints and a brush, wire, beads

I often make prayer sticks with my art class students, but this year I made one by myself. I began by setting an intention for my stick: 

Affordable health care for all people.

1. I cut a stick from my apple tree ( a very long stick!) and removed the leaves. 


2. Then I lit a candle, put on my favorite Native American flute music, and  settled into a prayerful attitude. 

While I worked, I thought about health and equity for all people.

3. I carved the bark off of one section.











4. I burned one section in the candle flame.

5. I wrapped parts with red string.

6. I tied on 3 feathers to the top.











7. I painted parts of my stick.















8. I strung some beads to form a heart.

Then I planted my stick in my garden, with a silent prayer for all people.