Native Culture: introduceyourself

I was a hot New Mexico Day in July of 2007. The day was going to be full of festivities and fun in the Four Corners and the Navajo, also know as The Dine, start to get ready in traditional Native American cloths, costumes and jewelry for the annual fair.

You can almost feel the earth come alive as clan after clan arrives from all over the world to 'pow wow', and go back to the Native Roots that call them from both an echoing past and foretelling future...

Here is my daughter on one of those days getting a traditional Navajo braid. (You can tell she was thrilled.)

Yah Teh (hello), my brothers, sisters and cousin-brothers/sisters (yes that is a real term).... from the Southwest!

Remember what the braids teach and how they reflect the "braiding of life." How intricate life can be, how each braid can reflect a different path and how "no braid" can show the freedom your spirit requires (a warrior or maiden ) It reminds us if we pull too hard or if we pull too soft then the braid will fail, as we will in life if we too are too tight or loose with out thoughts and actions.

Due to being adopted I didn't now know I was Native American until I was 22. My daughter that you see in this picture had not been born yet. This picture was also the first time I ever introduced Native American Culture into my personal family.

My daughter is all grown up now. But since that day I have learned things about my culture that make me proud. I have learned things that have hurt the human soul. Most of all, I have learned who I am along the way.

"You don't know life, you can't have wisdom, until you experience culture." unknown