Story and photos © Barb & Ron Kroll Indigenous Encounters How an American First Nations festival initiated our quest to discover Indigenous cultural experiences in Canada We were witnessing the mesmerizing dance performances at Red Earth – a Native American cultural festival, held annually in Oklahoma City. A group of men sat in a circle, pounding a large, round drum with sticks. Elders, parents, teenagers and children resembled a spellbinding kaleidoscope of colour and motion as they danced to the rhythm of the drum. “We dance because it’s a celebration of life,” explained Lonny, an Indigenous spectator sitting next to us. “When we’re being created, there’s only one thing that we hear – the heartbeats of our mothers,” he said. “Those drumbeats represent the heartbeats of our mothers and of Mother Earth and, as human beings, we find the sound very comforting.” 14 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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