Miigwetch, Manoomin-Couch Potato

Yesterday was the first 5K Couch Potato on the rez.  The family showed up with running shoes on.  The sun was shining in a bright blue sky.  Picked up our shirts, tags and water.  Sat around waiting for the start.  My nephew and I walked to the starting line.  I finished one hour 6 minutes and 44 seconds later.  My nephew got a blister and went home. Mom and Dad were right there in their wheel chairs.  Babies in strollers were being pushed by runners.  All ages participated and it was fun.  Saw another wheel chair participant.

Turnaround confusion

There were family groups going by me.  The younger ones were a tad bit held up trying to wait for the family.  They exercised a good deal of patience for a bit.  Then were encouraged to "Go, Run."  And they did.  Was fun greeting the youngsters as they went by.  Many of them gave us encouragement and instructions about the course.  Some of them followed the orange cones and ended up running further than necessary.

The course referees explained that we were supposed to follow the neon pink arrows.  Naturally, we only saw the ones at the first turn.  There was someone standing at the top of the hill to point us in the right direction.  At the turnaround, they handed us water.  I heard the runners saying to turn there and called out to Sis and her daughter to turn around.  Teased Mom and Sister about heading out for the casino.  Ate a bunch of grapes while waiting for Sister #2 to come in.  She was one of the last ones in.  She jogged the last few feet.  I couldn't.  Walked as fast as I could though.  Next year, I might jog a little further than I did this year.

Went down to the pow wow after Grand Entry and picked up some Fry Bread Taco.  It was very tasty after all the exercise in the morning. Waited 3 hours for it cause they were just starting to set up when I first checked. After a few hours recuperating, Sis, Brother and I headed out to watch the dancers for a bit.  Checked out the food stands and bought wild rice soup and fry bread.  It got a tad bit cold when the sun went down.  Checked out the crafts, bought some beaded key chains, mostly to see how they had been made.  Not that I'm going to be making any of them.  "Jus checkin'" as working with beads is something I enjoyed.  Considered dancing.  Not sure if I could make it around.  Was very happy when sibs suggested coming home.

Looking forward to the day's activities and especially, the fry bread and rice.  Mmm.  Breakfast is being served pretty soon.  Wondering what to cook for the evening meal.  Hmm, think I'll go get something to eat.

Celebrate

I've been looking at various posts from other bloggers where they have a giveaway to celebrate different achievements: number of followers, a new book, etc. I've been thinking about when I could have my own giveaway and what it should celebrate. These thoughts have been percolating through my "little bird brain" and I've been setting different achievements of my own with which to celebrate to decide which was best.

Then, just a few short minutes ago, inspiration struck. My tribe has giveaways all the time. I've talked about pow-wows, different aspects of cultural life, describing a little of what goes on and maybe even the whys, wherefores and whatnots. The main ones are the seasonal ceremonies-Spring, summer, fall and winter. Why the very next celebration is the Mii-gwetch Manoomin happening this very weekend. [Miigwetch Manoomin=Thanks for the Wild Rice]

I am Anishinabeikwe [Chippewa woman], a jingle dress dancer, a newly arrived Elder [though I still feel like a kid], a student of the old ways, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt. I have learned how to do our traditional artwork, crafts and can do work good enough to sell for whatever I want. I have learned how to cook many traditional dishes using traditional foods. I have done my share of passing on the old ways to the next generation.

The inspiration which struck me on the head is: my own giveaway to celebrate Fall. I will giveaway four items to give thanks for the fall harvest and the knowledge I have learned from others who are passing on their knowledge. I will be gathering these items as I travel about. When I return I will post what the prizes will be and how to go about doing the giveaway. It won't give people much time since I expect to giveaway these items on 31 October 2011 about 4:30 p.m CST. Stay tuned for further details.