Native Health News
News and Information for the Native American Community
9/15/07
Jingle Dress Regalia Class Teaches Young Women Tradition and Respect
D'Shane Barnett
A circle of women are gathered at the Inter-tribal Friendship House. The group consists almost 20 young women - some as young as six, some as old as eighteen - and their mothers, aunties, grammas, and some very special women. Eulalia Valerio, Zoe Holder, Aurora Mamea and Michele Maas have brought these young women together to learn the story of the Jingle Dress.
Click image to view a large version
These young women are all a part of the Jingle Dress Regalia class that is being sponsored by the Medicine Warriors Dance group. Though the group only had funding for fifteen young women, they would not turn anyone away, so there are nineteen young women in the class. They meet once a week to learn about the Jingle Dress, the powwow-style dance, and, most of all, about tradition and respect.
They will also have the opportunity to sit with Mona Stonefish. Mona is Anishinaabe, of the Great Pottawatomie of the Three Fires Confederacy and Mohawk of the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation of the Six Nations Confederacy. She is a doctor of traditional medicine and a Wisdom Keeper, and she has offered to sit with the young women and speak about tradition and respect.
The class runs for the summer. During that time, the young women will all learn how to prepare the jingles for the dresses they will soon wear. They spend hours practicing their footwork and learning how to dance jingle, so that when the time comes they can step out into the powwow arena and honor their families by dancing for the people.
Depending on the size of the young woman, they have to make anywhere from 150 to 250 jingles to be placed on the dress.
This is a times-taking process, but one that will ensure that each young woman has the proper respect and admiration for the dress when it's complete.
On September 15, 2007, the young women will all be brought out into the arena at the Medicine Warriors' 8th Annual Powwow at Clinton Square Park in Oakland. There, they will show the community what they have accomplished and many will dance for the first time on the powwow grounds.
Unfortunately, because of the number of young women who have decided to participate in the class, there is not enough funding to complete the dance regalia for all of them. In order to offset the costs, the young women and their families are selling tickets to raise additional funding for the class. They are also asking for the support of community members who may be able to donate some of the items they need, such as hair ties, barrettes, and moccasins.
If you know of someone who may be able to help, or would like more information on the Jingle Dance class or the Medicine Warriors Dance Troupe, please contact Eulalia Valerio at EulaliaV@nativehealth.org.
