My first In-Lon-Schka

This past weekend I attended my first ever In-Lon-Schka dances at Grayhorse and it was definitely a learning experience.

Everything from the food, to how dancers got ready, was new to me. I even missed the memo that your bowl is your cup and in the words of Chalene Toehay, “I got shamed.” Luckily, the Navajo couple that sat across from me did the same thing.

I’m also glad I’m not a picky eater because most of the food I ate during the In-Lon-Schka dances I had never eaten before.

I grew up eating tortillas, pinto beans, red chili, popovers (frybread), squash and cheese, and tamales, just to name a few.

And I couldn’t get over the size and the shape of the Osage frybread. Don’t get me wrong, they were delicious, but back home O’odham make frybread the size and shape of tortillas.

I met a couple of Santo Domingo Pueblo ladies during the dances that knew exactly how I felt about the frybread. I joked with them every chance I got and it was great. They totally reminded me of my mom and aunties.

As for the dances I really liked being able to watch the whole process from the dancers getting ready to each district lining up and heading into the arbor and then the dances beginning.

Then once the dances started I enjoyed seeing all the vibrant colors, especially on Friday night when the Hominy dancers wore purple. It reminded me of my mom since purple is her favorite color.

In a way seeing everyone come together at the camps and dances made me miss home.

But on the bright side my mom will be visiting during the Pawhuska In-Lon-Schka Dances so she’ll get a taste of how Osages do things. And hopefully she won’t laugh too hard at the Osage frybread, just kidding.