There were tribes from all over, all representing. Mounds was packed with cars – license plates from all over.
Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas, Florida, California, Alaska, and on and on. Only a few Minnesota plates in the lot.
One line of cars was marked in red dirt, aside from the license plates you could tell they had come to St. Paul together, because of the dirt. And I stopped to think of that dirt, and how it appeared here from a long way off. And not just a little dirt, a lot. (The journey it must’ve had?) How, if this was a regular thing (which I hoped it was) could it change the landscape if enough was deposited? Over enough time?
I came to take pictures, of course. And there were a lot of suspicious looks, naturally. But everyone with whom I stopped to speak was happy and willing to show off their marvelous get-ups – dripping with beads and bells and shells and feathers, also punctuated by the occasional logos: “Just do it” or “Underarmour” or “Marlboro.”
By a good measure, it was the largest gathering I’ve seen in the park, aside from the Hmong volleyball extravaganza (I think - every friday and saturday evening?). There were vendors with leather, silver & tchotchkes, food carts, and large tables that could easily fit six, but were crowded-in with ten or more people – food, shouting, laughing. There was the occasional “thumbs-up” when I point to the camera.
The DJ was calling the dances. He added conversational banter inbetween. Dancers took a beat, to catch their breath as the drums sat and waited, checking the phone quick.
“We got a hotel. Tonight we got a hotel room at the...” Off-mic, “what is it?... two queens?... that’s big- oh, two twins?”
“We got a room at the motel eight, a good one there. They got $68 a night, and that’s for… two nights. And that’s a good deal there. So… if you’re looking for the room, get with [name, I forget] and she’ll get you set up and this next one is from Southwest way…”
And I thought of that dirt, the red clay.
The dancers put away their phones, dug in a heel. The drums began…