DANCING THE DANCE

Geraldine Rael

Hello to everyone. I pray everyone is doing well.

In May of 2022, I combined the Sun Moon Dance, inspired by my Father Beautiful Painted Arrow, with the Southern Ute Bear Dance, my tribe.

This is the story of how this came to be ….

My tribe’s Bear Dance is held in early springtime. It is a Renewal/Spring ceremony for my Southern Ute people, it is an awakening of Mother Earth after the long Winter slumber, it is a coming together of all people, it holds many metaphors ….

I was inspired to combine the Sun Moon Dance and the Southern Ute Bear Dance. I was guided by Spirit, I did not consciously choose it, it chose to come through, me.

Before and during the pandemic our Sun Moon and my tribe Southern Ute Bear Dance kept falling on the same weekend.

The Sun Moon Dance date is set by Adrienne the landowner and me in the Pagosa Springs. I am retired, so we must come up with a date that works for Adrienne, as she works multiple jobs. I am just deeply grateful that Adrienne offered me a place to Chief my father ’s vision of the Sun Moon Dances.

In 2021 I moved the Dance date to a completely different MONTH to avoid the same Dance date. I went to an extreme by changing the month to ensure that we would NOT have the same Dance date. I didn’t know what to make of it when it happened a third time!?

As Sun Moon Dance Chief, I prayed and I called out to the Universe, “Why, WHY is this happening?! Please, PLEASE help me to understand.”

It was NEVER an intention whatsoever to hold our Sun Moon Dance ceremony on my tribe’s same Bear Dance date.

I realized that the reason would reveal itself at the right time, and it did… Every year, I take my two brothers, whose care I oversee, to enjoy our Southern Ute Bear Dance. One may want to attend the Powwow or the other may want to enjoy buffalo stew and fry bread or visit with family & friends.

The answer eventually came I would have to integrate the two Dance Ceremonies ….

On Memorial Day (last weekend in May 2022, because this Ceremony happens EVERY Memorial weekend) our Sun Moon Dance participants traveled down the mountain and headed west then south to Ignacio Colorado. Everyone in our group was very, VERY humbled by the experience and VERY happy they attended!

Ignacio is the home of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

Friday morning is our Southern Ute Bear Dance Blessing Ceremony. The Dance Chief of the Bear Dance blesses the arbor and the people.

Our Southern Ute Bear Dance Chief, Matthew Box blessed the Dance grounds and the people, while we were waiting for our Montessori children to arrive.

It is very important to include our children in these sacred ceremonies, as they ARE the future of our tribe. We Danced together, later all the people in attendance were invited as my tribe guests for lunch at our convention center.

A senior student and Chief of my father’s BPA community, a very dear woman recently mailed me a leather jacket with tobacco, sage and a 50dollar bill, in a pocket.

She wanted me to give it as a gift to someone for their service, or at our next Sun Moon Dance. I told her that I had asked a young man from the west coast to honor us by conducting our Sweat Lodge this year and that would be a perfect gift for him. I asked her if she might come to the Sun Moon Dance, unfortunately, she couldn’t, as she had an international trip planned.

I spoke to her about what I had done with combining the two Dance Ceremonies. I heard her crying.

I wondered to myself, “What had I said to upset her?” When she could speak again, she said, “Do you know what you’ve done?”

I said, “No, I haven’t thought much about it. I prayed for an answer as to why our Dance ceremonies kept “stepping” on one another and the message was clear. Bring both ceremonies together.”

She said, “You are combining your tribes Bear Dance & your father ’ s vision of the Sun Moon Dance, you are uniting ALL of the people!”

I find that more and more people have a deep hunger for this type of enlightenment and meditation. This is my contribution.

Geraldine Rael

Edited Antonella Vicini

Notes

More information on the Southern Ute Bear Dance can be found in these videos:

Living Earth Festival 2017 - Southern Ute Bear Dancers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zLiLGEDatM

Living Earth Festival: Southern Ute Bear Dancers 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpxIMB6Pwy8

Origin of the Bear Dance https://youtu.be/atmaZwBp7xE

Ute Bear Dance videos https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXks3cBRNKnHzrkyIqUIbH3NMB

You can contact Geraldine through her website: http://www.geraldinerael.com/ about the dance she leads and the list of dances around the world.