Author: Anna George

A celebration of Culture

To celebrate Native American Heritage Month this year, the Penn State Fayette Campus invited Larry Yazzie of the Meskwaki tribe to perform and educate students and staff. Yazzie put on a beautiful and engaging performance. He said his mission is to motivate, educate, and inspire through song and dance.

At a young age of seven, Yazzie started his journey as a dancer. He was at a local powwow and had a spiritual awakening, and felt he was called to dance for the creator. Later in high school, he felt the need to share his stories and experiences through song and dance.

Yazzie spoke a bit about his tribe, the Meskwaki tribe, located in Iowa. The Meskwaki is one of the 547 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States. They are a self-sustaining community with over 6,000 acres of land.

A People Displaced

In the 1830’s president Andrew Jackson signed the “Indian Removal Act” which displaced many tribes. They were forced by law to leave their land to wherever the government sent them. The Meskwaki was one of these tribes.

The Meskwaki did not go peacefully but were ultimately forced to relocate to Oklahoma. Yazzie told us that the Meskwaki snuck back to Iowa in 1857 with the help of farmers and other allies.

They were able to buy their first 80 acres of land that has now turned into the 6,000 acres of today.

Yazzie was dressed in his elaborate and beautiful traditional regalia. All twenty pounds of his regalia are handmade, every bead and stitch prayed over. When he wears this regalia he says he feels the creator inside of him. When he dresses in the traditional attire he prays as he puts on each item.

An Amazing Performance

Yazzie performed three dances. The first is the powerful and sacred Eagle Dance.

Part of the regalia in this dance resembled the wings of an eagle. At one point during the dance, he came into the audience circling around in the isle.

The second dance is known as The Fancy War Dance.

This dance originated in Oklahoma in the early 1800’s. Yazzie slightly changed his attire to include the bright and dazzling arm and back bustles along with dancing sticks. This dance was very fast and energetic. According to Yazzie is is usually performed by young teenage men.

For the last dance he invited the audience up onstage.

He played the song “Earth Healer” and showed the audience a few beginner steps. Some of the audience took to the steps easily while others did not. Despite some difficulty, everyone was able to have fun and be alive in the moment.

“You cannot take anything with you to the spirit world so live the best way you can here” – Larry Yazzie

Watching and hearing Yazzie’s performance was a moving and interesting experience. He had many wise words to say and great stories to share. You can find Larry Yazzie on Instagram and TikTok at @larryyazzie.