Amelia Schafer
ICT
RAPID CITY, South Dakota – As Shaylynn Bird danced across the arena under the hot midwestern summer sun, the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara and Oglala Lakota woman began to feel off.
Bird, who once won a 76-song Iron Woman competition at the 2024 Mandaree Powwow, began to see stars as she danced her 28th song in an Iron Woman special at the Mille Lacs Hinckley Grand Celebration Powwow on June 22.
Despite being in the top six, Bird did something unexpected; she walked off. The soles of her feet were burning from dancing on turf above hot concrete, and she didn’t feel right.
“If I would’ve known what it (the competition) was going to feel like, I probably wouldn’t have gotten out there at all,” she said. “I’ve gotten to a point where I’m very in touch with my body, and I really try to listen to it.”
Bird believes she was feeling the symptoms of heat exhaustion, a condition that can lead to heatstroke, which can be fatal at any age and occurs when someone’s body can no longer cool itself.
It’s no secret that the United States is seeing warmer summers and within the first few days of the summer season, record temperatures overtook the Midwest and upper northeast.
For Native people, summers are a time of celebration. From sacred ceremonies to powwows, cultural activities draw many outdoors.
While powwows began in the late 19th Century, they didn’t become widespread until around 1950 when soldiers began to return from World War II battlefields, and they grew even more during the 1960s Civil Rights era.
Back then, the United States only experienced an average of two heat waves per summer, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, the US is experiencing an average of six heat waves per season.
How to recognize the different heat illnesses and remedy them.
HEAT RASH (PRICKLY HEAT):
– Small, raised spots
– An itchy, prickly feeling
– Mild swelling
Wear loose clothing, drink water and take cool baths or showers.
(NOTE: Heat rash can be harder to see on brown and black skin, it can appear as white or grey spots.)
HEAT CRAMPS:
– Painful muscle spasms usually in legs or abdomen
– Heavy sweating
Sip on water and apply pressure to cramping areas.
HEAT EXHAUSTION:
– Dizziness
– Thirst
– Heavy sweating
– Nausea
– Weakness
– Vomiting
Move to a cooler area, loosen clothing, sip cool water (don’t chug) and seek help if symptoms don’t improve within an hour.
HEAT STROKE:
– Confusion
– Dizziness
– Unconsciousness
– Slurred speech
Call 911, move the individual to a cooler area and cool them off with water or ice. Heatstroke can cause death or permanent disability if not treated, it’s important to act quickly.
(NOTE: SSRIs or anti-depressants like Zoloft, Prozac and more can increase risk of developing heat related illnesses. Pregnant people, infants, elders and immunocompromised individuals are especially at risk.)
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Health Service
As summers get hotter and hotter, these outdoor celebrations are forced to adapt to changes that can put participants at risk.
One solution could come from learning from tribes like the 19 Pueblo tribes in the Southwest that are no stranger to dancing in extreme temperatures.
“Our dancers prepare before feast,” said Arianna Chaves, San Felipe Pueblo and executive director of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. “(In the days before) they’re practicing, they’re staying hydrated (to prepare) for that day.”
The Pueblo Cultural Center is a gathering place for the 19 Pueblos and the non-Native public. The center provides educational programming, a museum and economic opportunities. Programming includes education on proper protocol for Feast Days, which are incredibly sacred ceremonies practiced by the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico.
At various points in the year, the Pueblos hold Feast Days. They’re something the Pueblo people have done for centuries, the product of adapting to Spanish colonization and merging traditional cultural ceremonies with Christian ones.
While Feast Days are open to the public, participants may not take photos or videos and cannot discuss what occurs; however, Chavez was able to provide advice on how her Pueblo adapts to keep dancers safe.
In July and August, when many Feast Day celebrations occur, temperatures in New Mexico average 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chavez said her Pueblo provides plenty of water, water-dense foods like watermelon and oranges, breaks for dancers, and will allow women to put their moccasins on after the first dance.
“Traditionally, women do not wear moccasins when we dance,” she said.
But no matter what changes the future brings, the dances will continue.
“Even with the heat, it’ll still be something traditionally that we do so, and it’s just really a spiritual journey for us, our dances,” she said. “It’s more rooted in what we see and the importance of our commitment to our culture in these ceremonial dances.”
By making sure dancers are safe, organizers can ensure things go smoothly, she said.
These tips provided during Feast Day celebrations are things that Hinckley provided, Bird said, and could be a reason the celebration went smoothly.
Bird said dancers were told they could wear street shoes to help with the hot concrete around the arena. Organizers provided a cooling station, medical tent and plenty of water as Minnesota battled a heat dome throughout the region.
Despite the changes, the powwow was affected.
“The ground (in the arena) was turf, which is really nice to dance on normally, but when it’s really sunny and hot (the ground) just becomes so hot,” she said. “I (still) have blisters on my feet.”
Regalia can add an additional five to 15 pounds of weight to a dancer depending on what style they’re dancing. For example, southern women’s buckskin dancers wear heavy, thick deerskin dresses, men’s fancy dancers wear heavy bustles. When dancing in the heat it can be too much for even an experienced dancer.
Bird herself has been dancing her entire life. The 28-year-old is a marathon runner as well, and growing up in South Dakota she’s familiar with hot summers.
“People will say things like, ‘Our ancestors didn’t wear sunscreen,’ and that’s true, but our ancestors didn’t face climate change (like we are) and a thinning ozone layer,” she said. “There’s some modern day things like sunscreen, that I think really need to be taken more seriously, just because there’s extreme dangers that come with with sunburn and sun poisoning.”
As for powwows, especially competition powwows, which aren’t ceremonial, Bird stressed the importance of taking care of yourself and knowing your limits.
“At the end of the day we’re all athletes out there,” she said. “Even professional institutions will cancel games or events if it’s too hot, and powwows shouldn’t be any different.”
This story was produced with help from funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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