...it's time for a potluck!

Twenty-some years ago, my friend Jerry and I began a tradition of monthly potluck dinners for Native Americans from all tribal affiliations. The men brought their drum, everyone brought a gift for a giveaway and a food item to share. We generally had between 75 and 125 friends gather every month. In the warmer weather we had softball games as well. Many of our friends were military, and of course ended up transferring out of the area. Meanwhile, we lost our potluck location. This past week, we had an opportunity to reconnect with some of those friends, and I am pleased to say that we are trying to find another location so that we can begin our monthly potlucks again. I wish I knew where I knew where I put my photos of some of our best times at potlucks and powwows, so I could post them.

Jerry and another friend from South Dakota came to town to research some archives in Richmond and at Hampton University, which was a Native American boarding school during the 1860s. They were taking a brief break from their tour--they have written a play, and perform it all across the country. They performed in Pennsylvania, and after their performance here, they are on their way to North Carolina and from there to St. Louis.

We met with two Ojibwa friends, Bob and Michael from Michigan and Wisconsin, and are looking forward to getting together with a couple more old friends, Dan and Jack, Lakota and T'Hono O'odam (Papago) respectively. Everybody has been busy in their own lives for some time, and it will be good to be together again.