A Council of Dolls

by Mona Susan Power

It’s a beautiful dream for us, but a terrible one for wašíčus, who want to keep what they have and take what’s left. But maybe the Ghost Dance works apart from Time, and the dance will take generations to complete? By then maybe some wašíčus will have joined our family, and then they, too, will take up the dance? What is wakháŋ is powerful beyond comprehension. Maybe we should dance and dream and pray for the good of everything in the world because we’re meant to restore it together.”

Don’t be afraid of learning something beyond what we’re able to teach you. Even the wisest person doesn’t know everything. But it’s also important to preserve the ideas that make sense to you, even in the face of resistance—someone telling you that you’re wrong and only they know the truth. Such boasting is evidence of a fool, perhaps a dangerous one.”

Iná says she didn’t realize that for eleven years she had been holding her breath, careful not to make mistakes, wanting to make a good impression so others would respect Dakhóta ladies and see how capable we are. When she was home, standing atop a prairie hill where the wind seemed to flow toward her from every direction, she was able to breathe all the way through her body. “I came back to life again,” she says, and I can’t help but cry a little to think of Iná strapped so tight she was a living ghost.

what strangers make of you means nothing. Your heart knows the truth.”

You’ve created a meaningful footprint, heartprint, soulprint, in this world, all the while fighting an inner script that wanted to take you down.

we can’t heal the story by changing the plot, pretending the awful stuff didn’t happen. Tragedy just breaks out somewhere else along the line. The story won’t heal until the players do.