Summit & Ride Reflections: A Dancer for the People

This is the finale of a four-part email series reflecting on each day of the Indigenous Wisdom Summit & Four Directions Ride, which took place from July 16th-19th in Colorado. Check out our reflections from Days 1, 2, and 3 HERE and read on for more!

Rhyia JoyHeart, Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho, dances the Jingle Dress Dance on the last night of the 2022 Indigenous Wisdom Summit.

When jingle dress dancer Rhyia JoyHeart stepped into our camp in her handmade regalia on the final evening of the Indigenous Wisdom Summit & Four Directions Ride, a look of admiration and awe spread across the faces of the two young Native girls seated nearby. 

Rhyia, a proud Eastern Shoshone & Northern Arapaho young woman, carries herself with a power and presence that demonstrates what it means to stand tall in one’s heritage. As she entered the circle, she spoke of the history of her people and the legacy of her family: “We as Native People introduce not only ourselves and our tribe, but also our relatives, because it’s important to know who you come from and where you come from,” she stated as the silver cones of her dress rang out their gentle song into the wind.

Rhyia also shared the deeply sacred teachings surrounding the Jingle Dress Dance, a healing dance with Ojibwe origins that she began to study after suffering a family loss. Before dancing the Jingle Dress Dance for Summit & Ride attendees, she expressed her desire for the dance to be healing for those present in the circle, for Indigenous communities, and for the world: 
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“We dance for the people.” - Rhyia JoyHeart

Hohóu and aishen to Rhyia for the knowledge, grace, and sacred dancing she brings to our circle each time she joins us!