(Will post more pics of people in their regalia when Tumblr allows me to do more)

So we were standing like we always do in our dressing room in our VOM lines to go out, we have our earpieces in hearing the countdown and heard the snowboarder come down the fake hill throught the Olympic rings. This is when someone comes in and starts calling our VOMS. Outside of our dressing rooms is the Athletes lined up country by country waiting for their moment. They call my VOM, which is 5. I come out of the room to Athletes who are clapping for us and taking pictures and smiling. (ummm wait isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?!!) We walked with huge smiles on our faces at all the Athletes and staff who are clapping our way down to history.

I walk past the US team and see the ‘Flying Tomatoe’ Sean White.

I walk past the Canadian team where Katrina Le Mae Doan comes up to Kevin and asks to take a picture with her?!!

What is going on?!!!

We get in to our VOM, where people are pacing. We hear the Canadian Anthem which is our cue that we are next.

I am so pumped. Super pumped. I am prepared. I know what I am doing and I am ready for 3.5 Billion people to watch how proud Native people are. How we still exist in this World. How we are modern yet we still have our traditions. I am dancing out there for my Northern Tutchone Ancestors. I am dancing out there for the people that were ridiculed into not practicing our culture. I am dancing for those people who were told not to speak our language, who were told not to dance our traditional dances, who were told to not wear our regalia and be spiritual. I am doing this so for future generations being Native is not a negative thing. I am doing this for our Elders, for our Youth, for our grandchildren not yet born.

I was the most amazing 45 minutes of my life. To come out and be proud of who I am is the most empowering thing I could ever do. We are NATIVE and we are still here!!