June 2026 VA Sponsored Smudgine Ceremony & Talking Circle

 

This was an event that was surprising hosted by the VA to "support" Native Americans in the community. I want to start out by saying the woman leading this was amazing and has cool as a cucumber. Before the ceremony started I got to easedrop on her and the VA staff. I don't think that they had any understanding of what the ceremony would include, because when she asked where she could bury the prayer after they were super confused. She told them that if it was an issue she would just take it home and bury it there. There were problems with her digging on Federal land, but there is an area near the VA that they said was trying to be returned to the Natives. We won't even discuss all of the issues with federal land vs. stolen land.

This was my first time to a public smudging ceremony in many years. I myself have done a different form of smudging ceremonies ever since a dear friend gave me my first smudging fan. My last public one was back in the late 2000s while a student at CSU in their Native American club. To me the talking ceremony was the most beautiful part of the experience at this event and I found myself crying. It was really cathartic to let out some of the emotions that had been building for awhile out.

Something happened though near the end that really disrupted the ceremony. A volunteer came up to the ceremony, and instead of quietly joining in and/or standing in the back watching, he came in talking about how he was like Mr. Happiness or the like for the VA. He then proceeded to hand out cards and showed a picture book full of pictures of himself and other people. He was also braging about being recognized at some museum and in Washington. He basically took over a religious ceremony to brag about himself. I will give the woman props for handling it as well as she did. I don't know if he did this because it seemed less formal to him because it was outside, but if any one did something in a Christian church like this, people would be upset.

Any time you are attending a religious ceremony, be it your own or trying to learn about others, please be respectful. 

For example, I am not Catholic, but my two best friends in Texas are and they like going to a Latin Mass. My first trip down to Texas with them they gave me and our other friend that was with us the choice to stay behind and chill or go with them. I was super curious because everyone talks about Latin being a dead language, yet there are people that still study it and use it for religious purposes. To me that is not a dead language. I wanted to see the language in its full life. I also convinced our other friend to tag along. My friends told me to just do what they did. Sounded easy enough. For those that have never attended such a ceremony, it is full of up, down, and knee positions. I personally think that it could contend with any gym's leg workout. The only thing we did not join in was Eucharist, AKA Holy Communion, since we were not Catholic. Me and my other friend were holding each other up as we left because of how weak our legs were. We were not prepared physically for the experience.

The next time we were in Texas and Latin Mass was on the schedule my friends said that I could just stay seated this time. (By this time my list of disabilities had grown and they were aware of how I was impacted by them). They said that the disabled and elderly were not expected to do all of the positions. This time I got to just focus in on the beautiful ceremony and witness the impact that it had on those around me.

What is the point of me telling you this story? My point is at no time did I interrupt the proceedings. I was there to watch and learn. I participated the first time to the best of my abilities by going with the flow using my friends to guide me. If I hadn't known anyone there I would have sat in a back corner and just watched, but never interrupt. Maybe it's my training as an anthropologist or just the basic respect for people that I was taught as a child. Even when I have participated or watch religious ceremonies linked to me personally, I never tried to disrupt, even when I didn't agree with how the religious leader was doing something. 

Many religious ceremonies/events today are public because most religious leaders want to have outsiders to have some understanding of what they do in the hopes to reduce the hatred that is out there for people that are different from you. They are also always hoping to expanding their following. I say attend these events when you have time or to even go to other religious ceremonies that match your religion but are lead by someone different to expand your understanding of people. Watch and learn, but don't interrupt.

Prairie Thunder Powwow Sunday June 7th Failure

Google Maps view of the  Plains Conservation Center showing the super limited parking for a cultural event.

I was looking forward to this new Powwow, Prairie Thunder, but was sorely disappointed when I found out that the event would no longer be ADA friendly and that it had been poorly planned. This morning I received an email talking about how the shuttle service that was supposed to be helping with parking was now canceled. Here's part of the email I want us to look at here:

When it comes to events, making them ADA friendly can be an issue. Most places in general don't have enough handicap parking, but adding additional parking lots with shuttle service can then allow a location to add additional spots for handicap parking. When you have larger crowds you naturally will have a larger amount of people with disabilities, but then when you take in focusing on specific cultures this can go up. Unfortunately Native Americans are more prone to many health issues that can cause disabilities. Diabetes in one such health issue that can lead to side issues that can impact mobility. Another thing about Native American culture and Powwows is that this is a place for elders to also come. Elders are a large part of Native culture and most people as they get older will experience health and mobility issues. The parking situation and other things listed in this email, like having to lug chairs and lack of shade, makes this event unfriendly for elders. The whole set up and lack of organization for this event shows that the people linked to planning this event has little cultural competency. 

This email was sent out by a staff member at the Plains Conservation Center. I do not know how much oversite the Center itself had in planning the event or what third parties were also involved, but the ball has been dropped. Someone needs to take responsibilities for the failures around this event. I'm sad that the city of Aurora isn't stepping up for this event since it could be a large cultural event for the city if they wanted to invest in the Native American community. Will next year be better? I'm not so sure unless someone wants to step up and actually do something to support the Native community that actually knows about the Native culture and beyond. 

I have chosen to not attend this event tomorrow due to the lack of ADA accessibility or amenities that people with disabilities need. 

For more info on the event:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prairie-thunder-powwow-tickets-1988680008439

https://www.facebook.com/groups/607433116108746/posts/3275753442610020/

Rudeness to Discrimination at Park Meadows

Today when at Park Meadows for Pokemon Go our first step was the bathroom. A lady with a daughter that appeared to be around 7-8 years old cut everyone in line. The line included both elderly and disabled people. When I called out the woman for her actions she said that her kid really had to go and that it wasn't cutting. No one else called her out for it. I understand that people now a days are afraid of calling people out due to the increase of violence, but as my readers know I have received threats of violence and death threats for my activist work, so I stand up for people being stepped on. This woman thought that she was privileged and didn't have to follow the basic courtesies of our society. This has been on the rise since COVID where people know how to treat others, but just don't do it any more. I told her straight out that she was teaching her child discrimination, ageism, and self-centeredness. She then called me a bitch and said that I should never have children. This was coming from a woman that had no idea of how to act in public or how to treat people.

The problem is that parents are teaching their kids that this behavior is ok when it isn't and by people not stepping up nothing will change except to get worse. Also this situation showed several other issues with this woman's parenting. First off a child of that age should be potty trained or in dippers if not (and a kid that old should not be in dippers). Kids should be potty trained by age four. Most kindergartens won't let kids start with them if they are not potty trained by age 5. Not having a kid potty trained by that age is a form of neglect if not open child abuse. This is a point where child services should step in just for this neglect if not for the mothers other actions. Parents lead by an example and parents that act like this and teach their kids to discriminate should have interventions to stop their actions.

Another thing that played into this interaction was classism. The woman was dressed up and most of the people in the line including myself were dressed down. I was just wearing cotton shorts and a T-shirt. Dressing like this plays into my disabilities. With my MS I have to dress cool in the summer and different fabrics, like high end fabrics, cause nerve pain rubbing on my skin. In our society we judge people by what they wear and not the reasons they may have for dressing the way they do. It gives people the idea that they are better then others and do not have to follow the rules due to their financial standing.

Also as a side note I do not have a gallbladder. Not having this can cause me to have minutes to seconds to get to a bathroom. I understand having to really go, but at the same time even knowing the worst case that can happen, I would never just cut in a line. This is because I understand that many people in that line really need to go (may have similar health issues), or else they probably wouldn't be standing their waiting to go. This comes from understanding what basic needs human beings have and caring about their needs as well. It also has to deal with empathy. As a society we have stopped caring about others and only focus on ourselves.

Why did I put this situation on this blog. It shows that parents are largely responsible for influencing how their children act and on what values they have. This woman was teaching her child her biases, discrimination, hate, and judging. People have to be willing to step up in these situations even if they are afraid of people. We need to call out these behaviors if we want to try to improve the future. This may mean reporting these situations to authority figures. Discrimination is wrong, child neglect/abuse is wrong, hate is wrong, classism is wrong. Be the change in the world.

Moving forward I'm going to keep sharing when I run into these types of situations since I see them nearly daily when I go out.

Resources

Schum, Timothy R., Kolb, Thomas M., eta al. "Sequential Acquisition of Toilet-Training Skills: A Descriptive Study of Gender and Age Differences in Normal Children." Pediatrics March 2002; Vol 109, Issue 3. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/109/3/e48/79784/Sequential-Acquisition-of-Toilet-Training-Skills-A

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (DHHS). “Department of Children, Youth & Families.” What is Child Abuse and Neglect. Accessed May 16, 2026. https://dcyf.wa.gov/safety/what-is-abuse.

-This one was interesting because it talks about bathroom issues/potty training issues can show that a child has been abused when they are past the normal age for potty training.

"Emotional Issues and Potty Training Issues." 5/25/22. Adapted from American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Toilet Training, 2nd Edition (Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Pediatrics). https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/toilet-training/Pages/Emotional-Issues-and-Bathroom-Problems.aspx

"Neglect." NSPCC https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/types-of-abuse/neglect/

“The Right Age to Potty Train.” HealthyChildren.org, May 24, 2022. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/toilet-training/Pages/The-Right-Age-to-Toilet-Train.aspx?psafe_param=1&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=69654055&gbraid=0AAAAADyMpZH-_dH0NDCLkzYWujGTGj3HD&gclid=CjwKCAjwq6DQBhBVEiwA4ZD5XPB8CDPxIo_0n6n4NDSipIGJ6evsGNNv87jvBW-1otNJX8NHbBZsqxoCEzsQAvD_BwE.

"At What Age Should A Child Be Potty Trained." https://www.pull-ups.com/en-us/resources/tips-advice/when-to-start/potty-training-timeline?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19821772748&gbraid=0AAAAAD-kfXzIejA7TRloABoIkRR0zGsuD&gclid=CjwKCAjwq6DQBhBVEiwA4ZD5XD-ub-hOSKyid1eotuvlE0x1zS0BPUoWGxUDDMFThWfjAHulE8r_exoCjTcQAvD_BwE

 

2026 Cultural Events

Here is a list of some of the cultural events that you can attend in Colorado.

April

May

June

6/5-7: 60th Denver Greek Festival, https://www.thegreekfestival.com/

6/7: Prairie Thunder Powwow, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prairie-thunder-powwow-tickets-1988680008439

July 

August

September

9/12: 37th Annual Powwow at the Denver Art Museum, https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/calendar/annual-friendship-powwow

October

November

December

2026 Hina Matsuri Festival

 

The Hina Matsuri Festival is known by different names like the Japanese Doll Festival. This specific festival was held at the Simpson United Methodist Church. This was my first time attending this event at this location. The church had clear architectural influences by Asian styles. When you first enter there was a room with some vendors selling goods which then their little market continued into another hallway. Then outside of the room where the dolls were displayed was a whole bunch of different examples of Japanese flower arranging.

Then you turn into the room with all of the different dolls and other Japanese cultural items.

There were many different themes of dolls. They included everything from court dolls, to historic figures, to mythical figures.

There were also other cultural items like the below wig in a traditional style.

What Japanese festival would be complete without an example of Samuri armor.

There was also a few different examples of kimonos. 

The detail in them was very beautiful.

Food

There were a few booths up stairs that had some food/snack options, but the main food was in the basement. So, there was a big problem with this. The church did have an elevator, but there was a sign on it that said use at your own risk due to on going issues with it. This automatically made the food possibly inaccessible to people with mobility issues and could be seen as not being ADA friendly due to them not keeping their elevator open while having events open to the public. This is something that you should keep in mind if you are going, and something that the church needs to fix if they are going to continue to be open to the public...and not close down due to ADA violations.

At the base of the stairs they had a try showing the different offerings. The food was not marked on the try, but they did have a sign on the by where they were serving the food.

The first thing that caught my attention was what they called the Musubi set. They had a few different ones you could pick from. The best tasting one was the edamame one.

The other one looked like they used a seaweed stamp to cut out a design.

I got one 1 of the Hello Kitty ones because I thought they were cute. Little did I know that they were just rice with no filling. I feel like that was a cheat and that they should have had something inside or the rice should have been flavored in some way. It was cute, but super disappointing in the eating. It was also dry and sucked the moisture from your mouth.

These two rice balls for $5 were only worth it if you got 2 of the edamame ones.

In the open area where you could sit and eat they were giving out free green tea. This helped with the dryness of the rice ball. I actually really liked this green tea because it didn't have the bitter taste that green tea normally has. When I asked what brand it was the servers didn't know.

The next thing I tried was the something noodles. The little cup was not on the menu, but they were selling them for $2. The noodles were really good.

They also had the noodles in abura age (tofu pockets) for $7. Each one looked like they held less then the $2 cup, so size to cost I thought these were a little high.

The SPAM musubi was priced about average. The mini ben(to) was priced high compared to how small it was. I can't tell you how it tasted since I didn't buy one due to the low value I saw with it. I would recommend skipping it.

The main event was nice. The food was hit or miss. The main event was small, but nice. They had the dolls on display along with other Japanese cultural items. There was also little booths where you could shop. They even had a tea ceremony that you could watch. I would go to this event again.

If you want to learn more about the Hina Matsuri Festival check out the below sites:

https://www.globetrottinkids.com/hina-matsuri-the-japanese-doll-festival/

https://www.jcchawaii.org/resources/hinamatsuri

https://travel.rakuten.com/contents/usa/en-us/guide/hinamatsuri/

2026 Feb. 14 Chinese/ Lunar New Year Events Review

George Washington High School 

This is one of the events that I try to get to each year. Like most years, this event was running a bit behind. Some of the tables were still setting up a half hour after the event was supposed to start. There was a mix of tables selling products, companies and banks drumming up business, food vendors, and a kids area. 

They had this group in the food area singing. I didn't catch the name of the group. I wish they would have been mictrophoned better. You could really only hear one person when they randomly stepped forward to the microphone.

Some of the many different things you could buy. They had items like clothes, toys, cultural goods, beauty products, and more. I was sad that the plushie seller wasn't there this year. First time they missed the event in at least 3 years. Some of the vendors have been doing this event as far back as I can remember.

1st Bank was one of the booths running super late. They also limited there give aways to one per family instead of 1 per person. This was something that I would notice at other tables as well. There was a massive reduction in what was being given away for free. It shows how the bad economy is impacting communities and celebrating holidays.

This back corner led to where the pay to view performance is. I have never seen the performance, so I can't give any info on it.

One of the things I found cool was one of the tables had this poster in front highlighting a historic Asian American woman. Super cool and I intend to try and learn more about her when I get the chance.

Food is also a part of a lot of New Year Festivals.

The prices were hit or miss this year. Like Latea was selling small cups for the same price that other vendors had larger cups that included Boba (Latea was charging extra for boba). So look around the festival first to make sure that you don't loose money from vendors just raising their prices.

Also another sign of the times is the main food vendor also super raised their prices from last year. 3 items last year was $12 where as this year it was $14, then the 4 items did an even bigger jump from $15 to $18. Due to both the higher prices and them taking so long to set up, we didn't get anything from them this year. The food that we did get, I will post a review of on the In My Mouth Colorado Blog.

Aurora Mall (Aurora Town Center)

The first performance of the day was U.S. Taekwondo doing a martial arts demonstration.

Guiding Mountain was also there to do a lion and dragon dance. We didn't stay for that one since it was also a Pokémon Go special day and we had to get to Park Meadows.

They had these cute balloons around their sign.

They also had a kid area with activities. 

Last year they had more then just coloring sheets. They had cool kits like a snow globe you could put together. This against shows how places were having to cut back the funds they put into events.

They were giving away some Lego sets which was cool.

This event is OK. I think there is a lot they could do to expand this event. I wish that they would add tables/vendors and have some type of market. Also there wasn't any food. They should have had some type of food offering since food is so important to celebrating most holidays. I hope in the future that they will make this event bigger instead of just being performance focused.