"You mean Indians are REAL??"

            My blood rushed through my veins and my heart pounded, today was the day. 

I was going to greet the Queen of England, along with hundreds of other Native Americans, for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. (And I got to miss school for the event, so that was an added bonus.) We arrived at the Capitol to receive our IDs as special guest and Native dancers.   

The streets were crowded with charter buses. I saw small faces with wide eyes pressed against the windows.  Apparently some schools recognized the importance of this day, and took the children on field trips to witness history.  

The wind blew and I grew cold so I wrapped my hand-woven blanket around my regalia, laced my moccasins even tired, and tried to keep warm. I stood there on the curb waiting for others to join me.  When a group formed we preceded to the gate for a security check.  The two older men, performing the security checks, looked at me almost the same way the school children did.  

When I got to the gate, one of the men said, “Wow, I love your costume! Where did you buy it?”I wanted to say, “What do you think today is, Halloween?” Instead I politely said, “It’s called a regalia, and I made it.”  He looked at me, dumbfounded, as if I was speaking another language.

So I continued on past the gate.  As we were walking to the capitol steps, I heard a women say to a group of kids, “Look! It’s a group of Indians!” I thought to myself, “Well, actually Indians are native to India. My ancestors are from North America. You’re a teacher, you should know that.”  

Then a young girl exclaimed, “You mean Indians are REAL??” “Does that mean she is Pocahontas?” the girl continued.  This astonished me, I stopped dead in my tracks. What are they teaching in schools these days? I did my best to keep my composure, all I knew to do was smile and wave. This act seemed to please the children so I started my journey again.  

It amazes me how more kids know about Native Americans solely because of a Disney movie (which is primarily fiction) rather than history books.

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